Velier Chelo Clairin Sajous 2023

Velier Chelo Clairin Sajous 2023 is a Haitian clairin selected by Velier, the Genoa house that is the most prestigious name in collectible rum and the bottler that brought clairin to a wider audience. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice and fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts in the village tradition, Sajous is one of the benchmark clairins, agricole in spirit but barred from the term.

The nose is fruity and spicy with a vegetal, cane-driven base, and with air it grows herbier and gently funky, with forest-berry fruit. The palate is surprisingly creamy for a clairin, with fresh cane, herbs and a saline edge, while the finish turns oily, grassy and herbal with a note of banana. Bottled at cask strength, 55.2%, with no added sugar, it keeps the raw, untamed energy of wild fermentation. A spirited introduction to Haitian clairin and a natural neat pour or backbone for a robust Ti Punch.