Review

Smell

The smell reminds me of a Martinique agricole, like HSE. Lots of brined olives, lots of agricole grassyness, and a bit of orange peel. The alcohol also hits you much harder than San Zanj or Copalli white, two other white clairin or clairin-like rums that I have.

Taste

The taste is very powerful. Funky, pungent, and unapologetically Haitian. I would say that, it most closely aligns with the flavor profile of Copalli white, but while Copalli is light and fruity with only a bit of grass to it, Clairin Sajous is significantly grassier than either San Zanj or Copalli. But, I tried it with HSE blanc, and it’s definitely a different kind of grassy. I maybe don’t have the vocabulary right now to describe it, but HSE gives me more of a salty brine vibe, while Sajous gives me more of a tangy pickle vibe.

The palate is also very long. Much like higher ester rums like Hampden Great House and Papalin 5Yr Jamaican, after I have Clairin Sajous, I can drink tea, do things on my computer, and an hour later still notice the lingering taste in my mouth. While the initial taste was like pickled olives, the aftertaste is sweet and fruity, like citrus or red currant.

Normally, I try a rum with some other baseline that I have that is very similar, such as San Zanj, which is holding down the score of 7, vs the rum I am currently trying, but I thought that Clairin Sajous has a good shot at being my new #1 favorite white rum, so I actually tried it head to head with my current favorite: Hvítserkur.

When I try a better rum vs an inferior rum, even if I otherwise like the inferior rum, its flaws begin to show pretty clearly. I like Myers’s original rum, but when I try it against Planteray Xaymaca, it just tastes flat and bitter, and Xaymaca tastes flawless. When I try Xaymaca against Smith & Cross, now Xaymaca tastes flat and bitter. And, I have to say, Hvítserkur does taste a bit bitter compared to Clairin Sajous. There’s definitely some flaw in Hvítserkur that I hadn’t detected up until now. But, despite everything, when I made daiquiris with them both, Hvítserkur remains fruity and flavorful in the face of Clairin Sajous. I honestly couldn’t pick a favorite between them, not because they were very similar, but because they were both very good in their own ways.

Verdict 8/10

My only option was to give Clairin Sajous an 8/10, tied for my favorite rum. I like San Zanj, and I like Copalli white a little bit more, and I like Clairin Sajous a little more still. And, as time has gone on, I’ve retried and rescored my favorites, and now we have 3 rums tied for 1st place at 8/10: OFTD, Hvítserkur, and Clairin Sajous. That being said, there’s a few rums in my closet that I’ll write up very soon, and don’t expect 8/10 rums to stay at the top for long.