Aroma visualization from community tastings
The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998
Opinions land all over the place here. Some call it a lighter Caroni that never fully rounds out; others get the classic tarry asphalt, rubber and wet tobacco they came for. Underneath the smoky wood there's real fruit — strawberry, dark fruits — plus vanilla and honey. At 64.1% it runs hot and a touch peppery, which trips up a few tasters.
The community says- Tarry smoky notes
- Fruit and tobacco
- Peppery, hot
View price history
+10Secure payment Sold by RumInvestor.de Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
The look inside the bottle
How does The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998 taste?
Aggregated from 30 community reviews.
Tarry, smoky Caroni with a peppery kick Well-liked but divisive: fans get old-school tar, rubber and smoke over ripe fruit, while others find it light, sharp and not quite balanced. The high proof shows.
Caroni fans who want raw, tarry, industrial character at high proof
Anyone sensitive to high ABV or wanting a smooth, rounded pour
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
15 of 30 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.2 sits in the “Very good” band. 93% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
47% rate it between 6 and 8. 13 selected write-ups from 30 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Alex1981
Most helpful positive review
Rather light Caroni which gets dominated by some leathery / woody notes and dark fruits in the background. Gets a bit stingy/peppery after a while. Not much of the expected heavy industrial notes, but still pleasant. The HTR marque seems a bit misleading?
Review by Oliver
Most helpful mixed review
Very pleasant nose. A bit too peppery on the palate. On balance, however, a nice representative of the 1998 vintage.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
I know much better 98 caronis... Unfortunately not my cup of tea... Hardly any complexity, overall quite sharp and tiring... Not bad, but there are much better representatives of the '98 vintage!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
I think this is a light Caroni but not in a bad way because it has some other flavours to kind of compensate. The nose is light and has smoky wood, rubber, varnish, vanilla and a good portion of wet tobacco. The palate is complex and well balanced between smoky wood and fruits with rubber, varnish, vanilla and some tobacco. The finish is long, lightly dry and fruity with smoky wood. Very good in its own way.
Review by DomM
Very balanced and „sweet“ compared to other 98s. Dirty Caroni notes are present, however, not overly dominat. Vanilla, chocolate and fruits make for a nice bottling.
Review by Rowald Sweet Empire
Finally an old school Caroni again. Younger but with the classic tarry asphalt smoky notes. Not overly balanced but that's why you drink Caroni right? Weird and raw. Nice stuff.
Review by Martin Ekrt
Po Samaroli tu je konečně něco voňavého. Příjemný mix technických tónů a tropického ovoce. Hodně zajímavá chuť. Je tam lehce Caroni špinavost, ale nejvíce mě překvapila taková zvláštní pálivost jak u jídla s chilli. Vše tak dobře vyzrálé, že s tím nemám problém. Závěr by ale mohl být delší.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni je destilerie z Trinidadu, produkujici v dobe sve nejvetsi slavy rum, ktery se pridaval v pomeru 1:10 do namornickeho blendu. Byl totiz moc vyrazny a divny nez aby byl prijemny na jazyku. V roce 2000 destilerka skoncila s produkci a byla uzavrena. Az v roce 2010 se objevili degustatori, kteri si rum oblibili prave pro jeho specialni chut. A zajem rostl. Caroni patri do kategorie rumu "you need to try before you die". Doporucuji, Caroni je opravdu unikatni rum.
Review by Agricoler
Relativ scharfkantiger Caroni. Grundsätzlich sehr schöne dreckige Noten mit schöner Frucht aber, der Rum wirkt irgendwie nicht Rund. Dennoch muss ich sagen habe ich schon langweiligere Caronis gehabt.
Review by Natascha og Aske
A rare complex and well integrated rum that keeps evolving as it aerates and warms up in the mouth. The nose is sweet with a hint of tar. At first itˋs fruity like strawberry then honey and tobacco. Lovely
Review by Filip Kalinovský
Vyborne lehke caroni, krasna vune hodne pripomina LMDR . Chut je velmi vyvazena , mirne stiplavy, kourovy, ovocny, trosku laku. Zaver bych rekl ze neni uplne dlouhy , spise stredni delka. Pekny kour, cokolada az mi pripomina skoro raselinove whisky.
Review by WolfeTone
Coffee, rubber, spices, petrol, smoke, flowers and honey.
Review by Jindrich Strobl
Nice intrnsive taste and long finish. Alcohol just shows a bit too much for my taste.
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
Read full review →
Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →This is a very complex and very enjoyable rum. It's heavy but it also has a really good balance - it's kind of like a peated Foursquare in some respects. It has everything you might want from a Caroni but none of the off notes - it never gets too...
Details about The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998
A Pot Still Rum from Trinidad, bottled by The Duchess, at 64,10%.
Community purchases
20 bottles logged by 17 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
45% opened, 5 emptied and repurchased.
What does The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998 cost?
Community paid 199–237 €.
Current best price: 674.00 € – above the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
20 purchased · 30 tasted · 7 wishlist · as of
About the Caroni distillery
The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,324 times with an average of 8.8/10.
To Caroni →You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Velier Caroni 35th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum (Trespassers) HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 35th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum (Trespassers) HTR 1996Heavy, dirty Caroni with tamed 70% ABV
The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991
The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991Light, restrained old Caroni, oak-forward
Velier Caroni High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum (Lion‘s Whisky) HTR 2000
Velier Caroni High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum (Lion‘s Whisky) HTR 2000Dirty, minty, tar-and-rubber heavy Caroni
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 12 HTR 2000
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 12 HTR 2000Fresh, dirty entry-level Caroni
Velier Caroni 35th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum (Trespassers) HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 35th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum (Trespassers) HTR 1996Heavy, dirty Caroni with tamed 70% ABV
CoR Caroni Trinidad No. 4 1998
CoR Caroni Trinidad No. 4 1998Intense, tarry Caroni with dark fruit
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
What began as my digital tasting diary is now the world's most comprehensive platform for rum fans, today carried by a small team with Jakob, Lukas and Katharina, with Robert supporting us as a freelancer. We combine the collective intelligence of our community with an integrated marketplace, so you can choose with confidence, without paperwork, detours, or expert jargon.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →
