April Auction starts Friday 12 April. Bottle deadline 8 April.

Caroni 1997 Duncan Taylor 16 Year Old

Lot: 6566

Caroni 1997 Duncan Taylor 16 Year Old

Winning Bid: £130

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
Caroni
Age: 
16 year old
Vintage: 
1997
Region: 
Trinidad
Bottler: 
Duncan taylor
Cask Type: 
n/a
Bottled Strength: 
56.4%
Bottle Size: 
70cl
Distillery Status: 
Closed
Production method: 
pot still
Base: 
trinidad molasses
product Details

Caroni 1997 Duncan Taylor 16 Year Old

Duncan Taylor was founded in Glasgow in 1938 as a cask broker and trading company. Its modern history began in 2001 when a former Glendronach employee, Euan Shand, purchased the firm and moved it to Huntly in Aberdeenshire, using the impressive cask portfolio it has amassed over the 20th century to become one of the premier independent bottlers in Scotland.

This is a 1997 vintage pot still rum from Caroni. One of 298 bottles drawn from a single cask.

The Caroni distillery is said to have been established in 1918, however there are several historical references that suggest distilling was happening there earlier in the 20th century. It became part of the Tate & Lyle firm in 1936, who used it as a base for expanding their eventually considerable sugar operations in Trinidad. Caroni was a key ingredient of the British Navy rations, where its famous high-ester 'Heavy' rums helped to make up the signature flavour. Sadly, with the decline of the Trinidadian sugar industry, the island’s remaining rum producers became increasingly dependent upon imported molasses, making distilling less economical. Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the Trinidadian government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni Ltd continued to lose money for the next 25 years until the government tried to minimise its ownership, selling off 49% of its share, just enough to retain control. Angostura were the preferred bidders, but a dispute over the value of Caroni’s warehoused stock scuppered the deal, and Caroni was closed for good in 2003.

In the end, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels for blending. These remained in Trinidad, as did a large batch of casks later acquired by Velier's Luca Gargano in 2004. A great number of casks also found their way over to Europe as well though, imported by Bristol Spirits and the Main Rum Company, resulting in a proliferating number of sought after continentally aged releases from independent bottlers like this over the years.

Important Notice

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.