June 2022 Auction

J. Bally 1939 Rhum Vieux 12 x 75cl / Case

The J. Bally brand is named after founder, Jacques Bally, who purchased the Lajus plantation in 1917 following its closure after the 1902 Mount Pelee eruption. After rebuilding the distillery virtually from scratch and acquiring the neighbouring Habitation Dariste, the equipment from which was incorporated into the restored Lajus, Jacques began to lay down spirt in 1924. Bally holds an important place in the history of French style rhum, and was one of the first to adopt the sophisticated principals of distillation and maturation that had long been established in Cognac. The distillery was eventually bought by Remy Cointreau, who closed it down in 1989. Production was then moved first to Le Simon distillery, and then to Saint James in 1998. It is produced there to this day by La Martinquaise who acquired Saint James and the J. Bally brand in 2003.

This is a case of incredibly rare 1939 vintage.

Port Mourant PM 1972 Velier 36 Year Old

One of a series of legendary bottlings from the brief but beautiful period (2004-2015) when Velier owned a small stake in Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), which afforded Luca Gargano privileged access the warehouses and his pick of casks to bottle. Sadly \"The Age of Velier Demerara\" has passed but the memory of it lives on, encased in glass. 

Distilled in 1972, the casks, marked PM, were selected by Luca Gargano of Velier in March 2008 after a whopping 36 years of continental ageing.

Port Mourant distillery closed in the 1950s, and its still was transferred to Uitvlugt where the three barrels in this blend were filled. The Port Mourant double wooden pot still was then moved to Diamond in 2000 when Uitvlugt closed as well.

One of 175 bottles. 

Appleton Estate 1962 Jamaica Independence Reserve 50 Year Old 75cl

The Appleton Estate is the oldest sugar plantation and distillery in Jamaica. Its sugar fields cover 11,000 acres of the Nassau Valley, located in the Saint Elizabeth parish, and it has been in operation since 1749. The distillery was bought by J. Wray & Nephew in 1916, which as of 2012 became a subsidiary of global drinks giant, Gruppo Campari. It operates five double-retort pot stills alongside a column still, and generally produces single blended rums by vatting the two distillates. In 1997, Appleton Estate became the first distillery in the entire spirits industry to employ a female master blender, Joy Spence.

In 1962 just before Jamaica received its independence, several barrels of rum from the Appleton Estate were set aside to age with the edict that these rums were to be used to create a very special blend of 50 year old rum that would celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Jamaica's Independence.

These barrels were placed in a special area in one of Appleton's ageing warehouses and for fifty years they were carefully monitored, first by Master Blender, Owen Tulloch, and then by his protege and current Master Blender, Joy Spence.

Bottled in 2012 to mark the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's independence, this remains one of the oldest rums ever bottled. 

One of only 800 bottles. 

Caroni 1974 Velier 34 Year Old Full Proof Heavy

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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

One of the oldest releases, this is a 1974 vintage, aged 34 years. It is one of 2000 bottles produced from a stock of 7 drums.

Rhum des Plantations Madinina 1895 Rhum Vieux / F. Fanton Import

An incredibly old rum which hails from not only the 19th century, but the extinct Plantation Madinina which was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Pelée in May 1902. Produced from the harvest of 1895, it was bottled a few years later between 1904 and 1906 and left undisturbed in the cellars of importers M. Fanton & Fils of Paris before being rediscovered in the 1990s. A true piece of rum history. 

Enmore XPD 1971 Cadenhead's 32 Year Old

The Enmore sugar estate was established by Edward Henry Porter in the early 19th century after he inherited and converted his father’s cotton plantation on the east bank of the Demerara river. Once one of many in the area, by the time the government in Guyana had begun to nationalise and consolidate the country’s rum production in 1974, it was one of only four remaining. The traditional still at Enmore was the historic two-column wooden coffey still, constructed back in 1880. Modelled almost exactly after the first continuous still patented by Aeneas Coffey in 1832, it is constructed from Greenheart wood, which is native to Guyana and is mostly used in boat-building due to its ability to remain strong while constantly wet. The wood is also well suited to distilling, stripping spirit of sulphites in the same manner that copper does. Enmore also received the a single wooden pot still when the Versailles distillery closed in 1978. When Enmore was shuttered in 1994, both of these were moved to Uitvlugt, and are now in operation as “Heritage Stills” at Diamond, the last remaining rum producer in the country.

