Aroma visualization from community tastings
Whisky & Rhum Caroni L'Esprit 1996
Beeswax, tar and burnt rubber with a honeyed sweetness underneath — that's the shape of this 1996 Caroni. Several tasters call it a softer, sweeter take on the distillery, with the dirty "garage" notes wrapped in caramel rather than leading. The recurring gripe: it's light on the fruit and the 64.3% booze pokes through. One member summed it up as "concentrated and balanced."
The community says- Waxy honeyed sweetness
- Classic tar and rubber
- But: Light on fruit
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The look inside the bottle
How does Whisky & Rhum Caroni L'Esprit 1996 taste?
Aggregated from 27 community reviews.
Sweeter, waxy Caroni with tar and heat Loved by most as an elegant, sweeter Caroni, though a few miss the fruit and depth of famous 1996 bottlings. The high ABV shows; some feel the tar arrives only late.
Caroni fans who like a sweeter, waxier, less fruity take
Anyone wanting the fully tropical, fruit-driven 1996 profile
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
15 of 27 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is Whisky & Rhum Caroni L'Esprit 1996 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.7 sits in the “Very good” band. 96% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
89% rate it 8 or higher. 16 selected write-ups from 27 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
07.08.2025 Relaxing a bit while retasting this nice rum that I still like a lot. ----------------- 22.04..2019 Enjoying some samples at home. Colour Medium dark in colour. Nose Wood, light roasted, fruits, spice, light tar, faint rubber, light anise, faint mint. Palate Round, balanced, wood, faint smoke, fruits, light rubber, light tar, spice, faint floral, fain caramel. Finish Long and warm, wood, light roasted, light rubber, faint tar, spice, light citrus, light caramel.
Review by Johnny Rumcask
Most helpful mixed review
WTF. In der Nase ein leichter Anflug von den typischen dreckigen Caroni Noten, der Alkohol drängt aber stark in den Vordergrund. Im Mund dann die Enttäuschung: wo sind die Caroni Noten? Der Alkohol ist stark dominant, es kommen dunkle Noten zum Vorschein, Holz, Röstaromen, dann etwas Vanille. Auch nach längerer Standzeit dominiert der Alkohol. Erst im Abgang tauchen dann zart dreckige Caroni Noten auf mit Teer, verbrannte Reifen etc. Alles in allem eine herbe Enttäuschung.
Review by Thunderbird
A rather pleasant representative of the Caronis that is not overpowering and still contains plenty of classic markers. I miss the berry fruits a little... but that's it. Alcohol is noticeable, but still well tolerated. The darker aromas predominate in the finish, which I like.
Review by Rodolphe
Caroni that's too much garage oil or bicycle tire or wet old wood juice isn't my thing, so I often like it, but nothing more. But this one shows me that it can be really classy! Old wood with beeswax and a nice freshness to boot. Very elegant, very pleasant, very good. I haven't tasted 50 caroni, but this is the best I've had. I'm happy to share it to let people discover it, but if I had the chance to buy one again, I'd take it right away!
Review by mto75
Erster Eindruck an der Nase: ziemlich deutliche Whisky-Noten. Leider konnte ich nicht herausfinden, was es sich mit dem BB4 cask auf sich hat. Später kommen gelbe Früchte / Mirabelle, weißer Pfirsich und Plastik/Wachs-Noten. Am Gaumen zwar Werkstatt-Noten, aber nicht zu dominant. Dazu röstige und nussige Noten, und Fass. Der hohe ABV ist auch als spritige Note deutlich wahrnehmbar. Ein eher untypisches Caroni-Profil. Den hätte ich blind vermutlich nicht als Caroni ausgemacht. Ich bevorzuge dann aber doch eher das ‚klassische‘ Caroni-Profil.
Review by Joachim Guger
Typische Caroni Aromen plus etwas Karamell und tropische Früchte. Tolle Würze. Kaum Holzreife, die 64% spürt man naturgemäß, aber gut eingebunden. Langer Abgang. Funky.🇯🇲🇯🇲 Ein Caroni-Hampden-Monster. Das hatte ich in dieser Form noch nie, superinteressant!
Review by RumTaTa
The nose starts relatively light with vanilla, bourbon and cereal. Of the caronino notes I find only very remotely a little tar. The alcohol I slightly superficial. On the palate harmonious to the nose, sweet and with associations to Highland Whisky. The alcohol is also clearly noticeable here. In the aftertaste, the rum is then softer and here flashes tar, bicycle tube and "dirt" again strongly. The rum ends with barrel notes. I like the sweetness and the finish. Otherwise, this is probably more of a LTR.
Review by Vincent D
Un superbe Caroni, pour ce que j'en connais. Une trame dirty mais de la gourmandise et de jolis fruits. C'est plutôt agréable. Un peu trop fort en alcool pour moi qui préfère ces profils avec une légère réduction mais très cool. Le nez est vraiment superbe et l'alcool magnifiquement intégré. Jolie sélection.
Review by Tom Buteneers
I liked this one quite a lot: concentrated and balanced.
Review by Serge
Schöne Wachs- und Bienenwaben Noten, die sich zum Gebrannten Zucker und zum Gummi gesellen. Am Gaumen gibt er sich etwas alkoholisch und es fehlt die luxuriöse Cremigkeit der tropischen Cousins. Wenig Frucht.
Review by Basti
Die Nase ist anfangs ziemlich verhalten und braucht ein wenig Zeit. Erscheint im direkten Vergleich mit dem 98er Cave Guildive deutlich zurückhaltender und weniger komplex. Am Gaumen leicht rauchig, dazu Teer, Gummi, Gewürze und Leder. Guter Caroni, aber in Summe gefiel mir der 98er CG etwas besser.
Review by zabo
Thank you Serge for letting me try the rest of your sample. And of course Rodolphe, who once again made a very good rare bottle available to many people. Very, very tasty.
Review by Mentalo
Ich mag den 96er Jahrgang und auch L‘Esprit ist nicht verkehrt. Angenehme Süße kombiniert mit dreckigen Noten. Im Abgang dann Fassnoten. Leider sehr wenige fruchtige Noten. Alkohol ist ok eingebunden.
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 DomM
Sweetness, vanilla and bee wax on the nose. A tiny hint of dirt. Side by side to a fully tropical 96 HTR bottling, this one is largely missing out on the fruity side of things (I only get a hint of yellow fruits) and lacks depth. Not bad per se but clearly not on par. Similar experience on the palate. Sweetness, caramel, wax. A bit of an alcoholic sting, but not too bad. Again, cannot compete with the Velier 21y as a reference. Fruits and dirty notes are more or less missing in the L‘Esprit by comparison. It is by no means as uninspiring as some of the LTR LWR 1996 bottlings I have tasted. Enjoyable but not able to hold up to the vintage‘s reputation.
Review by Filip Šikula
So that's a beautiful caroni again ❤️ the smell already predicts that we're going to check out the garage. It's all there, oil, thinner, beeswax, a little fruit. It's beautiful. Let's drink. This is more of a sweeter caroni profile, but the sweetness just packs the technical notes beautifully. These develop immediately in the first sip and last all the way through the long finish. I am thrilled!
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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 Single Cask Rum
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Market value
Avg. community purchase price 180 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Whisky & Rhum Caroni L'Esprit 1996
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Whisky & Rhum, at 64,3%.
Community purchases
14 bottles logged by 11 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
7% opened, 0 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Whisky & Rhum Caroni L'Esprit 1996?
Community paid 160–250 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
14 purchased · 28 tasted · 9 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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