Velier Chelo Clairin Vieux Sajous Lustau Oloroso Cask 2017

This Chelo bottling pairs one of Haiti's celebrated clairins, the Sajous spirit distilled from fresh sugarcane juice with wild fermentation on a small pot still, with an Oloroso sherry cask from Lustau, all selected and bottled by Velier. It is cask strength and additive-free, a meeting of raw Haitian terroir and Spanish wine-cask influence.

The Oloroso makes itself known immediately, cherry, red fruits and dried fruit over roasted, earthy wood, but the clairin holds its ground beneath, grassy sugarcane, a vegetal funk and a peppery, spicy lift. At 56.7% it is intense yet more drinkable than the strength suggests, the sherry rounding the edges without smothering the wild cane character. For drinkers who enjoy sherried bottlings or fruity agricole-style rum, it connects the two worlds, an expressive, unsweetened clairin with a distinctive layer of Oloroso fruit on top.