This was distilled in 1971 and aged for 32 years. An unusual labelling, this is stated as a pot still rum however the vintage predates the moving of the Versailles wooden vat still to the distillery. It is unclear whether this is an error in labelling or a different pot still was in use at the time.

Wm. Cadenhead may be Scotland’s oldest independent bottler Scotch, but its connections to the rum industry are just as lengthy. The company was founded in 1842 by George Duncan. His brother William Cadenhead joined the company in 1952, taking over after George’s death in 1958. William had a relation called Robert Cadenhead who owned a rum merchant business in Liverpool and London, and the two companies were amalgamated upon Robert's death. Wm. Cadenhead got into the whisky bottling business after 1904, when William's nephew Robert Duthie took over, and since its sale to J&A Mitchell in 1972, Wm. Cadenhead has become one of the most sought after names on the independent scene, and was one of the earliest brands to begin promoting single distillery bottlings of rum.

Saint James 1935 Rhum Vieux

The Saint James brand was founded in 1765 in Saint-Pierre by the alchemist priest, Edmund Lefébure, who had built a sugar mill and distillery on the Trouvaillant estate to raise funds for the Hospitaller order, Fathers for Charity. The order lost all of their possessions following the French revolution, and the estate on Martinique passed from the state into private hands. The most successful of these was François-Paulin Lambert, who took over the Saint James plantation in 1890 having worked at its distributor for many years. It was Lambert who patented the now iconic square bottle in 1882. His family ran the Saint-Pierre distillery where this was produced until 1955, surviving both the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, and the rum market collapse following the first world war. The following two decades saw a period of transition for Saint James, which converted for the first time to the production of agricole rather than molasses-based rums, and moved to a new distillery at Saint-Marie in 1974, funded by new owners, Cointreau. Today it is run by La Martinquaise (who bought it from Remy Cointreau in 2003) and is one of the largest rum producers on the island, operating six creole column stills to produce over 4 million litres of rum per year.

This is a 1935 vintage of the distillery's rhum vieux

Please note that no size or ABV is stated on this bottle. Given it's weight and physical size, we assume it is 1L. 

Long Pond 1941 Gordon and MacPhail

Gordon & MacPhail are one of the largest and most recognisable whisky companies in the world. Although they began distilling at the newly refurbished Benromach distillery in 1998, for most of their history they were an independent bottler. Their labels are recognised by whisky lovers the world over, and their licensed bottlings from distillery's like Macallan and Talisker in the 1970s and 1980s, when the companies were not bottling themselves, are a huge part of the success of those distillers today. As you can see here, they have also turned out some carefully-choen and spectacular casks of rum over the years.

This is a single cask Long Pond, distilled back in 1941. It was bottled in 1999 after having matured in the UK since 1967.

Founded in 1753, Long Pond distillery is located in the Trelawny parish of Jamaica, which is also home to the Hampden Estate. Its modern history begins in the 1940s, when Seagram chief, Samuel Bronfman, bought the distillery from the Jamaican government and began to produce the Captain Morgan brand there. When Seagram was dissolved in the early 2000s, Diageo bought Captain Morgan and moved production to Clarendon. Long Pond became part of National Rum of Jamaica, a firm established in 1985 and currently part-owned by the Jamaican government, Demerara Distillers in Guyana, and Maison Ferrand in France. Long Pond produces rum using both John Dore pot stills and a Blair column still. Its output is highly regarded, and stock shortages caused by its closure between 2012-2017, and a fire in 2018 mean it is becoming increasingly sought after.

Velier Magnum Series #1 4 x 1.5 Litre / Elliott Erwitt

A four bottle collection of limited edition Rums produced by Velier in collaboration with La Maison du Whisky in 2021.

