The Wine Reference🍷 SupportHaiti: Rhum and clairin
Haiti has hundreds of small village distilleries making clairin, an unaged cane spirit, and one famous rum house, Barbancourt, founded in 1862.
How it's made
Clairin is made from fresh cane juice or syrup, fermented with wild yeasts and distilled once in small pot stills, usually bottled at full strength. Barbancourt double-distils cane juice and ages it in Limousin oak.
Clairin makers crush local heirloom cane, often grown without chemicals, and ferment the juice or boiled syrup with wild yeasts for several days. It is distilled once in small pot or simple column stills and bottled at full strength. Barbancourt ferments fresh cane juice and double-distils it in columns and copper pot stills.
History
Sugar cane came to Haiti in colonial times and the island was once the world's largest sugar producer. Dupré Barbancourt founded his rum house in 1862 using Cognac methods, and clairin has long been made in hundreds of rural distilleries for local drinking and Vodou ceremonies.
Ageing and label terms
Clairin is nearly always unaged. Barbancourt ages in Limousin oak: the 3 Star is 4 years, the 5 Star Réserve Spéciale 8 years and the Réserve du Domaine 15 years.
Styles
Raw, wild clairin blanc and smooth, aged rhum. Some clairin is infused with herbs, bark and spices for local use.
Rules and protected names
Haiti has no formal appellation for rum. Clairin is defined by tradition: fresh cane, wild fermentation, no additives.
How to serve and classic cocktails
Clairin shines in a Ti' Punch, daiquiri or with tropical juices. Aged Barbancourt is good neat, on ice or in an Old Fashioned.
With food
Pairs with griot (fried pork), accra fritters, grilled fish, spicy creole sauces and coconut desserts.
Good to know
Velier's Spirit of Haiti project, started in 2014, brought single-village clairins such as Sajous, Vaval and Casimir to drinkers worldwide.
Producers
- Rhum Barbancourt
- Clairin Sajous
- Clairin Vaval
- Clairin Casimir
Bottles to try
Rhum Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale 5 Étoiles 8 Ans
Dried fruit, vanilla, toasted oak and fresh cane; dry, elegant and smooth.
Strength: 43% · Age and cask: 8 years, Limousin oak
Barbancourt was founded in Port-au-Prince in 1862 by Dupré Barbancourt, who brought Cognac methods to Haiti. It is made from fresh cane juice, double-distilled, and still family-run.
Serve: Neat or on a large ice cube
Rhum Barbancourt 3 Étoiles 4 Ans
Fresh cane, banana and light vanilla with a crisp, dry finish.
Strength: 43% · Age and cask: 4 years, oak
The everyday aged rhum from Haiti's oldest rum house, distilled from fresh cane juice. A good-value classic that works neat or in cocktails.
Serve: In a daiquiri or rum and ginger
Clairin Sajous Clairin
Wild and vivid: cut grass, olive brine, ripe fruit and pepper.
Age and cask: Unaged
Made by Michel Sajous at Chelo distillery in Saint-Michel-de-l'Attalaye from organic Cristalline cane, fermented with wild yeasts and distilled once. Each vintage is bottled at full strength, so the ABV varies.
Serve: In a Ti' Punch with lime and cane syrup
More rum & cane regions
Explore all spirits in the interactive guide
The Wine Reference newsletter
New wines, stories and career guides, one email a week at most.
Over 18s only. Unsubscribe any time with one click. Your email is stored securely by Kit and never shared.
Support The Wine Reference
This guide is free, with no paywall. If it helped you choose a bottle, you can buy me a glass and keep it growing.
🍷 Buy me a glass