The second of @distilia_ rums that I had the privilege of tasting was one from their new Floral Rum series - the Caroni 1998 Chaconia exclusively for @catawiki. The name Chaconia is a very fitting one, both as a nod to its origins from Trinidad and Tobago, home of the now-lost Caroni distillery where this rum was distilled, as well as the rum’s profile, which I will go into later in the review.

The rum itself was distilled in 1998, and aged in a single cask #4 for 24 years before being bottled in 2022 at a cask strength of 60.2% abv, with 139 bottles produced.

When nosed, its easy to understand why it would fit so nicely in @distilia_’s Floral rum series, given how sweet and nectar-like the nose came across. Unlike the heavy caronis that might seem rather brash or unpolished on the sides, this one comes across gentle, soft, creamy even, with lots of vanilla, ripe mangoes, a touch of lemon. But in the end, some of that characteristic fusel notes still come through, paired with a little cola.

The palate is immensely sweet when tasted, honey, nectar, yet as it evolves, it becomes dirtier, where those burnt rubber notes start to overpower the initial sweetness. This carries on into the finish, which is extremely long, filled with more burnt rubber, petrol, vanilla, a bit of nuts. Interestingly there is something in there that reminds me of an islay-cask caroni that was bottled for The Boutique-y Rum Company recently. It had this similar peaty-esque note and a certain dryness that I have come to associate with heavily-peated islay whiskies. Yet with two drops of water, it loses that character, and instead begins to resemble traditional caroni rums, with notes of caramel and tangerine popping up at the end.

I rather enjoyed this one, given how the flavours evolved, and is possibly one of the sweetest caroni’s I’ve come across, which isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, it displayed a certain style that would make it stand out from other caronis. In the end, its all a matter of personal preference, but for those like myself whom enjoy exploring the many different styles of rums, this is an interesting one to try.

Image Courtesy of @weixiang_liu