•  Mount Gay 2007 14 Year Old 60%
  The oldest surviving deed for the Mount Gay distillery in Barbados dates back to 1703, making it the oldest commercial rum producer in the world. A 280-acre estate in the Saint Lucy parish, Mount Gay was originally called Mount Gilboa, but was renamed in 1801 after Sir John Gay Alleyne, who had managed it for owner, John Sober, since 1747. The estate was bought by Aubrey Fitz-Osbert Ward in 1918, and remained in his family until the death of his son in 1989. Majority ownership then passed to French giants, Remy Cointreau, with the Ward’s selling their remaining shares in 2014. Mount Gay is a single blended rum, producing distillates on both continuous column stills and pot stills, some of which are now over 100 years old.
• Foursquare 2005 16 Year Old 61%
  ​​The Foursquare rum distillery is owned by R.L. Seale & Co, a family company with a traceable history of rum making in Barbados dating back to 1820. The modern company dates to the 1920s, when Reginald Leon Seale set up a distribution business in the island’s capital, Bridgetown. The company’s success brought expansion, and through the latter half of the 20th century it acquired brands such as ESA Fields and Doorly’s for its portfolio. In 1995 they opened the Foursquare distillery, converting an abandoned sugar factory in the Saint Philip parish. Operating as double retort pot still and a three-column continuous still, its first spirit was produced in 1996. Foursquare produces Single Blended rum, combining its pot and column distillate both before and after being barrelled, and under the direction of Sir David Seale and his son, Richard, has become one of the most revered producers in the world.
• Saint James 2006 15 Year Old 45%
  The Saint James brand was founded in 1765 in Saint-Pierre by the alchemist priest, Edmund Lefébure, who had built a sugar mill and distillery on the Trouvaillant estate to raise funds for the Hospitaller order, Fathers for Charity. The order lost all of their possessions following the French revolution, and the estate on Martinique passed from the state into private hands. The most successful of these was François-Paulin Lambert, who took over the Saint James plantation in 1890 having worked at its distributor for many years. It was Lambert who patented the now iconic square bottle in 1882. His family ran the Saint-Pierre distillery where this was produced until 1955, surviving both the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, and the rum market collapse following the first world war. The following two decades saw a period of transition for Saint James, which converted for the first time to the production of agricole rather than molasses-based rums, and moved to a new distillery at Saint-Marie in 1974, funded by new owners, Cointreau. Today it is run by La Martinquaise (who bought it from Remy Cointreau in 2003) and is one of the largest rum producers on the island, operating six creole column stills to produce over 4 million litres of rum per year.
• Hampden 2016 5 Year Old 60%
  The Hampden Estate was founded in 1753 by a Scotsman called Archibald Sterling, in the Queen of Spain valley of Jamaica’s Trelawny parish. For 250 years it remained family owned, selling rum to third-party blenders and independent bottlers. Mismanagement however meant that by 2003 it was in financial trouble, with the Jamaican government stepping in to assume ownership and some of its debt in order to preserve the jobs of its employees. They sold it in 2009 to the Hussey family’s Everglades Farms, who as first point of business began laying down the casks that would eventually become the first Hampden Estate labelled official bottling of the distillery’s rum, launched in collaboration with Velier in 2018. Famed for its heavy, ester-driven style, Hampden is joined by Worthy Park as the only two Jamaican distilleries that produce exclusively pure single rums (using only pot stills). It currently has four pot stills: two from Forsyths in Scotland, one from Vendome in Kentucky, and another from T&T Engineering in South Africa.

The labels feature photographs taken by Elliot Erwitt, a French-born American documentary photographer.

This lot has a 8 bottle shipping fee.

Diamond SSN 1996 Velier 16 Year Old

Velier was founded by Casimir Chaix in Genoa in 1947 as a wine and spirits importer and distributor. By the 1980s they were still a small family-company with less than ten staff. This all changed in 1986 when it was purchased by Luca Gargano, a former brand ambassador for Saint James who was at the time still in his twenties. Under his direction, they selected their first single cask whiskies in 1992, and their first rum in 1996. In the decades that followed, Velier have gone on to become one of the most collectible brands in the industry, and Gargano has positioned them as the one of the foremost authorities and bottlers of rum anywhere in the world.

Velier's earliest Demerara releases were bottled in 1996, laying the groundwork for what would later become affectionately known as the \"Age of Velier's Demerara.\" This began in earnest in 2004, after Gargano was invited to the Demerara Distillers Ltd warehouses in Guyana to select tropically aged barrels to be bottled by Velier for the first time. The \"age\" only lasted until 2015, but has an enduring legacy of having indelibly raised the profile of the historic rum stills and marque's of Guyana, which have become some of the most sought after in the world, these Velier releases in particular.

This SSN mark was distilled in the Diamond metal Coffey still in 1996 and bottled in 2012.

The three SSN barrels - 8404, 8405 & 8407 - and were hand selected by Luca Gargano of Velier, and produced 828 bottles after 16 years of tropical ageing and a whopping angels' share of 75%.

