Clairin Vaval Vol.50,4% Cl.70

Clairin Vaval is an ancient, traditional and almost archaeological expression of Haiti's agricultural white rum, obtained here with a particular production method that involves the use of sugar cane molasses.

Born from the hands of the artisan distiller Fritz Vaval, whose family has owned the Arawaks distillery since 1947.

This small family distillery is located near Cavaillon, a picturesque village in southern Haiti, located near the beaches of Aquin and famous for a very lively African-style market.

It is first of all a Clairin, the traditional distillate of the people of Haiti, in this case produced from sugar cane molasses, according to a unique procedure of its kind that represents an archaeological example of the distilling customs of the French settlers of the seventeenth century, influenced but in this case from the "dunder-style" developed in Jamaica by the English colonists.

The distillation of pure sugar cane juice in Haiti is in fact a legacy of French colonialism while the choice to use molasses and the practice that enriching the fermentation process with the residues of previous distillations, called "dunder", is typical of English colonists in Jamaica.

All this to say how this Clairin is the result of syncretism, settled over time, between the Haitian customs of French origin and the influences of neighboring Jamaica.

Fritz Vaval, owner of the Arawaks distillery, cultivates 20 hectares of sugar cane, where the variety known as Madame Meuze, typical of the area, is planted.

The collected canes are ground and the sugar cane juice obtained spontaneously ferments thanks to the action of indigenous yeasts in the distillery.

The cultivation is carried out manually, with the only aid of organic materials and bagasse to fertilize the soil.

Three different autochthonous varieties of sugar cane are used for the production, the juice of which is boiled to obtain the molasses.

The fermented juice is distilled twice with a homemade column alembic still, consisting of a continuous copper column with 10 dishes and a condenser obtained from a petrol can.

The French would say: A garage distillery!

Everything is done manually and in a strictly artisanal way, also using gas cylinders to feed the fire directly onto the still.

Clairin Vaval offers a precious and very rare historical and archaeological testimony that seems to enclose the essence of the Caribbean.

Tasting Notes:

Clear and transparent color

Rich, mineral and tropical perfume of ripe exotic fruit, salt, chocolate, fennel seeds and delicate aromatic herbs,

Taste: warm, soft, intense, slightly rustic and mineral, with delicate aromas of exotic fruit and aromatic herbs