Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998
Nearly everyone agrees this is unmistakably Caroni, with a twist: at 55% it's softer and fruitier than the heavy hitters, so several tasters call it "almost easy sipping." You still get the tar, rubber and garage grime, but wrapped in burnt caramel, dried fruit and tropical sweetness. A few think it dips a touch on the palate and lacks extravagance, but the balance wins most over.
The community says- Tar and rubber
- Well-integrated alcohol
- Finish a bit short
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Buy Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998:
Compare all 3 shop offers from 926.64 €
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998 taste?
Aggregated from 65 community reviews.
Softer, fruitier, very drinkable Caroni Loved as an unusually gentle, fruit-forward Caroni. Most call it elegant and well-balanced; a few note the finish falls a bit short and it lacks the wildness of stronger releases.
Fans of Caroni's tar-and-rubber funk who want a rounder, fruitier version
Anyone chasing the heaviest, dirtiest, highest-proof Caroni
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
31 of 65 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.9 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
5% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 65 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: Round 98 Caroni with pleasant sweetness and thanks to the somewhat lower alcohol strength almost an easy sipping rum - as far as one can speak of it with Caroni. In direct comparison with the other Velier Caroni releases in the lower midfield on the way, which is still enough for a very good rating without effort - and once again highlights the almost unique quality of these rums.
Review by cigares
Tasted in a restaurant and the bottle is well underway. A beautiful nose where tropical fruits come first. There's also a nose of bourbon, leather and brown sugar with a little tar. On the palate, the fruit explodes with alcohol. Hardly any dirty notes on the palate, astonishing! The finish is long, with a little bitterness, lots of fruit and a lingering smokiness. The empty glass offers plenty of fruit with some machine shop notes. Edit: re-tasted blind in the RumX advent calendar, day 24 and even though I didn't recognize it, I confirm my rating.
Review by Joachim Guger
Excellent, very drinkable Caroni. A little more focus on dried fruit, which I personally like very much. Enough burning tires. Anyone else have a bottle?
Review by Maxence
This Caroni has a quite classic profile from 1998 vintage with famous garage notes, dried fruits and wood on the nose. But, it offers some surprising salty notes on the palate. A really good surprise !
Review by Oliver
Very nice Caroni at a perfect drinking strength. Great nose, but on the palate it falls a little.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
A very nice Caroni from Velier. A bit of fruit with the typical rubber notes from nose to finish. There is a hint of caramel in there as well with the herbs, tobacco and spice. A nice long finish with som nuttyness to it. Try and nose the glass after a few hours, lovely Caroni rubber and tar notes.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A rather mellow, round and gourmet Caroni. The nose delivers some typical dirty notes of tar and rubber, with the caramel, burnt sugar and toffee found on lighter profiles in the background. Wood, spices (vanilla, pepper), chocolate, nuts and dried fruit form a dangerously attractive whole. Leather, tobacco and smoky notes add a little character so as not to overindulge. A classic but effective profile. On the palate, it's a soft, discreet Caroni that comes through with its sweet, caramelized notes. Spices accompany this sweetness with a warmth, followed by wood, leather, espresso coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of tobacco that lend a little bitterness. The sweet-sour-bitter triptych isn't the most complex, but it gives a nice balance on the palate. Terpenic and fruity flavors are more subdued. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is fairly long, with more roasted, smoky, spicy and bitter aromas. Chocolate, coffee, leather, wood and spice are more present, while sweet caramel comes later, but still sensually. Softness is the order of the day on this conventional Caroni profile, easy to drink but lacking a little extravagance.
Review by RumTaTa
Very balanced on the nose, especially dark dried fruits, roasted aromas, vanilla and a little Caroniwerkstatt. Confirmation on the palate, this seems to be a Caroni. Quite full-bodied and alcoholic. Very dry and quite bitter towards the finish. Rated just "very good" due to the bitterness Alcohol ~63% I don't have enough experience with Caroni to name a specific bottling. ----- I was way too high with the alcohol content. But I almost thought so, as I ate a crispy kebab today and the micro-injuries caused by the "sharp-edged" flatbread on my gums make the rum seem sharper than it is.
Review by Mirco
Balanciert rauchige Teer- und Gumminoten mit weichen Tropenfrüchten und zarter Karamellsüße. Er wirkt zugänglicher als viele Caronis, steht aber dennoch klar in der Tradition dank seiner typischen Schmutz- und Werkstattanmutung. Das Mundgefühl ist voll, mit präsenter Holzwürze und feiner Frische. Der Abgang bleibt mittellang, angenehm trocken und würzig.