Established around 1670, the Diamond Estate is home to the only remaining rum distillery in Guyana. Located on the east bank of the Demerara river, the distillery is operated by Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), the company created by the government in Guyana as it attempted to consolidate the nation’s rum production. This began in 1974 and culminated with the closure of Uitvlugt in 1999. Diamond blends its El Dorado brand using distillate from various combinations of its rum-producing stills, which include the pair of two-column English coffey stills installed there in the 1950s, and a rarely used high-ester John Dore pot still. These operate alongside the “Heritage Stills” acquired from Uitvlugt, which are Uitvlugt’s own historic four-column French Savalle stills, the Versailles and Port Mourant wooden pot stills, and the Enmore wooden coffey still, the oldest and last of its kind in the world.

Caroni 1996 Velier 23 Year Old Full Proof Heavy / David 'Sarge' Charran

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the second releases in the Caroni Employees series from Velier, and honours David \"Sarge\" Charran who worked at the distillery for 28 years. 

One of 953 bottles produced from a stock of barrels selected by Luca Gargano and a team of 26 Caroni experts on April 12th 2019.

Velier Magnum Series #1 4 x 1.5L / Elliott Erwitt

A four bottle collection of limited edition Rums produced by Velier in collaboration with La Maison du Whisky in 2021. 

•  Mount Gay 2007 14 Year Old 60%
  The oldest surviving deed for the Mount Gay distillery in Barbados dates back to 1703, making it the oldest commercial rum producer in the world. A 280-acre estate in the Saint Lucy parish, Mount Gay was originally called Mount Gilboa, but was renamed in 1801 after Sir John Gay Alleyne, who had managed it for owner, John Sober, since 1747. The estate was bought by Aubrey Fitz-Osbert Ward in 1918, and remained in his family until the death of his son in 1989. Majority ownership then passed to French giants, Remy Cointreau, with the Ward’s selling their remaining shares in 2014. Mount Gay is a single blended rum, producing distillates on both continuous column stills and pot stills, some of which are now over 100 years old.
• Foursquare 2005 16 Year Old 61%
  ​​The Foursquare rum distillery is owned by R.L. Seale & Co, a family company with a traceable history of rum making in Barbados dating back to 1820. The modern company dates to the 1920s, when Reginald Leon Seale set up a distribution business in the island’s capital, Bridgetown. The company’s success brought expansion, and through the latter half of the 20th century it acquired brands such as ESA Fields and Doorly’s for its portfolio. In 1995 they opened the Foursquare distillery, converting an abandoned sugar factory in the Saint Philip parish. Operating as double retort pot still and a three-column continuous still, its first spirit was produced in 1996. Foursquare produces Single Blended rum, combining its pot and column distillate both before and after being barrelled, and under the direction of Sir David Seale and his son, Richard, has become one of the most revered producers in the world.
• Saint James 2006 15 Year Old 45%
  The Saint James brand was founded in 1765 in Saint-Pierre by the alchemist priest, Edmund Lefébure, who had built a sugar mill and distillery on the Trouvaillant estate to raise funds for the Hospitaller order, Fathers for Charity. The order lost all of their possessions following the French revolution, and the estate on Martinique passed from the state into private hands. The most successful of these was François-Paulin Lambert, who took over the Saint James plantation in 1890 having worked at its distributor for many years. It was Lambert who patented the now iconic square bottle in 1882. His family ran the Saint-Pierre distillery where this was produced until 1955, surviving both the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, and the rum market collapse following the first world war. The following two decades saw a period of transition for Saint James, which converted for the first time to the production of agricole rather than molasses-based rums, and moved to a new distillery at Saint-Marie in 1974, funded by new owners, Cointreau. Today it is run by La Martinquaise (who bought it from Remy Cointreau in 2003) and is one of the largest rum producers on the island, operating six creole column stills to produce over 4 million litres of rum per year.
• Hampden 2016 5 Year Old 60%
  The Hampden Estate was founded in 1753 by a Scotsman called Archibald Sterling, in the Queen of Spain valley of Jamaica’s Trelawny parish. For 250 years it remained family owned, selling rum to third-party blenders and independent bottlers. Mismanagement however meant that by 2003 it was in financial trouble, with the Jamaican government stepping in to assume ownership and some of its debt in order to preserve the jobs of its employees. They sold it in 2009 to the Hussey family’s Everglades Farms, who as first point of business began laying down the casks that would eventually become the first Hampden Estate labelled official bottling of the distillery’s rum, launched in collaboration with Velier in 2018. Famed for its heavy, ester-driven style, Hampden is joined by Worthy Park as the only two Jamaican distilleries that produce exclusively pure single rums (using only pot stills). It currently has four pot stills: two from Forsyths in Scotland, one from Vendome in Kentucky, and another from T&T Engineering in South Africa.

