1996 Caroni 'Tasting Gang' 23 Year Old Full Proof Blended Trinidad Rum, Trinidad

The history of the Caroni distillery differs from source to source, but what we do know is that it was a key ingredient of the British Navy rations around WW2. Its famous "high-ester heavy" Rums helped make up the Caroni signature flavor, but as the Trinidadian sugar industry gave way to imported molasses and in turn making distilling less economical, Caroni distillery was eventually closed in 2003.

Luckily, one Italian distributor, Velier, and its inimitable CEO Luca Gargano acquired some of its warehouse stock in 2005 and struck Rum gold. The following releases of the Caroni stock by Velier are now considered game-changing and helped cement the legendary status Caroni now holds amongst collectors.

The Tasting Gang Rum is the 38th Caroni release from Velier. The story goes, that on April 12 2019, a group of 23 Caroni lovers from across Europe met in France's Cognac region to sample the last 173 barrels of Caroni stock from Guyana and Trinidad. They obviously had a lot of fun, because out came this blend of 22 of sampled stock, including both the heavy and light style produced on the Caroni pot and column still before being aged.

*This bottle is a collector’s item; we will not be able to entertain any refunds or exchanges.

**Individual orders are limited to one item per person, as we wish to give everyone the opportunity to participate.

***Any kind of transit damage is insured and will be reimbursed.