CLAIRIN MILOT PATRICK ST. SURIN RUM 53% 750ML HAITI

Unaged clairin rum made in Carrefour Des Pères, Haiti, by Patrick St. Surin Fermentation is naturally occurring over a 10–15-day period Twice distilled from sugarcane juice and sugarcane syrup on a small, alembic still Rum rests between 1–4 months before bottling, depending on the batch A bold and complex nose with notes of underripe peach, clover honey, freshly cut grass, and confectioner’s sugar leads to a mineral-forward palate of mustard greens, red delicious apples, and dried apricot; a dry and lingering finish offers salinity and a whisper of deciduous forest floor. Patrick St. Surin lives in Carrefour Des Pères, a small commune about a thirty-minute drive outside of Cap-Haïtien. Here the plateau that forms much of the middle of the island gives way to plains that reach the Caribbean Sea to the north. He farms just over ten hectares of sugarcane and has been distilling since 2012. The fields surrounding the distillery are composed of local cane varieties, grown by Patrick, such as Medialande, Pete Coca, and Zariete. In addition, a few hectares are farmed by neighbors who allow him to harvest the cane in exchange for allowing their cattle and goats to graze freely around the property. Once the cane is harvested (the months considered to produce the highest quality sugarcane are February–March and July–August) it is carted back to the distillery by donkey and immediately crushed. ? The juice is then poured manually into large open-top fermenters called pièces where a small addition of sugarcane syrup is added in the local method. Fermentations occur naturally, usually taking 10–15 days to complete. From here, the fermented cane juice is loaded into a small pot still and is distilled twice, rested, and then bottled by hand at full proof. The result is a pure expression of the sugarcane and its terroir. Patrick St. Surin, Clairin Milot Region: Department du Nord Village: Carrefour-des-pères (a commune of the larger municipality of Milot) Size: ~10 hectares, plus purchased cane from friends and relatives Varieties of Cane: Medialande, Pete Coca, Zariete Farming: Organic Harvest: Manual, with assistance from livestock Fermentation*: Fresh sugarcane is left to dry in the sun for up to 3 days before pressing to concentrate the sugars. It is then pressed via a hand-loaded press directly into 1,000 gallon open top vats (pièces) made from Haitian Oak and left to ferment with native yeasts for 10-15 days. *Patrick does make his own cane syrup to augment his production in seasons where sugarcane yields are low due to drought, vandalism, etc. Depending on the year, there can be up to 15% cane syrup added to the fermenters with the pure sugarcane juice. Distillation/Bottling: Cane juice is loaded manually into a handmade 1,000 gallon stainless steel pot still which is fired by using the spent sugarcane (bagasse). It is double distilled, rested in drum for up to three months, and then bottled by hand at full proof.