The labels feature photographs taken by Elliot Erwitt, a French-born American documentary photographer.

This lot has a 8 bottle shipping fee.

Caroni 1996 Velier 22 Year Old Full Proof Heavy / John 'D' Eversley

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. 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the first releases in the Caroni Employees series from Velier, and honours John 'D' Eversley, who worked there from 1981 until its closure in 2003. One of 1192 bottles produced from a stock of barrels selected by Luca Gargano and Olivier Sears in 2018.

Uitvlugt ULR 1997 Velier 17 Year Old

Velier was founded by Casimir Chaix in Genoa in 1947 as a wine and spirits importer and distributor. By the 1980s they were still a small family-company with less than ten staff. This all changed in 1986 when it was purchased by Luca Gargano, a former brand ambassador for Saint James who was at the time still in his twenties. Under his direction, they selected their first single cask whiskies in 1992, and their first rum in 1996. In the decades that followed, Velier have gone on to become one of the most collectible brands in the industry, and Gargano has positioned them as the one of the foremost authorities and bottlers of rum anywhere in the world.

Velier's earliest Demerara releases were bottled in 1996, laying the groundwork for what would later become affectionately known as the \"Age of Velier's Demerara.\" This began in earnest in 2004, after Gargano was invited to the Demerara Distillers Ltd warehouses in Guyana to select tropically aged barrels to be bottled by Velier for the first time. The \"age\" only lasted until 2015, but has an enduring legacy of having indelibly raised the profile of the historic rum stills and marque's of Guyana, which have become some of the most sought after in the world, these Velier releases in particular.

A fantastic 17 year old rum, this was distilled in 1997 at Uitvlugt distillery in Guyana, on their Savalle column stills. The casks were marked ULR, meaning \"Uitvlugt Light Rum,\" an experimental batch produced that year. Bottled in 2014 from a stock of 5 barrels which produced 1404 bottles.

Uitvlugt, pronounced [eye-flut] was located on the west bank of the Demerara river near the Dutch-established town of the same name. The distillery was established at the end of the 18th century and remained Dutch-owned until the government in Guyana began to nationalise and consolidate the country’s rum production in 1974. Thereafter it became part of the portfolio of Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), who closed it down at the end of 1999. Uitvlugt originally operated double wooden pot stills, however these were replaced by a four column French Savalle still in the early 1920s. A double wooden pot still was reinstalled in the 1950s however, moved there from the closed Port Mourant distillery. In addition, Uitvlugt also received the EHP wooden coffey still and Versailles single wooden pot still when DDL closed Enmore in 1994. These four are all now known as the “Heritage Stills,” and have remained operational since being moved to Diamond in 2000, the last remaining distillery in the country.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Vijay 'Vijay' Ranmarine

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the third release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2020. This one honours  Vijay 'Vijay' Ranmarine who worked at the distillery for 23 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996, which had been matured in Trinidad until 2008. They were further aged in Guyana for 10 years before being put in a neutral tank in October 2019.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Mahesh 'Sonny Black' Bridgelal

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the sixth and final release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. The bottle is dedicated to Mahesh 'Sonny Black' Bridgelal, who worked at Caroni for 12 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996 which were fully matured in Trinidad.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Mahesh 'Sonny Black' Bridgelal

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the sixth and final release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. The bottle is dedicated to Mahesh 'Sonny Black' Bridgelal, who worked at Caroni for 12 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996 which were fully matured in Trinidad.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the sixth and final release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. The bottle is dedicated to Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack, who worked at Caroni for 20 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996 which were fully matured in Trinidad.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the sixth and final release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. The bottle is dedicated to Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack, who worked at Caroni for 20 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996 which were fully matured in Trinidad.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the sixth and final release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. The bottle is dedicated to Ricky 'Dirty Harry' Seeharack, who worked at Caroni for 20 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996 which were fully matured in Trinidad.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Vijay 'Vijay' Ranmarine

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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the third release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2020. This one honours  Vijay 'Vijay' Ranmarine who worked at the distillery for 23 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose four casks from 1996, which had been matured in Trinidad until 2008. They were further aged in Guyana for 10 years before being put in a neutral tank in October 2019.