Review by Tom Buteneers
RumXmas 24/24 From the start it’s clear that it’s Caroni territory today. Not even gonna bother to try and define a specific bottle and just enjoy it. All components are present in great harmony. Alcohol is very well integrated. It has to be said that it’s “only 55%” which is relatively modest in Caroni terms. Two years ago I tasted this for the first time and scored it 9.2. I can still understand why. I’ve had others that I’ve rated higher. But that’s not what this is about today. I’ll leave the mark how it was. I feel it still deserves it. And it’s not like I’m in the mood to compare it to something else directly right now. Much gratitude to the RumX team for the overall quality of the Advent Calendar. It’s beyond 👏
Review by Timo Groeger
RumX Advent Calendar 2024 Day 24: On Christmas Eve there will be the Caroni ;-). Also has the typical Caroni notes such as rubber and tar on the nose, as well as some tobacco. Then also rubber and tar on the palate, as well as smoky and spicy. Successful.
Review by Serge
Rum X Advent calendar post-tasting, door 24 ... Also tastes good with a little more late-January sunshine and is immediately recognizable as Caroni. Sweet-nutty-fruity-dirty 98 nose. Compared to other vintages not a high flyer but still strong against most continental ones of the vintage. Finish rather not so long
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the time of its greatest glory rum, which was added at a ratio of 1:10 to the naval blend. It was too strong and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000, the distillery ceased production and closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who took a liking to the rum because of its special taste. And the interest grew. Caroni belongs to the category of "you need to try before you die" rums. I recommend it, Caroni is a truly unique rum.
Review by zabo
RumX Advent Calendar 2024 Day 24 You guys are crazy what you put in there at the end 😅 A really great 98, so elegant, almost easy sipping (in a very positive way) but at a very high level without losing complexity.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Excellent Caroni with a really nice smoke and dirt note, but also neat burnt caramel, fresh espresso and dried fruit, orange peel and some mint and walnut, as well as burnt caramel on the finish. Very tasty and well-balanced, only the finish could be more intense and longer....
Review by Boletus
Tag 24 des RumX-Adventskalenders (verspätete Verkostung): Fast 20 Jahre hatte ich mich im Bereich der Spirituosen nahezu ausschließlich mit Whisky beschäftigt, als ich bei einem Besuch eines Forumskollegen zum ersten Mal in intensiven Kontakt mit hochwertigem Rum gekommen bin. Meine bisherigen Erfahrungen mit Rum beruhten größtenteils auf Don Papa, A.H. Riise & Co. und mit diesem gezuckerten Zeug konnte ich noch nie was anfangen. An besagtem Wochenende durfte ich u.a. einen Hampden 2010 HLCF, einen Enmore aus der Wooden Coffey Still und einen 12er Caroni von Velier verkosten, was letztlich meine Sichtweise auf Rum und auch meinen weiteren Werdegang als Genießer hochwertiger Spirituosen deutlich veränderte. Nun habe ich also seitdem erstmalig einen Caroni von Velier im Glas und ich bin erneut sehr begeistert. Da dies ja anscheinend ein etwas schwächerer Vertreter dieser Abfüllungen sein soll, befürchte ich, dass ich langsam etwas mehr Geld in die Hand nehmen muss, um die anderen auch probieren zu können. 😅
Review by w00tAN
Schöne Nase, kann ich mich gar nicht satt dran riechen. Im Mund sofort präsent würzig, Gummi und eine schöne Süße. Alkohol super eingebunden, kaum spürbar. Langer Abgang sehr ausgeglichen. Toller Rum sehr süffig!
Review by Alex1981
RumX Kalender 2024 Day 24: Sehr fruchtige Nase, tropisch, Demerara Zucker, leichtes Holz im Hintergrund mit dreckiger Seite. Sehr schön! Im Mund zunächst scharf, Pfeffer. Die Früchte bleiben im Hintergrund. Entwickelt sich mit dunklen Röstnoten, Holz, industrielle Dreckigkeit im Wechselspiel mit mehr Frucht. Super integrierter Alkohol. Wunderbar! 98er Caroni, aber von der fruchtigen Sorte.
Review by Benoit Mahe
A superb Caroni, full of balance. I was lucky to find it in an Italian wine shop!
Review by Manuel
RumX Adventskalender 2024:Nr. 24 Zur Feier des Tages Caroni?! Hat zumindest im Geschmack leichte typische Caroni Noten wobei er sehr sanft und auch leicht süßlich wirkt. Ein wirklich ausgezeichneter Rum.
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Barrel Aged Thoughts
Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →For me I felt it had just enough fruitiness to keep it interesting and enjoyable throughout. If you can find a bottle at a reasonable price then go for it. This is more than a decent example of Caroni rum without doubt. This might be Velier Caroni No Smoking but...
Details about Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998
A Column Still Rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 55%.
Community purchases
119 bottles logged by 85 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
8% opened, 5 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998 cost?
Community paid 40–1,144 €.
Current best price: 926.64 € – within 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+ →
119 purchased · 68 tasted · 34 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
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Velier Caroni 34th Release 100 Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996
Velier Caroni 34th Release 100 Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996Balanced, dirty-sweet 1996 Caroni, softened
Velier Caroni High Proof Trinidad Rum (EU) HTR 2000
Velier Caroni High Proof Trinidad Rum (EU) HTR 2000Dirty, oily Caroni: tar, rubber, menthol
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
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992Classic tar-and-fruit Caroni, reduced but rich
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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.
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