Clairin 2018 Casimir

Banane, mangue... il y en a ! Très parfumer très agréable à boire en ti’punch

So much complex, thinking of the price too it’s an amazing deal

Of the four bottles of clairin that I recently bought, this one is the second least appealing to me. For all practical purposes, this one is 103 proof and the heat really shows. A few drops of water did not help. A few ice cubes removed the burn, but brought out very few flavors. What I now have here is an expensive mixer.

The cork on this bottle is one of the two that did not fall apart when opening it. The cork for my Clairin Le Rocher totally disintegrated. I have updated that review from a year ago to reflect this.

VINTAGE:2018
COUNTRY:Haiti
TYPE:Sugar Cane Juice
COLOURING:No
NO ADDED SUGAR OR FLAVOURINGS:Yes

Nose: ginger, cinnamon, sugar cane juice
Palate: peaches, spices
Finish: sugar cane, herb

Earlier batches of Casimir I found to be inferior to, say, Clairin Sajous. No more, this is the best clairin I’ve had — probably the best white rum of any kind, ever. Smells of cottonsedge, vinyl, fried banana, sugar cane and anis. Rich, almost viscous mouthfeel and well integrated alcohol. It’s hard to understand other reviewer’s statement on that. Initial flavours of herbs and grass, a bit white oak, fresh red plums, lime and papaya. More fried banana comes through for a long finish, with anise, lemon and herbs.

barva : čirá
vune banány, estery
chut: banány, estery,
zaver : za mě lepší jak providence, za mě je tohle lepší a výraznější.
hodnoceni 8,5
koupit ano z 75%
Alcohol 49,5 %

If you've never tried a clairin, then there really is no way I can do it any justice by trying to describe it beyond saying they represent the most intense assault upon the senses that you are most likely either to love, or find positively repellant.

Poured into a glass, the smell immediately reaches out and rings my bell. This is 53.3%, and it reeks. There's a chemistry lab sweetness, melted rubber and something vegetal, all blended into something indescribable.
Tasted neat, it's pretty hot, the burning rubber most evident along with an incredible richness of cane juice, followed by something almost savoury, perhaps subtly olive and brine.
The finish is long. Incredibly so for a white rum. The concentration of sugar, sap and vegetable riding along within a coating of melted rubber.
It's delicious.

In a cocktail - a Hurricane in this case - it punches through with all of it's flavours, but the sweetness and dilution bringing them all out to play very enjoyably. The finish is still there, long and evolving.
It's here though that Casimir's relative lack of complexity shows compared to Le Rocher and Sonson. It's great, don't get me wrong, but lacks the otherworldly dimension of the others that always makes me smile.

Perhaps an entry level clairin if such a thing exists. If you have an adventurous spirit, and you love cocktails with lots of flavour, I urge you to try a clairin. There ain't nothing like it!

Rhum agricole avec des arômes d'anis, de gingembre et de citronnelle.

Overwhelming notes of fermented banana and pineapple on the nose. Smells wonderful actually. It reminds me of mowing the lawn after the apricots have fallen on the grass, so you have cut grass and fruit fermenting in the sun. Just a hint of old banana like those dried banana things you get in trail mix. Slightly harsh on the front of the mouth, but not too much burn. Much more subtle than the smell suggests. The aftertaste is that same banana/pineapple that the rum smells of and is very pleasant. It lingers in your mouth for a long time, a bit like tobacco does. I don't think I've ever had anything quite like it!
Update after finishing the bottle: the fresh banana has soured somewhat and after using it in cocktails, it overpowers most of them. While an unforgettable experience, I wasn't able to find a good way to enjoy this rum consistently and now I've tried it, I don't need another bottle.

Sharp but not too much. Had it by itself, no ice or drinks with it. Good for dealing with the cold weather