Neisson 1993 Armada

Jean and Adrien Neisson acquired their plantation in Le Carbet in 1922, building the distillery nine years later. It remains part of the family to this day, saved by Jean’s daughter Claudine, who quit her job as a hospital physian to run it after his death. Her son Gregory is now its master distiller. He produces its esteemed agricole rum on the distillery’s single-column Savalle still, constructed back in 1938.

This is a single cask rhum vieux agricole. Cask #1 was filled in 1993 and bottled here as part of the prestige Armada series.

One of just 57 bottles.

Diamond SVW 1996 Velier 15 Year Old

Velier was founded by Casimir Chaix in Genoa in 1947 as a wine and spirits importer and distributor. By the 1980s they were still a small family-company with less than ten staff. This all changed in 1986 when it was purchased by Luca Gargano, a former brand ambassador for Saint James who was at the time still in his twenties. Under his direction, they selected their first single cask whiskies in 1992, and their first rum in 1996. In the decades that followed, Velier have gone on to become one of the most collectible brands in the industry, and Gargano has positioned them as the one of the foremost authorities and bottlers of rum anywhere in the world.

Velier's earliest Demerara releases were bottled in 1996, laying the groundwork for what would later become affectionately known as the \"Age of Velier's Demerara.\" This began in earnest in 2004, after Gargano was invited to the Demerara Distillers Ltd warehouses in Guyana to select tropically aged barrels to be bottled by Velier for the first time. The \"age\" only lasted until 2015, but has an enduring legacy of having indelibly raised the profile of the historic rum stills and marque's of Guyana, which have become some of the most sought after in the world, these Velier releases in particular.

SVW is the classic Diamond cask marque, produced on the distillery's traditional two-column metal coffey stills. This was distilled there in 1999 and bottled from five barrels in 2014.

Established around 1670, the Diamond Estate is home to the only remaining rum distillery in Guyana. Located on the east bank of the Demerara river, the distillery is operated by Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), the company created by the government in Guyana as it attempted to consolidate the nation’s rum production. This began in 1974 and culminated with the closure of Uitvlugt in 1999. Diamond blends its El Dorado brand using distillate from various combinations of its rum-producing stills, which include the pair of two-column English coffey stills installed there in the 1950s, and a rarely used high-ester John Dore pot still. These operate alongside the “Heritage Stills” acquired from Uitvlugt, which are Uitvlugt’s own historic four-column French Savalle stills, the Versailles and Port Mourant wooden pot stills, and the Enmore wooden coffey still, the oldest and last of its kind in the world.

Diamond <S> 1999 Velier 15 Year Old

Velier was founded by Casimir Chaix in Genoa in 1947 as a wine and spirits importer and distributor. By the 1980s they were still a small family-company with less than ten staff. This all changed in 1986 when it was purchased by Luca Gargano, a former brand ambassador for Saint James who was at the time still in his twenties. Under his direction, they selected their first single cask whiskies in 1992, and their first rum in 1996. In the decades that followed, Velier have gone on to become one of the most collectible brands in the industry, and Gargano has positioned them as the one of the foremost authorities and bottlers of rum anywhere in the world.

Velier's earliest Demerara releases were bottled in 1996, laying the groundwork for what would later become affectionately known as the \"Age of Velier's Demerara.\" This began in earnest in 2004, after Gargano was invited to the Demerara Distillers Ltd warehouses in Guyana to select tropically aged barrels to be bottled by Velier for the first time. The \"age\" only lasted until 2015, but has an enduring legacy of having indelibly raised the profile of the historic rum stills and marque's of Guyana, which have become some of the most sought after in the world, these Velier releases in particular.

This is a rum from the metal coffey stills of Diamond distillery. Drawn from 4 new charred oak casks marked <S>, all fully aged in the tropics for 15 years. One of 1137 bottles.

