VAVAL CLAIRIN ANSYEN 2017 22 MONTHS 49,4% - SINGLE CASK VV16BT-1

Clairin is not the name of a distillery, but a term originating from kleren, meaning ‘clear’ in Haitian Creole, just like the crystalline color of the rum produced on the island, strictly agricole.

The local clairin is the rum of the poor, last legacy of the French colonization of the Antilles in the late 18th century.

During the first Velier’s official trip in 2012, 532 stills still in operation in small primitive distilleries, with completely artisanal production were discovered.

Every region of Haiti distills according to ancient traditions, using specific varieties of sugarcane, thanks to an isolation from the rest of the world that dates back to more than 200 years ago.

Haiti was the first colony to fiercely rebel against slavery, taking over its independence in 1804 and actually becoming the first 'African republic of Central America', with customs and cultures typical of the black continent.

The unspoiled territory, ancient traditions that are still alive and a long period of isolation from the industrial developments of the modern era, make the clairin a rum with a potential unique in the world.

THE BRAND

The Arawaks Distillery, located in the village of Cavaillon in the southern of Haiti, was founded in 1947 by Danois Vaval and is today run by his son, Fritz. It is named after the Arawaks, the original inhabitants of the island, reduced to slavery by the Spanish colonists and extinct due to living conditions and exhausting workrate during the XVII century. It operates a creole column still and the production starts from Madame Meuze sugarcane, a hand cut cane collected and pressed in a few hours from the cut.