Establishing the date of a bottle of rum is relatively easy once you know where to look. Dates are often molded into the actual glass, and labels provide clues like barcodes, government warnings, and addresses. For some bottles of Old Cask Rum, a peculiar slogan written on the front label gives insight into exactly when this Caroni Rum would have been bottled.
Finest Trinidad Rum specially selected for the Universe and the Millennium
Old Cask Rum was introduced in the 1980s as Caroni’s answer to Old Oak Rum from Angostura. By the late 1990s when this particular label was being used, Caroni saw Fernandes Black Label as the direct competitor to Old Cask.
Old Cask was light and dry with most of the rum coming from the four-column still that Caroni had commissioned in the early 80s, but there was a small amount of 10 year old rum and heavier distillate adding a bit of depth. Reviews were generally favorable, but sales suffered since it was positioned against rums that had already been popular for decades by the time that Old Cask Rum was released.
By the end of the 1990s, Caroni realized that Old Cask Rum was struggling on the market, so they opted to discontinue production and focus on profitable brands like Felicite Gold and White Magic Rum.
It seems that the final bottles of Old Cask Rum, (or at least the last labels) were produced in 1999, as evidenced by that slogan below the name of the product.
Finest Trinidad Rum specially selected for the Universe and the Millennium
In the lead up to the year 2000, there was concern about computer systems being unable to distinguish dates correctly, and the possibility of this leading to a computer-induced apocalypse. As a company, Caroni may have shared these concerns, but the marketing department seemed confident enough to reference the upcoming new millennium on a label.
What do they mean by “Selected for the Universe” though? In 1999, the annual Miss Universe beauty pageant was held in Trinidad. Wendy Fitzwilliams had won the coveted crown the previous year, and it was announced shortly after that victory that the event would be hosted by Trinidad and Tobago in the next year.
While this label hints at a bright future for Caroni, the reality was that the company was coming closer to their imminent closure.
As the new millennium rolled around however, some quiet developments were taking place. Casks were being filled that would one day be bottled as two iconic rums; Angostura 1787, and Velier Caroni 2000.