Established around 1670, the Diamond Estate is home to the only remaining rum distillery in Guyana. Located on the east bank of the Demerara river, the distillery is operated by Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), the company created by the government in Guyana as it attempted to consolidate the nation’s rum production. This began in 1974 and culminated with the closure of Uitvlugt in 1999. Diamond blends its El Dorado brand using distillate from various combinations of its rum-producing stills, which include the pair of two-column English coffey stills installed there in the 1950s, and a rarely used high-ester John Dore pot still. These operate alongside the “Heritage Stills” acquired from Uitvlugt, which are Uitvlugt’s own historic four-column French Savalle stills, the Versailles and Port Mourant wooden pot stills, and the Enmore wooden coffey still, the oldest and last of its kind in the world.

Caroni 1998 Velier Full Proof Heavy 20cl / Ganesh 'Buju' Ramgobie 

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the third release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2020. This one honours Ganesh 'Buju' Ramgobie who worked at the distillery for 10 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose 7 casks from 1998, which had been matured in Trinidad until 2008. They were further aged in Guyana for 10 years before being put in a neutral tank in October 2019.

Caroni 1998 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Ganesh 'Buju' Ramgobie

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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the third release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2020. This one honours Ganesh 'Buju' Ramgobie who worked at the distillery for 10 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose 7 casks from 1998, which had been matured in Trinidad until 2008. They were further aged in Guyana for 10 years before being put in a neutral tank in October 2019.

Caroni 1992 Velier 18 Year Old Heavy 

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This was distilled in 1992 and bottled in 2010 at 18 years old. A stock of 33 casks produced 16,236 bottles.

Caroni 1996 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Roopnarine 'Roop' Toolsie

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the fifth release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2021. This one honours Roopnarine \"Roop\" Toolsie. 

Caroni 2000 Velier Full Proof Heavy / Basdeo 'Dicky' Ramsarran

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the fourth release of the Caroni Employees series, bottled in 2020. This one honours Basdeo \"Dicky\" Ramsarran who worked at the distillery for 20 years.

The blend was selected by a \"tasting gang\" at the Demerara Distillers warehouses in 2019. They chose 6 casks from 2000, which had been matured in Trinidad until 2008. They were further aged in Guyana for 10 years before being put in a neutral tank in October 2019.

Havana Club Maximo

Havana Club is the biggest-selling Cuban rum brand in the world. Established by Spanish immigrant, Don Jose Arechabala, in 1878 after he bought a small distillery in the city of Cárdenas. The brand itself was introduced in 1934, its name deliberately anglicised to appeal to the newly re-opened post-Prohibition market in the US. Business was good, however in the aftermath of the Cuban revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro nationalised much of the country’s industry, seizing control of its rum companies in the process. Barred from exporting their version of Bacardi into most markets, the Cuban government chose instead to focus on Havana Club, which had previously had less of a global presence. The Cuban government’s rum production was reorganised under the state-controlled Cubaron SA in 1993, which promptly sold a 50% share of Havana Club to Pernod-Ricard. The deal involves Cubaron producing the product, and the French drinks giants promoting and distributing it, a move necessitated by Cuba’s struggle to break the brand into markets outside the former Soviet bloc in the latter 20th century. The success of the venture saw the partnership build a new distillery at San Jose de las Lajas in 2007. Ronera San Jose is the ageing and blending facility, and operates a two-column still to produce the low-proof aguardiente constituent of the Havana Club blends. These are vatted with the high-proof “destilado de caña” distilled at Cubaron’s Ronera Santa Cruz, which it opened in the 1970s. The Santa Cruz plant can also produce aguardiente, and all Havana Club production took place there prior to 2007. Cubaron still operate the original Cárdenas distillery too, but no Havana Club is made there now.

This is an ultra-premium offering blended from some of the company's finest rums. Each comes in a numbered, hand-blown decanter by Paul Miller and has his signature etched into the stopper. 

Caroni 1998 Velier 21 Year Old Full Proof Heavy / Kevon 'Slippery' Moreno

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, Tate & Lyle sold a 51% controlling stake to the government in 1970, before it became fully nationalised in 1975. Despite being self-sufficient in molasses, the newly established Caroni (1975) 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.

As it transpired, Angostura still acquired the majority of the circa 18,000 warehoused Caroni barrels, but perhaps the most important share went to Italian distributors, Velier. In 2004, their inimitable CEO, Luca Gargano, travelled to Trinidad for a photo shoot and happened upon the boarded-up distillery, brokering a deal for some of its stock in 2005. He released eight Caroni bottlings that year, alongside his first cask strength collaborations with Demerara Distillers Ltd, which includes the hugely important Skeldon bottlings. This was a landmark year that not only changed the landscape of rum but was the genesis for the legendary status that Caroni rum now holds amongst collectors and connoisseurs alike.

