Velier Casimir Clairin Ansyen Benedetto Galeone 2015

Velier Casimir Clairin Ansyen Benedetto Galeone is a Haitian clairin, agricole in spirit if not in name, made by Faubert Casimir from heirloom cane juice fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts. Velier, the Genoa house that did more than anyone to put unsweetened full-proof rum on the map, has aged this single cask just past two years and bottled it without sweetening, so the raw clairin character stays intact under a thin layer of wood.

Wild fermentation gives clairin its turbocharged, untamed aromatics, and the short spell in an ex-bourbon barrel rounds the edges without burying them. Expect fresh green apple, cut grass and a coconut note from the oak, with a green, slightly grappa-like finish that stays honest and dry. At 48.9% it drinks neat for those who want to taste what spontaneous fermentation and single-village cane actually do.