SAINT BENEVOLENCE RUM Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin
- SKU:
- 3592405
- UPC:
- 0853798008037
Drink rare unique and delicious rum while giving back to the Caribbean island of its origin and its people.
Saint Benevolence was founded in 2017 by Calvin and Chase Babcock merging this father-and-son team’s love of rum with the charitable work they have carried out on Haiti for over four decades in partnership with Reverend Gueillant Dorcinvil a Saint Michel de l’Attalye local. The town of Saint Michel is not only the epicentre of their charitable endeavours but it’s also famous for its Rum Clairin – a terroir-driven Agricole-style rum that’s very popular on Haiti but rarely seen over here. Saint Benevolence rum donates money to their longstanding non-profit partners Living Hope Haiti Ti Kay and Innovating Health International. So your purchase gives back to the incredible island that created it.
Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is Haiti’s premium ancestral sugarcane spirit. It was handcrafted using a blend of indigenous sugarcane clones called Cristalline Madame Meuze Farine France and 24/14 all grown organically in the tropical climate of Saint Michel de l’Attalaye in the fields that surround the distillery. Part of the sugarcane juice is fermented with wild yeasts while the remainder is reduced to a syrup before being fermented (a style known locally as Methode Saint Michel). These two components are then blended and distilled using a biomass-fuelled copper pot still.
The result is an immensely characterful and crystal-clear (‘kleren’ is the Haitian word for clear) white rum with a particularly green flavour profile. Expect notes of green olive tapenade green banana wasabi green peppercorns grass herbs lime cardamom and something hot and smoky that reminds us of saunas. It’s almost like the rum world’s equivalent to Mezcal. Sip it neat or experiment with it in summer cocktails. (We’re thinking there must be something with Toussaint Coffee Liqueur which was made in honour of the architect of Haiti’s independence General Toussaint L’Ouverture.) We particularly like using it instead of cachaça in a Haitian twist on the Caipirinha.
To explain exactly why this rum is so important and so special a little history lesson might be necessary. During the Atlantic slave trade Haiti (then Saint-Domingue) became the most profitable island in the West Indies producing around 30% of the world’s sugar. This ended with the Haitian Revolution when the enslaved people rose up and seized freedom from their oppressors. This was the largest rebellion of enslaved people in history and the only one that was successful. It created the first sovereign Black state in the western hemisphere and changed the world forever in fact some historians consider it the most influential revolution in history. Tragically to protect their own interests slaveholding nations punished Haiti with commercial embargoes diplomatic ostracism and demands for reparations paid to slaveholders (this ‘debt’ was only finally paid off in 1947). These actions caused the island’s persistent poverty ever since something that was further exacerbated by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. However if a cloud this dark was to have a silver lining it might just be found in the sugarcane. The sudden shut down of the sugar trade meant that what remained of the native sugarcane has been protected from outside influence hybridisation chemicals herbicides pesticides etc. As a result Haiti’s heirloom sugarcane is some of the most exciting for rum producers to be found anywhere on the planet.
SKU No.: 3592405
Style No.: 857996
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 50%
Volume: 700ml
Drink rare unique and delicious rum while giving back to the Caribbean island of its origin and its people.
Saint Benevolence was founded in 2017 by Calvin and Chase Babcock merging this father-and-son team’s love of rum with the charitable work they have carried out on Haiti for over four decades in partnership with Reverend Gueillant Dorcinvil a Saint Michel de l’Attalye local. The town of Saint Michel is not only the epicentre of their charitable endeavours but it’s also famous for its Rum Clairin – a terroir-driven Agricole-style rum that’s very popular on Haiti but rarely seen over here. Saint Benevolence rum donates money to their longstanding non-profit partners Living Hope Haiti Ti Kay and Innovating Health International. So your purchase gives back to the incredible island that created it.
Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is Haiti’s premium ancestral sugarcane spirit. It was handcrafted using a blend of indigenous sugarcane clones called Cristalline Madame Meuze Farine France and 24/14 all grown organically in the tropical climate of Saint Michel de l’Attalaye in the fields that surround the distillery. Part of the sugarcane juice is fermented with wild yeasts while the remainder is reduced to a syrup before being fermented (a style known locally as Methode Saint Michel). These two components are then blended and distilled using a biomass-fuelled copper pot still.
The result is an immensely characterful and crystal-clear (‘kleren’ is the Haitian word for clear) white rum with a particularly green flavour profile. Expect notes of green olive tapenade green banana wasabi green peppercorns grass herbs lime cardamom and something hot and smoky that reminds us of saunas. It’s almost like the rum world’s equivalent to Mezcal. Sip it neat or experiment with it in summer cocktails. (We’re thinking there must be something with Toussaint Coffee Liqueur which was made in honour of the architect of Haiti’s independence General Toussaint L’Ouverture.) We particularly like using it instead of cachaça in a Haitian twist on the Caipirinha.
To explain exactly why this rum is so important and so special a little history lesson might be necessary. During the Atlantic slave trade Haiti (then Saint-Domingue) became the most profitable island in the West Indies producing around 30% of the world’s sugar. This ended with the Haitian Revolution when the enslaved people rose up and seized freedom from their oppressors. This was the largest rebellion of enslaved people in history and the only one that was successful. It created the first sovereign Black state in the western hemisphere and changed the world forever in fact some historians consider it the most influential revolution in history. Tragically to protect their own interests slaveholding nations punished Haiti with commercial embargoes diplomatic ostracism and demands for reparations paid to slaveholders (this ‘debt’ was only finally paid off in 1947). These actions caused the island’s persistent poverty ever since something that was further exacerbated by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. However if a cloud this dark was to have a silver lining it might just be found in the sugarcane. The sudden shut down of the sugar trade meant that what remained of the native sugarcane has been protected from outside influence hybridisation chemicals herbicides pesticides etc. As a result Haiti’s heirloom sugarcane is some of the most exciting for rum producers to be found anywhere on the planet.
SKU No.: 3592405
Style No.: 857996