Velier Arawaks Clairin Vaval Fritz Vaval 2022

Clairin is Haiti's village cane juice rum, made from heirloom cane with wild, spontaneous fermentation, and Velier has done more than anyone to bring its single-village bottlings to a wider audience. This Arawaks release, the Fritz Vaval cuvee, is unaged and bottled at 53.3%, an agricole in spirit that cannot legally use the word.

Where a polished Martinique blanc is fresh and grassy, clairin runs wilder and more savoury. The wild ferment drives an intensely vegetal nose of tomato, spice and sugarcane, a palate thick with tomato, earth and cane, and a finish that stays vegetal and rounded with a honeyed sweetness. It is funky, original and full of terroir, best neat for the adventurous or in bold, characterful cocktails.