Rum Clairin, Saint Benevolence

• Unaged rum distilled in Saint Michel de l’Attalaye, Haiti, by Saint Benevolence • Produced at third-generation-run Dorcinvil Distillery by cofounder and master distiller Dr. Rev. Gueillant Dorcinvil • Distilled from a combination of sugarcane juice and sugarcane syrup • A field blend of indigenous cane varieties is hand harvested and crushed via mechanized press • The first-press juice is spontaneously fermented with native yeast for 8–10 days; a separate batch of first-press juice with bagasse is boiled and reduced to syrup and fermented with ambient yeast • The fermented juice and syrup are distilled separately in handmade, 200-liter copper pot stills • Blended and bottled in Jacksonville, Florida • An expressive nose of fruit leather, overripe apple, green olive, sweet corn, and flint transitions to a palate of roasted corn, key lime, guava skin, and tamarind • 50% ABV This is a quintessential example of clairin, the heritage spirit of Haiti (which has no AOC but is typically distilled in small batches from local sugarcane varieties) that vibrantly speaks of the terroir of Saint Michel, commonly considered the “grand cru” of clairin production.