2022 Spirit of Haiti Clairin Rum Vaval

Salty sea air and beach sand meet ripe banana and green mango on the nose, with a vegetal, umami depth underneath; the palate carries toasted dry spice and pepper against a saline minerality that runs through the finish. Fritz Vaval has run the family still in the coastal village of Cavaillon since 1947, fermenting pure cane juice from his own 20 hectares of Madame Meuze cane with wild yeast and distilling it on a homemade still powered by a steam engine salvaged from a locomotive.