Lot presentation

Caroni 1974 Bristol Spirits Bristol Classic Rum bottled in 2008

The wine

A Caroni distilled in 1974—the oldest available vintage from the distillery—and bottled in 2008 by Bristol, an English independent bottler founded by John Barrett that made rum an important part of its business and whose Bristol Classic Rum includes many prestigious bottlings. Rums are aged in Great Britain, either from start to finish or after short or long initial ageing at the distillery. A limited edition of 1,500 bottles.

About the Producer Caroni

The Caribbean, Trinidad. Distillery closed, site dismantled.

In 1975, under pressure from across the country, the government of Trinidad nationalized a number of companies, including Tate & Lyle, the English giant of sugar production and owner of Caroni Ltd since 1937. The very competitive economic context, however, led to the closure of the island's sugar refineries and the collapse of the molasses production required for the production of rum. In 2001, the government sold its shares in Rum Distillers Ltd (Caroni) to Angostura and closed the distillery in 2002. Caroni Ltd would be definitively liquidated on 31 July 2003. In October 2004, Luca Gargano, the CEO of the Italian spirit distributor Velier and a passionate rum enthusiast and photographer, visited Trinidad to carry out research for a future report. There he found the site abandoned and, within its cellars, a huge stock of barrels, some distilled in 1974. The story of Caroni began in 2005 and the distillery immediately became the subject of lore.