A big, juicy clairin Haitian white rhum style bottled by Velier.
The Sajous is distilled from Cristalline sugarcane, distilled through a pot still at Michel Sajous Saint-Michel-de-l’Attalaye site.
This 2016 is incredibly moreish, with a savoury, herbacous palate pushed along by hints of citrus.
Saint-Michel-de-l’Attalaye is north of Port-au-Prince and Sajous distilled is in the middle of 30 hectares of sugarcane plantation, where there’s a range of varieties.
One of the most exciting rum imports of recent years, Clairin represents a style of rhum drunk locally but rarely seen outside of Haiti. Clairin is distilled from cane sugar in the style of a white rum but, made by traditional methods and bottled at still strength, is less refined and often rawer. It’s often compared to rum as mezcal is to tequila.
This selection of Clairin has been chosen by Luca Gargano’s European importer Velier. No pesticides or herbicides are used in the farming, sugarcane is cut by hand and immediately transferred to a distillery for fermentation. The organic cane and natural yeast prompts spontaneous wild fermentation. The stills are heated by direct flame.
There are approximately 50 distilleries in the Caribbean, but over 500 in Haiti. Exports are usually blended from a number of these distilleries, so this series is a very rare chance to experience these distillery-specific clairin in their purest form, just as the locals do.
