Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015

This Vieux Vaval comes from the Arawaks distillery via Velier, the house that brought Haitian clairin to a wider audience. It is a fresh-pressed cane-juice rum made with the wild, spontaneous fermentation that defines clairin, here taken off a pot still and then given eight years in ex-bourbon oak, a rare aged take on a usually unaged style.

The wood tames the wildness without erasing it. The nose carries ester-driven glue and overripe fruit alongside florals and dried fruit, and the palate turns floral and tropical with pineapple and a funky, spirity edge. The finish runs earthy and herbal with more tropical fruit and a faintly bitter, medicinal lift. Unsweetened and bottled at 51.8%, it is a polarising but rewarding sipper, best given air and time to let oak and funk settle together.