Caroni 1998 Kevon “Slippery” Moreno (Employees)

Since the distillery’s closure, Caroni has transitioned from cult favourite to blue-chip name in the world of collectible rum, with remaining stocks increasingly treated as scarce, museum-grade artifacts of Trinidad’s lost industrial tradition. The rediscovery and acquisition of surviving casks by Luca Gargano (Velier) in the mid-2000s reignited global attention through rigorously limited releases, and today Caroni bottlings consistently rank among the most sought-after—and most aggressively bid—spirits on the international auction circuit, prized for both historical finality and unmistakable profile.

This Employees edition, dedicated to Kevon “Slippery” Moreno, was distilled in 1998 and aged for 21 years before being bottled at a formidable 69.5% ABV. With a total outturn of 1,384 bottles, it sits firmly in the rarefied tier of Caroni releases where provenance, small-scale allocation, and distillery-closed scarcity converge. The aromatic signature is classically Caroni—tropical fruit wrapped in smoke, tar and petroleum nuances—carrying into a palate of leather, seasoned wood and raisin, with a long, smoky and spiced finish. For collectors, it represents a tightly defined slice of the Caroni narrative: a closed distillery, a documented limited release, and a profile that has become a benchmark for the category, making it an acquisition with both cultural weight and durable secondary-market relevance.