Clairin Sajous Single Estate Haitian Sugarcane Juice Rum

Staff Reviews

KM

Keith Mabry

Keith Mabry

Of these single Haitian estate rums, this is my sipper. I find it the most accessible in flavor profiles for pure clean rum flavors. You have the light vegetal tones of the raw sugar cane notes, but also some sweeter fruit tones and spices that make it so engaging. If I were mixing, a caipirinha would be my drink of choice.

Notes

Michel Sajous built his distillery, Chelo, where his family had cultivated cane since the 1960s on 30 hectares of land outside of Saint Michel de l'Attalaye, 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince. The small plantation is planted to many varietals of cane. The primary cultivar is Crystal, the same type used at Neisson on Martinique. Here, production is 100% organic with no chemicals or artificial fertilizers used of any kind. The cane is collected by hand and pressed immediately. The juice is sometimes concentrated slightly using steam, which allows the distiller to store the fresh cane for up to a year between distilling periods. This process is common place among Clairin producers and does not involve the refinement or molasses production at all. The unusual pot still is constructed of steel connected to a copper rectifier which feeds into a small column. It looks something like a makeshift Armagnac still. Thanks to that odd set up, it's one of the cleanest of the Clairin, showing less funk and more grass and bright fruit. The bold 108.6 proof is hardly noticeable on the nose, but really opens up the appetite once it hits your lips. It has a medium body and exhibits a lovely structure that lends itself to use in citrus-based cocktails. This is probably the most approachable of the three Clairins available despite the high proof, likely due to a slightly cleaner fermentation and significant copper contact during distillation.