This is part of the second release in the Caroni Employees series, and honours Kevon 'Slippery' Moreno, who worked there for 10 years.

One of 1400 bottles produced from a stock of 6 barrels selected between Luca Gargano 26 other Caroni lovers who scoured the warehouses in eight \"tasting gangs.\"

Velier Magnum Series #1 4 x 70cl / Elliott Erwitt

A four bottle collection of limited edition Rums produced by Velier in collaboration with La Maison du Whisky in 2021. 

•  Mount Gay 2007 14 Year Old 60%
  The oldest surviving deed for the Mount Gay distillery in Barbados dates back to 1703, making it the oldest commercial rum producer in the world. A 280-acre estate in the Saint Lucy parish, Mount Gay was originally called Mount Gilboa, but was renamed in 1801 after Sir John Gay Alleyne, who had managed it for owner, John Sober, since 1747. The estate was bought by Aubrey Fitz-Osbert Ward in 1918, and remained in his family until the death of his son in 1989. Majority ownership then passed to French giants, Remy Cointreau, with the Ward’s selling their remaining shares in 2014. Mount Gay is a single blended rum, producing distillates on both continuous column stills and pot stills, some of which are now over 100 years old.
• Foursquare 2005 16 Year Old 61%
  ​​The Foursquare rum distillery is owned by R.L. Seale & Co, a family company with a traceable history of rum making in Barbados dating back to 1820. The modern company dates to the 1920s, when Reginald Leon Seale set up a distribution business in the island’s capital, Bridgetown. The company’s success brought expansion, and through the latter half of the 20th century it acquired brands such as ESA Fields and Doorly’s for its portfolio. In 1995 they opened the Foursquare distillery, converting an abandoned sugar factory in the Saint Philip parish. Operating as double retort pot still and a three-column continuous still, its first spirit was produced in 1996. Foursquare produces Single Blended rum, combining its pot and column distillate both before and after being barrelled, and under the direction of Sir David Seale and his son, Richard, has become one of the most revered producers in the world.
• Saint James 2006 15 Year Old 45%
  The Saint James brand was founded in 1765 in Saint-Pierre by the alchemist priest, Edmund Lefébure, who had built a sugar mill and distillery on the Trouvaillant estate to raise funds for the Hospitaller order, Fathers for Charity. The order lost all of their possessions following the French revolution, and the estate on Martinique passed from the state into private hands. The most successful of these was François-Paulin Lambert, who took over the Saint James plantation in 1890 having worked at its distributor for many years. It was Lambert who patented the now iconic square bottle in 1882. His family ran the Saint-Pierre distillery where this was produced until 1955, surviving both the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, and the rum market collapse following the first world war. The following two decades saw a period of transition for Saint James, which converted for the first time to the production of agricole rather than molasses-based rums, and moved to a new distillery at Saint-Marie in 1974, funded by new owners, Cointreau. Today it is run by La Martinquaise (who bought it from Remy Cointreau in 2003) and is one of the largest rum producers on the island, operating six creole column stills to produce over 4 million litres of rum per year.
• Hampden 2016 5 Year Old 60%
  The Hampden Estate was founded in 1753 by a Scotsman called Archibald Sterling, in the Queen of Spain valley of Jamaica’s Trelawny parish. For 250 years it remained family owned, selling rum to third-party blenders and independent bottlers. Mismanagement however meant that by 2003 it was in financial trouble, with the Jamaican government stepping in to assume ownership and some of its debt in order to preserve the jobs of its employees. They sold it in 2009 to the Hussey family’s Everglades Farms, who as first point of business began laying down the casks that would eventually become the first Hampden Estate labelled official bottling of the distillery’s rum, launched in collaboration with Velier in 2018. Famed for its heavy, ester-driven style, Hampden is joined by Worthy Park as the only two Jamaican distilleries that produce exclusively pure single rums (using only pot stills). It currently has four pot stills: two from Forsyths in Scotland, one from Vendome in Kentucky, and another from T&T Engineering in South Africa.

The labels feature photographs taken by Elliot Erwitt, a French-born American documentary photographer.

This lot has a 8 bottle shipping fee.