Clairin 2018 Sonson

Distilled: 2018
Raw material: cane syrup
Wild fermentation
100% pot still
53,2% abv
Village: Cabaret
Distiller: Stephan Kalil Saoud

Nose: Super strong nose as all clairins, white and green pepper, fermented peaches, tannic and acidic red wine notes, sweet and spicy bbq smoke and brine, some lightly caramelly toastiness too.
Palate: Very peppery sweetness with acidity and loads and loads of spicy bbq smoke, olives, slightly astringent tangy red wine notes and grass. Hint of floury red apple in taste and mouthfeel.
Finish: turns into ashy smoke and oiliness.
This clairin is in my opinion clearly the smokiest of them all with the smoke profile evolving from sweet spicy bbq smoke to campfire and then to ash.
This is more pungent and bit narrower in flavour profile than say Casimir but we'll worth trying out, still super interesting and distinctive from the rest of the clairins. Thank you for the Velier team and everyone who brought this wonderful rum to the market.

Sonson je lihovar, který se nachází ve vesnici Cabaret v okrese Archaie severně od hlavního města Port-au-Prince. Na 60 akrech půdy pěstuje jeho majitel Stephan Kalil Saoud třtinu odrůdy Madame Meuze.
Kvašení probíhá spontánně a během destilace se používá otevřený oheň.

Aroma: Pronikavé, velmi nakyslé - lák od okurek, olivy, tinktura a již tlející zeleň.
Chuť: Hutná, třtinová, hořce tinkturová.
Dozvuk: Velká porce třtiny, mentolu a bylinek. Delší.
Sladkost: 0/3
Celá lahev
Další velmi povedený Clairin, který působí nejvíce tinkturově. Z ochutnávky 5 Clairinů skončil na 4. místě.
1. Ansyen 9/10
2. Sajous 8+/10
3. Vaval 8/10
4. Sonson 8/10
5. Le Rocher 6/10

Dle mého gusta, tráva, trošička lepidla, herbální tóny, mineralita, kvašené ovoce. Vyčet by mohl být mnohem delší, ale to jsou věci, které tam mám na první a druhý čuch. Po napití sladkost/cukrový šťáva, zemitost, čerstvě pokosená tráva. Dochuť delší.

I have forgotten how raw, wild, and crazy these things can get. I absolutely love the other Clairins I have had, especially for Daiquiris and Ti Punch, so the last time I was up at my favorite rum spot I snagged this bottle figuring that I couldn’t go wrong.

There is one thing consistent about Clairin: they are going to be fascinating. Whether you love it or hate, you are always going to get a wild trip on Clairin.

Clairin Sonson was produced using cane syrup fermented from a local Sugar Cane variety and using a local wild yeast and then distilled on a pot still over an open fire to 53.2% by local Haitian Master Distiller Stephan Kalil Saoud. It is bottled and distributed by Velier.

Taking whiffs from the Glencairn I get a strong Apple Cider Vinegar note. In fact this note is so strong I can smell it immediately from the bottle and several feet away. Digging deeper I get Smoked Ham, Juicy Fruit Bubblegum, Grilled white Onions, and just the slightest hint of freshly chopped Hickory wood planks. I love Clairins, they are always such a wild mismatched amalgamation of scents and flavors.

Taking a sip I immediately get fresh pressed Apple Juice from a rusty 1920s Wheel cranked Apple Press (I grew up with one, so I know this note immediately). Then Bubblegum and Charred Hickory Planks. After that the taste becomes mineral with a heavy dose of Rust and a slight note of roast Ham fat. With the addition of water this rum takes on a very sweet note almost like pure powdered sugar over the top of the other notes.

As the rum leaves the mouth I am left with Smoke and Minerality. After a while I get a wildly funky note of a moldy, muddy shoe left uncleaned. Rust lingers.

Hahah…wild. And I love it. These things really are a blast. In some ways this kind of matches up with Clairin Le Rocher but it is also very different. It’s got a similar smoked ham and bubblegum thing that the Le Rocher does; but it has a lot more minerality than Le Rocher. It’s rather enjoyable to sip over an ice ball, though I imagine this is going to make one hell of a Ti Punch so that’s likely where I will use it. Just to be clear you totally can and should sip this straight for wild adventure.

Another Clairin, another wild psychedelic matchup of unrelated scents and tastes thrown at you full force.

Short Description: Make some fresh apple juice on a rusty old 1920s apple press while chewing juicy fruit and smelling apple cider vinegar. Every now and then take a bite of smoked ham fat. Nearby there is a pair of old musty muddy boots someone left out.

ABV: 53.2%

Country of Origin: Haiti

Province/Village: Cabaret

Nose: strong Apple Cider Vinegar, Smoked Ham, Juicy Fruit Bubblegum, grilled white Onions, hint of Fresh Hickory planks

Palate: fresh pressed Apple Juice, Bubble Gum, charred Hickory planks, Rust, slight Ham fat, (with addition of water becomes very sweet)

Finish: Smoke, Minerality, faint Muddy Shoe

Wild and grassy like a supercharged agricole. Makes a fantastic Ti’ Punch. Can’t stop drinking it now I have finally got hold of a bottle.

If you love funk, you can’t go wrong with this. Overripe sugarcane, or the flavor you get when you actually bite one.

Quite hot and peppery... A little water or ice, which I don't usually use with clairin, opens it up a bit. Still not my favorite clairin, but the high-octane funk and sweetness make it an interesting first clairin for people new to the spirit, maybe?

mango, sugar cane, pepper, grapes and caramel in aroma, madeira cask, heatness and dry smoke in the body, pleasant burning in the tail.

This is the first clairin that I could enjoy a dram neat, and it really shows up the difference a pot still does for depth and complexity of flavour.
Smell is briny, sour, perhaps almost vinegar or sweetly decomposed. I know that sounds terrible but it's more intriguing than offputting, though it wouldn't really say it was inviting!

Taste is on a different planet to an agricole blanc. It's fruitier on the palate than on the nose, and all those sour or decomposing notes are subsumed into something rich, evolving, complex and incredibly distinctive but really hard to describe. It's sweeter than the Communal and more balanced and approachable than the Sajous. It has far less burnt tyre, and lacks the full on crazy of le Rocher, and instead it's an amalgam of sweet and sour, fruit and grass, infinite layers and huge finish. Somehow, it integrates it all, and makes it fascinating and richly enjoyable.

Makes a fantastic Hurricane and a very intriguing Dark 'n' Stormy, and a great dram by itself now an again. Glad I bought it; it's not like anything else on the shelf, and another reminder that I will always want to have a least one clairin to hand, for nothing comes close to pure pot still unaged rustic juice for flavour, not even Rum Fire!

Never fails to make me smile, and therefore it's got to be that very rare thing, a 9

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

Nose: pepper, tonic, mango, orange, sugar cane, rubber
Palate: dry, peppery sweetness, red wine notes, grass, mineral
Finish: long and pleasant, spicy, ash, pleasingly sweet