Aroma visualization from community tastings
Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998
"A weird Caroni," a few tasters call it — and that's the whole story here. Instead of the usual dirty tar-and-ashtray blast, this 23-year-old leans floral and fruity, with dried plum, burnt sugar, roasted almond and a wilted mint note. The rubber and earth show up with air, but softer than most. At 65.2% it drinks surprisingly relaxed.
The community says- Great ABV integration
- Dried fruit depth
- Not typical Caroni
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The look inside the bottle
How does Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998 taste?
Aggregated from 55 community reviews.
Fruity, atypical Caroni, light on the tar Widely rated a good, well-balanced Caroni with lovely dried fruit and calm heat for the ABV. The catch: it's light and untypical — several regulars missed the classic dirty tar bomb.
Caroni fans curious about a lighter, fruit-forward bottling
Anyone chasing the classic dirty tar-and-rubber Caroni bomb
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
25 of 55 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.5 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 →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
9% rate it between 6 and 8. 19 selected write-ups from 55 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
04.10.2025 Retasting at the Nobilis Warehouse Tasting #3 and I still find it really good. --------- This was a whole different story. A more fruity Caroni, still pretty well balanced though lighter in the traditional Caroni flavours.
Review by DomM
Good Caroni from 1998. But similarly to the CDI it is not too expressive and lacks some kind of eye (or tongue?) catcher.
Review by Tschusikowsky
For the ABV mega relaxed Caroni. Good alcohol integration. Good profile, not 0815 but nothing extraordinary. On the palate it falls slightly.
Review by Galli33
#11th dec RumXCalendar Blind tasting: Nose: woody, tar, dirty, spicy Mouth: agricole, grass, toasted, rosted almonds, barrel, oak Finish: long, barrel, oak, dry, tannins, astringent It’s a untypical, strange caroni 🤪It’s OK, but didn’t blow my mind. The alcohol isn’t integrated well and the price tag way toooo high. Buuh looks like a crazy agricole in a Caroni barrel. My prediction Guadeloupe. ca.60% approx. 20 Years
Review by Jeremy Roger 🇫🇷
Nez typique Caroni mais plus sur le plastique que sur le goudron, en bouche c'est intense et savoureux, c'est complexe et évolue avec l'aération, on passe par la viande, le sucre brun, la colle et on fini le repas avec un bon cigare . Une très belle réussite 👌👌 On en redemande ❤
Review by RumTaTa
Für Caroni eine relativ milde Nase. Der Dreck und Teer ist unter einer schönen Schicht Trockenfrüchte und Karamell zu finden. Im Mund zunächst alkoholische Schärfe und wieder eine schöne Mischung aus Dreck, Trockenfrüchten und Karamell Nachklang ist mittellang. Insgesamt ein eher milder Caroni, wegen der alkoholischen Schärfe "nur" im unteren 80er Bereich.
Review by Oliver
Very pleasing and fruity Caroni - in a positive sense. Instead of the typical dirt-slinging, one is greeted here by a very round, pastry-like spirit. On the palate, however, quite dry and with slight bacon associations. I actually like it very much!
Review by TheRhumhoe
A lovely Caroni, which is appropriately dirty on the nose, with fruity, woody, spicy notes and a floral touch forming a complete aromatic bouquet. An earthy, agricultural note comes after aeration, which is very disconcerting. In the mouth, it's intense, driven by empyreumatic notes, spices, dried fruit, wood, leather and some bewitching smoked meat notes. The long, dry finish is a little bitter, spicy, minty and roasted, with a hint of berry and agricultural flavors on the long finish. An original yet complete and elegant Caroni. A fine piece of work from Excellence Rhum.
Review by Johannes
Sehr speziell, ganz anders, da es ein LTR ist. Keine typischen Caroni Noten. Eher blumig, fruchtig, geht in Richtung Bellevue. Gut rum, aber kein Caroni.
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 mto75
solider 98er Caroni mit schöner Backpflaume-Note an der Nase.
Review by Serge
Verkostet im RumX Adventskalender. Guter Rum mit toller Nase. Am Gaumen überzeugt er mich im direkten Vergleich mit anderen 98er Caronis eher nicht. War mir sogar in der Blindverkostung unsicher ob es wirklich einer ist.
Review by Christian Rudt
Scheint man zu Beginn noch einen Agricole im Glas zu haben kommt das caroni Profil nach einiger Zeit dann doch durch. Zunächst fruchtig, röstig und rund wird es im Finish dann mehr trocken und holzig. Hab den s.b.s den ich vor kurzem verkostet Habe ein Stück weit besser in Erinnerung.
Review by HenryL
RumX Adventskalender 11.12. Meine Caroni-Erfahrung ist definitiv noch ausbaufähig. Dennoch kommt dieser überraschend pflanzlich rüber, insbesondere eine welke Minznote ist durchweg präsent. In der Nase recht entspannt: tropische Früchte, Holz und eine mit Luftkontakt stärker werdende Gumminote. Im Mund röstig-würzig, etwas pflanzliches und Gummi. Ich hatte zwar noch nicht viele Caronis, der hier überzeugt mich aber im Vergleich nicht wirklich.
Review by Tropheus80
Tag 11 Rum X Adventskalender
Review by Tom Buteneers
RumXmas 2022 #11, blind: Something dirty (rubber) but also vegetal impressions on the back of my palate, going up through the nose Seriously messing with my head to figure it out. ABV 55-60%? Ok weird Caroni, not as clear as others. This blind tasting stuff is wild 😅 65,2% but relatively easy on the palate. The dirty side is there but not as powerful. Half an hour was short for this drop, but it was nice. I enjoyed it with haste. Time to go home and put the daughter to bed.
Review by Thunderbird
Ein guter Caroni … mehr aber auch nicht
Review by Alexander Rasch
My RumRating Review 3y ago: In the nose it is immediately clear what kind of rum is in the glass. Strong but well balanced, the typical dirty tar notes come and combine with woody nutty barrel notes. Some sweetness and fruit also resonates. The nose is absolutely top. On the palate, the 65.2% are very well integrated. Aromas are spread intensively in the mouth. The rum shows a great body. Complex come the Caroni typical tar and ashtray notes and combine with a fine fruit note, a hint of chocolate and some nut. The wood shapes the finish a little more and the earthy Caroni notes persist for a long time. An absolutely great high quality rum with sadly a high price. If you are looking for a dirty Caroni, this is the right place for you.
Review by Jakob
Caroni 1998 Crosstasting: Sticht heraus, da es sich hier nicht um einen Heavy, sondern um einen Light Caroni handelt. In der Nase mit einer etwas floral-fruchtigen Note, die ich mit jungen Guadeloupe-Rums assoziiere; am Gaumen angenehm ausgewogen, rundes Profil, dezente Früchte, ansprechende Süsse. Ein toller Rum, der mit dem bekannten Caroni-Stil allerdings nichts zu tun hat.
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.5/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Tasting Bro's
Read full review →
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Ein fruchtiger Caroni ohne großen Ecken und Kanten.
Details about Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Excellence Rhum, at 65,2%.
Community purchases
34 bottles logged by 30 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
8% opened, 2 emptied and repurchased.
What does Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998 cost?
Community paid 250–416 €.
Current best price: 681.30 € – 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+ →
34 purchased · 57 tasted · 6 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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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
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