Velier Le Rocher Vieux Le Rocher 2019

Velier Le Rocher Vieux 2019 is an aged Haitian cane juice rum from Le Rocher, selected by Velier, the house that championed Haiti's village clairin. Made from fresh cane juice with the wild fermentation typical of clairin, and reportedly worked from cane syrup with a long ferment in the spirit of high ester rum, it is given real time in oak here.

This single cask was matured six years in ex bourbon oak, longer than most clairin sees, which adds wood and cohesion without taming the wildness. The nose offers sugarcane, herbs, olive and honey, the palate overripe fruit, herbs, a medicinal note and olive, and the finish stays on sugarcane, herbs, a roasted edge and mango. At 54.6 percent it is balanced and distinctly clairin, the funk carried on honeyed cane and a light smoky lift, a rewarding look at what patient ageing brings to Haitian rum.