Haiti

Haiti is a country located in the Greater Antilles. Its territory represents one third of the western part of the island formerly called Hispaniola, the other part being the Dominican Republic. Haiti has a tropical climate with important rainy seasons. It is a climate conducive to the development of sugar cane.

The history of Haitian rum

Tafia from the island of Hispaniola

Shortly after the discovery of the island ofHispaniola by Christopher Columbus, the Spaniards imported sugar cane and their distillation methods. It was here that the first tafias or guildives were produced, which were primarily intended for slaves. Santo Domingo (a French colony that became Haiti in 1804) subsequently became a leader in sugar cane production (40% of Caribbean sugar in the 18th century), even competing with Jamaica. The French part of Hispaniola had more than 180 distilleries.

From guildive to rum

Santo Domingo was also a major supplier of molasses to its neighbours, notably the United States, which imported it for local distillation. The Americans did not appreciate tafia or guildive, the ancestors of rum, which were considered too rustic, so they stuck to importing molasses and processing it themselves. But France realised that it would benefit from exporting higher value-added products and began to develop more sophisticated eaux-de-vie to appeal to the very large North American public. Thus, tafia became rum, inspired by what was done in English colonies such as Barbados, but also by the gradual introduction of pure cane juice distillation, as the first steps towards what would become the French agricultural style.

Santo Domingo becomes Haiti

Haiti 's independence in 1804 was a terrible blow to the whole country, which paid a high price for this affront. In the crucial area of sugar, there was a boycott that benefited other colonies, both French and English. The production of Haitian rum on an industrial level also collapsed phenomenally, but the small producers of the local cane brandy, called Clairin (Kleren), continued to distil, perpetuating a tradition that has survived to this day.

Barbancourt, a new era

In 1862, the family Barbancourt created the distillery of the same name. Originally from the Charente region, it was inspired by the methods of Cognac. It soon distilled a high quality agricultural rum, becoming a reference point that led to many other initiatives in its wake. Haitian rum then regained international renown and resumed intensive industrial production. Before 1970, Haiti had up to 30 agricultural rum distilleries. The competition has taken its toll and today Barbancourt remains the only industrial scale distillery in the country. It replaced its still with a column in 1990 and now distils pure juice and cane syrup.

Rum from Haiti

Barbancourt rum

The distillery Barbancourt is located in the "cul-de-sac" plain near Port au Prince. It has a large area of sugarcane fields which covers 20% of its needs, and also obtains its supplies from small planters. It works with both pure cane juice and syrup (cooked and concentrated cane juice), which allows it to distil all year round. Fermentation, which lasts three days, is relatively long compared to neighbouring islands (except Jamaica, of course). The distillation is done in a column, with one copper and one steel column.

Ageing is particularly interesting at Barbancourt, because in addition to the distillation method, the founding family, who were originally from Charente, also imported their know-how in terms of ageing. The rum is therefore aged in Limousin oak barrels and casks, with a very complete stock of barrels with different grains and wood toast. The barrels were also made by the famous cooper Seguin Moreau.

Older vintages are highly prized by connoisseurs and collectors, and today the range extends from white to 15 year olds and 8 year old 5 stars.

The clarinets

In addition to the large Barbancourt distillery, Haiti now has more than 500 small-scale producers of Clairin. This close relative of tafia or guildive, which disappeared in the 18th century, is a testimony to the artisanal production of rum in its origins. There are many small planters and almost as many varieties of cane. It is cultivated in a natural way, in polyculture (it is grown alongside fruit trees and other plants on the same plot), weeding is done manually, as well as cutting. It is transported to the distillery on mules or oxen, and once pressed, the juice is fermented spontaneously, without added yeast. From the small stills flows a Clairin with an alcohol content of around 50°, it is bottled as it is, without reduction.

There are a handful of slightly more industrial and modern facilities, but most of the Clairin Clairin is produced by small producers such as Michel Sajous, Fritz Vaval or Faubert Casimir. Usually Clairins are rarely bottled, as they are rather stored in vats and destined for the local population, but since 2012, Luca Gargano of the Velier company has managed to send us a few bottles of these nectars. Read less