Aroma visualization from community tastings
Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
Tar, burned rubber and old leather hit first, exactly the "dirty" Caroni signature people chase. Underneath there's a surprising streak of red fruit and dried cherry, then a long, dry, tobacco-and-oak finish. At 61.5% the alcohol reads well-integrated for most, though a couple found it too hot and slightly one-dimensional. A textbook Trinidad profile, not a subtle one.
The community says- Textbook Caroni funk
- Long dry finish
- High ABV heat
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The look inside the bottle
How does Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 taste?
Aggregated from 62 community reviews.
Classic dirty Caroni: tar, rubber, dry oak Most tasters get the classic tar-rubber-leather Caroni and love it, some calling it "very addictive." A few felt the finish falls short or it leans a touch one-note.
Caroni fans who chase tar, rubber and dry funk
Anyone wanting sweet, easy sipping or avoiding high ABV heat
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
29 of 62 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.5 sits in the “Very good” band. 96% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 1% 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?
5% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 62 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Frank
RumX Advent Calendar, 18.12., blind.First impression: clearly Caroni! Dirty fruity, not too complicated, >60%. Good.Nose: as said, pleasantly dirty fruity, strong and complex. Sweet tar and burnt rubber. Red currant and a very slight hint of mint. Back polish and cold smoke.Palate: powerful and complex on the palate as well. Dry and woody and salty-bitter at the start. Then gum rub and polish, maybe some dried cherry and grapefruit. Very drinkable and beautiful Caroni representative.
Review by Mirco
Markante rauchige Noten mit Teer, Gummi und altem Holz prägen das Profil. Der Rum zeigt eine schöne Tiefe und Komplexität, die typisch für Caroni ist. Trotz seiner Power wirkt er gut ausbalanciert und bleibt im Glas spannend.
Review by SaibotZtar
RumX Adventskalender 2021 Tag 18
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This is an OK Caroni, but it's like something is missing and I can't put my finger in it. The price on release I'd say was pretty good. The nose is typical Caroni with tar and rubber followed by smoky wood, fruit, leather and light vanilla. The palate is intanese and spicy and also starts with tar and rubber trailed by smoky wood and dried fruit and light vanilla. The finish is long with smoky wood, tar, rubber and spices.
Review by MarcT
Tasted blind, did not recognize Caroni typical elements at all.
Review by DomM
Quite nice combination of classic Caroni notes and some sweet and fruity flavors.
Review by Thunderbird
Typical Caronino notes... not as intense as many others, but overall round and harmonious! With a longer finish more points would have been possible... very tasty
Review by Tschusikowsky
RumX Advent Calendar 18.12.21: horny Caroni, I really like. Vintage, bottler-no idea, he just tastes😋
Review by Galli33
#18 RumXCalendar Blind tasting: Nose: dirty, rubber, tar, woody, glue, leather M: dirty, woody, bitter, asteingend, oak, tar, spicy, burnt sugar F: wood, tannins, oak, vanilla Prediction: It‘s definitely a caroni, approx. 60% and approx. 20 years …. It’s a good dirty caroni, but lacks in the finish…very disapponiting Nose: woody, tar, rubber, bycycle tube, dirty, glue, leather Mouth: bitter, astringend, tar, smoky, heavy, woody(oak), burnt sugar, peat, raisins, roasted and tobacco Finish: short, astringend, oak, vanilla, rubber, tannins, tobacco, earthy, peat,
Review by alex
On a bien les marqueurs Caroni. D’abord au nez, sensationnel, et après petite aération, en bouche délicieux, un régal, j’adore. Superbe longueur pour le final 😍😍😍
Review by Christoph
Ganz „typische“ Trinidad Nase die Caroni schnell erahnen lässt. Der Geschmack ist dann neben dem wieder typischen Dreck unerwartet fruchtig süß ohne dabei zu aufdringlich zu werden. Der Abgang ist als würde man auf sandigem Schluff kauen der mit Tabak vermengt wurde. Sehr trocken und nachhaltig. Sehr schön das dieser mit so viel ABV abgefüllt wurde und der Alkohol so gut integriert ist. Nach längerem stehen wird der Teer extrem (positiv).
