LMDW Flag Series Trinidad 1999 26 Years (Caroni)
Reviewer: Pickwick (with notes from Tashtego)
Distillery: Caroni
Origin: Caroni Plains, northwest Trinidad
Bottle Size: 700 ml
Bottle Count: 223
ABV: 57.9%
Distilled: 1998 and 1999
Base Material: Molasses
Still: Column
Aging specs: 26 years in an ex-bourbon cask (location unknown; based on other Caronis, it was probably aged at origin for at least a few years but likely finished aging continentally)
Bottled: 2026
Nose: Cola, maple syrup, cinnamon, diesel, black plum, orange zest
Palate: Menthol, tire fire, Thai basil, roasted nuts, exhaust smoke, poached apricot, black pepper
Finish: Long, industrial, minty
If you’re any kind of a rum nerd, you probably don’t need me to tell you about Caroni, but to sum it up: it is the rum world’s most famous lost distillery. Located in northwest Trinidad, the distillery closed in 2002 with huge amounts of aging stock on hand; since then, there have been periodic releases from Velier and various independent bottlers (most of whom are likely drawing on the stock purchased by Liverpool’s Main Rum). This one is exclusive to France’s La Maison du Whisky (presumably through their partners at Velier) and it’s a European release in the popular LMDW/LM&V Flag Series featuring stylized artwork of the flag of the rum’s country of origin. Though it’s labeled “Trinidad 1999” (for whatever reason, LMDW either can’t or won’t officially call this a Caroni, although it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what “a mythical distillery from Trinidad and Tobago, which disappeared in 2002” is referring to), this is actually a blend of 40% 1998 vintage and 60% 1999 vintage. Either way, these are rums that were distilled when I was in high school and only bottled this year. Caroni being closed makes any bottling special, but the pure age on any recent release also makes it compelling.
The nose on this bottling is heavenly. You get a good whiff of Caroni’s more infamous industrial notes, but beyond that there’s just a ton of sweetness. A big cola note hit me when I revisited it to write this review; there’s dark fruit, oily citrus, breakfast notes like maple syrup and cinnamon. I could have smelled this for days. The palate is where things really go Caroni, though. The notorious “tire fire” is all over the place here, along with powerful menthol and wafting exhaust smoke; it’s that classic Caroni “you’re drinking this in an active garage” profile. But even beyond that there’s a ton else going on: minty Thai basil and roasted nuts, the pop of black pepper, a heavy body that gives stone fruits poached in syrup.
If you already like Caroni, you will surely love this. I’m not sure how you couldn’t, unless you’re in it for the pure motor oil of the most industrial bottlings and don’t want any of those sweeter notes coming out. But this is exactly what I want from a Caroni: industrial heft with a prominent layer of fruit and sweetness. For me it’s an absolute 5 on Taste; between this and Le Galion grand arôme, rum lovers with less pungent interests might really start distrusting a Pickwick 5, but I really enjoy complexity and this is the kind of rum that more than delivers on that.
Haste is a more challenging topic. The retail price of this rum on French websites is €539 (a little over $600 at today’s exchange rate). As much as I think this is a great rum and pretty much an archetypal Caroni, that’s a lot of money (this was a birthday splurge for me, not something I’d normally be picking up). At the same time, Caroni’s status has made it so that any retail bottling is going to set you back several hundred dollars. I’m not going to say this is something you have to rush out and get, but if you were already willing to pay for a Caroni, getting a trusted brand in Flag Series and rum this good in the bottle about justifies the outlay.
Taste/Haste Scale: 5 / 3
