Clairin Sajous

Such good quality funk. A strong nose of cane, banana, and moss. Palate is not as smooth and a little hot. To me, that’s not a bad thing.

Became one of my favorites!
Best agricole I've ever had. In Haiti they want to make this an idividual category rather than "just" agricole rhum.

Michel Sajous cultive une petite parcelle (30ha) sur l'île d'Haïti.
Son agriculture est vertueuse puisqu'elle respecte une approche biologique. La canne cultivée, la Cristalline est propre à l'île et doit sa notoriété à sa grande richesse aromatique. Nous sommes donc en présence d'un "rhum bio" monovariétal

C’est à partir du pur jus de canne, (sans filtration), que nous est proposé cet excellent Clairin.

Nez: la canne à sucre explose et laisse ensuite une jolie place aux notes mentholées qui lui donnent son identité et son caractère.
Bouche: généreuse et délicate empreinte d'une grande fraîcheur associant menthol et notes florales puissantes. Finale: les notes florales persistent et laissent une saveur divinement rafraîchissante

Nail-polish and brine on the nose, but strangely alluring. The taste is light but there's a nice resinous note that's like juniper and curry spices mixed with a heavier solvent (again, strangely alluring). It's unique and very worth having on the shelf.

I just don’t know what to think about this one. It’s like no other rum I’ve had before. The vegetal notes are very prominent, almost tastes like an alcoholic tomato soup with lots of fresh herbs. It’s nuts.

I really wanted to not like this, and be all righteous about ‘super-premium’ rums, and how ridiculous it is paying that sort of price for booze, but Jesus H. Christ this was amazing.

All I have to say is yummmm. I love every single Clairin so much.

On the nose: yogurt, mild smokiness, and brine. On the palate: almost peaty, some burnt sugar, celery/fennel, fruit and briny vegetal notes. Long finish.

This has the most ABV% of the four clairins that I recently bought. I also can barely notice the burn. The aroma and taste is of leather, and dominates. Unlike two of the other clairins, the cork did not fall apart on this bottle.

So how strong is the aroma and taste of leather in this clairin? When first poured, one can smell the aroma from two feet away! I then mixed it with George Dickel #12 Tennessee Whiskey, since my collection is devoid of rums that taste anything like bourbon or whiskey. My first attempt was two parts of Sajous to one part GD, and then poured over lots of ice. This Sajous still dominated the drink! Then I tried equal parts. The Sajous still dominated, but one could now barely tell that GD is in the mix. Hopefully, this experiment will provide a start for any craft bartender to finish this drink off as they see to it. I just wanted to find out how truly strong this clairin is in aroma and flavor. And I would buy it again!

And if one has the patience to let this one breathe for at least 20 minutes, the leather notes dissipate a lot. Then the notes of olives and brine come through. Amazing juice!

With flavours this strong, I guess there can be a fine line between the sublime and the repellent.
Only had a single shot, and didn't get to pop it in a mojito, so I can't truly compare to Communal or Rocher. Both of those, I wouldn't choose to drink neat but make amazing mojitos.
This though. Wow. Intense grass and fermented funk of death. The smell and taste seem to linger in my throat, and in the room, and not in a good way.
Good to learn that I might not like all agricoles. Will tread a little more carefully now