Habitation Velier Pure Single Rum 2021

Habitation Velier is Velier's Pure Single Rum line, pot still, single distillery, full proof and unsweetened, and this release comes from the Distillerie de Port au Prince in Haiti. It is cane juice rum in the clairin tradition, made from fresh pressed sugarcane juice with the wild, spontaneous fermentation that gives Haitian rum its turbo charged character, distilled on a pot still and left unaged.

Bottled at a raw 59 percent, this is rustic spirit at full volume. The nose is vegetal and saline with sugarcane, citrus and a polish like note, the palate stays salty and vegetal over fresh sugarcane with an iodine edge, and the finish runs bitter, saline and pungent. There is yellow fruit and marzipan for those who give it time, but this is unapologetically funky and a touch medicinal. It rewards experienced palates who like Haitian clairin at its most untamed and often shines best built into a cocktail rather than sipped neat.