Review by Christian Rudt
What the fxxx? When you always hear about dirty caronis, you probably mean rums like this one. You are immediately greeted by a lot of tar and rubber in the nose, it smells oily, a bit like a gas station. On the palate, let the tar machine😅 breathe first. A challenge with a lot of wood, a little fruit comes through, some tobacco with a slight smokiness in the finish that I really like here. Nose 86: by now I have energy drink in delicious in the nose Palate: 85 you have to like this dirty profile. Finish: 87 nice and intense
Review by Stylo
Nose: nice opening with fresh menthol notes, along with dirtier, dustier flavors (pencil shavings, medicine, Fusel oil, just a hint of diesel to it). You can also clearly sense some wood from the barrel. Then it’s the turn of tar and glue. With some agitation, you can get some fruity notes of cherries and prunes Palate: ah, classical, dirty Caroni..wonderful.. a nice mix of red fruits, some charred wood, then slightly less tar and more medicine. Nice proof, also. Finish: long, bitter and even dirtier. Still some charred wood, bitter licorice, menthol. Stands really well against Velier’s ;)
Review by Jakob
Crosstasting 1997er Caronis aus kontinentaler Lagerung: Sehr nahe an den Schwesterreleases von Bristol, die HTR-DNA ist bei allen klar erkennbar. Mein Favorit ist das jüngste Release der Reihe dank seiner expressiven „Jugendlichkeit“, wir bewegen uns aber durchweg auf hohem Niveau.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Day 18 RumX Advent Calendar: Nose: even after hours in the glass comes first alcohol. Then dirty to charred, spicy and smoky. Palate: and alcohol again. A little water opened things up a bit. Basically the aromas remain as on the nose, in the finish something slightly fresh towards menthol. For me in the result too alcoholic and not round. No idea what it was until the dissolution. Again a Caroni. The last Caroni from the Advent calendar I found better, because rounder. This one is too brisk for me.
Review by Christoph H.
In der Nase eher dreckig mit Teer, Fahrradschlauch und Plastik. Deutlicher Fasseinfluss mit Rauch, Röstaromen, Gewürze aber leicht süßliche und warme Karamellnoten. Im Mund zuerst leicht süß und ölig, schiebt sich das Fass vorbei und drängt sich mit deutlichen Röst, Rauch und Bitternoten in den Vordergrund. Insgesamt zeigt sich der Rum eher von der trockenen Seite. Ich bin insgesamt kein Fan vom Jahrgang 97 und auch hier fehlt mir einfach das gefällige, süße, fruchtige und runde wie z.b beim Jahrgang 96 Nichts desto trotz, kann man hier von einem guten Rum sprechen
Review by Benoit Mahe
Un Caroni qui part un peu dans tous les sens.
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 Casper Nielsen
Duft: Tobak og mørnet lædertaske, frugt (overmoden mango/ananas). Smag: Fuld fart på i bedste Caroni-stil, men mangler noget “tropisk” fylde. Frugt og brændt træ, oliedampe og pibetobak.
Review by Tom Buteneers
RumXmas #18, blind I would dare to say Caroni because of the dirty feeling. Don’t ask me which one, I only had a few. So that’s way too difficult. Dirty and lots of wood in the mouth and a bit of a burn from the alcohol, guessing somewhere around 60%. Astringent and woody bitter notes in the finish that’s long lasting. There’s a little bit of fruity sweetness on the tip of the tongue at the beginning, but I find it fastly evolving towards wood and bitterness. It’s complex (as in: not that accessible), but alsomaybe a bit too one-dimensional. Not the best Caroni I’ve had so far, but not bad either. My honest opinion is that I don’t find the bottle worthy of it’s price tag. But that’s more often the case with Caroni nowadays.
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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 In Spiritus Veritas
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Details about Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Bristol Classic Rum, at 61,5%.
Community purchases
80 bottles logged by 55 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
12% opened, 4 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Bristol Caroni HTR 1997?
Community paid 117–249 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
80 purchased · 63 tasted · 20 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.
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Rum Nation Caroni HTR 1998
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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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