Caroni 1996/2026 Trinidad - Paradise #15 - Barrel #3801

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 65.1%

Special Features:

Paradise #15 preserves a rum from the remaining stocks of the closed Caroni distillery. This molasses rum was distilled in 1996 and comes from a single cask, number 3801. It was bottled in 2026 at 65.1% and comes in gift packaging.

For the Paradise range, tropical cask maturation is followed by storage in glass demijohns in the Cognac region. This stops any further influence from the cask wood; storage in France is not a Cognac-cask finish. The design connects the rum with its homeland: the labels feature works by Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, candied mirabelle plums and pears mingle with apricots, slate and lava notes, and a hint of arnica. With time, heather honey, iris, liquorice and dark chocolate unfold.
• Palate: The rum is lively and supple on the palate. Petrol and varnish become more pronounced, while the main features of the nose return. Cane sugar lends increasing roundness before dry leaves, undergrowth and mushrooms lead the flavours towards autumnal earthiness.
• Finish: The long finish is enveloping and velvety. Cloves, star anise and cinnamon accompany bacon, liquorice and herbaceous tobacco notes. Wood dust and rosewood emerge retronasally.

Distillery/Bottler:

The rum was made at the now-closed Caroni distillery on Trinidad. Velier played a decisive role in the subsequent history of its stocks: during a visit to the island in December 2004, Luca Gargano discovered substantial reserves and decided to release bottlings at full strength.

Velier was founded in Genoa in 1947 as a wine and spirits importer. From 1992, the company developed joint bottlings with rum and whisky producers. In 2016, it established the joint venture La Maison & Velier with La Maison du Whisky; its projects include the Caroni Paradise range.

Facts: