CLAIRIN ANSYEN– 46,8%, 750ml
In 2015, The Spirit of Haiti built a small warehouse in Port-au-Prince to age Clairin Traditionnel in casks with high integrity from producers such as Caroni, Hampden Estate, Worthy Park, Bielle, Lustau, and Buffalo Trace among others. The barrels were then filled with fresh Clairin distilled by Michel Sajous, Fritz Vaval, Faubert Casimir, and Le Rocher as experimental single cask releases to understand how Clairin develops in a very light aging process.
The length of maturation is in months, not years, as the aging aims to retain the sense of raw material and soul of the spirit. These Ansyen (aged) casks represent a new chapter in the history of Clairin Traditionnel as they are among the first expressions to be aged in some of the most legendary barrels in the world.
The labels of Clairin Ansyen feature images of Carnival masks produced by local artists in Jacmel, Haiti. Selected professionals are invited to taste these barrels in order to choose their favorite one for a limited edition bottling of a single cask.
Cask #VV17BI-2 was selected by T8KE for Aficionados and Seelbach's. From the Vaval of harvest 2017, it was barreled for 38 months in an ex- Rhum Bielle cask. It has been bottled at a cask strength of 46.8% abv.
Tasting Notes: grassy, sweet, citrus forward with bold lemongrass, sage, honey, toffee and funky papaya and maple notes. Long, elegant finish with a touch of olive and pear. Sweet, funky, savory, Vaval makes a great introduction into the Haitian category.
