Velier Arawaks Clairin Ansyen Vaval 39 Mois Julian Biondi (ex-sherry) 2017

This Velier Arawaks Clairin Ansyen Vaval is Haitian cane-juice rum given an unusually long sherry finish, distilled at the Arawaks operation from heirloom cane fermented wild, then aged 39 months with an ex-sherry cask doing much of the talking. Bottled at 50.3% from a 2017 vintage, single cask and unsweetened, it is the wilder, sherried cousin of the unaged Vaval that built the name.

Pot distillation gives the clairin its herbal, fruity intensity, and the sherry cask wraps that in cherry and grape. The nose runs barrel-led, herbal and complex, the palate dense with sherry, toasted wood and an oily texture, the finish warm, vegetal and long. Some drinkers feel the cask takes as much as it gives, dimming the raw vibrancy of the unaged version, but the result is polished and characterful. Best neat, sipped slowly, for a drinker who already knows clairin.