Velier Chelo Clairin Ansyen Sajous 34 Mois 2017

Clairin is Haiti's village cane-juice rum, wild-fermented from heirloom cane for an intense, terroir-driven funk, and Sajous is one of the celebrated single-village names brought out by Velier of Genoa. This Chelo bottling is an Ansyen, aged 34 months as a single cask in ex-whisky oak and bottled at cask strength of 54.9%, the whisky barrel pushing it somewhere unusual.

Distilled on a pot still from fresh sugar-cane juice and fermented spontaneously, it keeps the loud, expressive character of the style while the whisky cask layers in a marked smoky, peaty note rare for rum. The nose is peat, tropical fruit and sugar cane with a fruit-schnapps lift, the palate brings tropical fruit, peat and solvents, and the finish carries peat, cigar and more tropical fruit. This is a bold, hybrid pour for drinkers who want their clairin funk crossed with smoke, demanding attention and best sipped slowly with a little air.