Rum Clairin Sajous
Clairin Sajous is a rustic, wild and traditional spirit from Haiti, produced by a craftsman distiller and from a rare type of sugar cane. It is made from pure sugar cane juice that is wildly fermented and distilled with pot stills: the authentic soul of Caribbean!
The Clairin Sajous embodies the essence and rurality of the traditional distillate of the people of Haiti and is produced by a local Creole producer named Michel Sejous. It is a small artisanal production that, before being discovered and marketed by Velier as part of the enhancement project The Spirit of Haiti, was sold in bulk in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
The distillery of Michel Sajous is called Chelo and is located in the region of Saint Michel de l’Attalaye, where Michel's family has been running a small distillation business since 1960. The distillery consists of a small covered structure under which there is a discontinuous artisanal still with direct fire and is surrounded by a sugar cane plantation that extends for 30 hectares. The Sejous family has been cultivating indigenous varieties without chemicals for decades, among which stands out a rare and ancient variety of sugar cane called ‘cristalline’, from which this Clairin is produced. The sugar cane juice is obtained manually from a pressing that often includes hundreds of bees and butterflies attracted by the intense and sweet aromas of this variety. Michel's technique then consists of concentrating the must obtained by exposing it to the vapors obtained from the combustion of the pressing residues, called bagasse. In this way, the pure sugar cane juice can be preserved for more than a year before fermentation, which occurs spontaneously and wildly.
The Clairin of Michel Sajous has been selected and marketed by the distribution company Velier as one of the most authentic, complex, and interesting expressions of Clairin, the agricultural white rum of the people of Haiti, still produced locally by 532 small distilleries today. This expression seems to masterfully summarize that syncretism between African practices and colonial traditions that identify the Creole culture of the Caribbean and constitute its essence. It is a naturally rustic and wild distillate, with vegetal and tropical notes, of great aromatic intensity and strong emotional impact.