Clairin Vaval

Salinity, aggressive flavors, but not too intense or harsh. Tastes somewhat like excellent baiju mixed with Agricole

White rum is not my thing. Only good for cocktails. Wrong. This one is worth sipping straight. Tropical fruit, bit like 'grappa', eau de vie, licquorish, still not 'my' thing, but I'm sure there are fans out there. Worth a try.

White, better taste than smell. Burn more at the end. Not really my taste. Wild fermentation...

Very bad aroma - remind my cheapest homemade russian vodka :-(
Taste is bit better but still not consumable straight for me...

Un rum rustico, quasi primordiale, prelibatezza per veri intenditori

2016 harvest. 48.8% ABV. 100% spontaneous/wild fermentation.

Nose: cheese pizza with oregano, fennel (also added: ginger, lemongrass). Very herbal. Palate: a little sweeter. Rather prickly. Wild stuff, literally. Herbal finish as well. After a few minutes, smoother finish.

This is one of the weirdest rums I've ever had. It even stands out from the other clairins in Velier's lineup. I recall them saying something about how Mr. Vaval adds fruits/herbs to the wash to accelerate fermentation (helps with the acidity, like the use of much pits in Jamaica). That certainly would help explain the weird oregano/greasy cheese pizza nose.

Again, wild stuff. But not quite my thing...

7

Le nez est très fruité mangue, banane, litchi et citron vert.
L’attaque en bouche est agréable, l’alcool est présent mais bien intégré. On retrouve des notes d’agrumes et fruits ainsi qu’une pointe vanillée (et peu être du cacao ?)
La finale reste sur de la canne à sucre principalement.
Un rhum excellent qui se boit tout seul.