Clairin

Clairin

A bottle of San Zanj, a brand of Haitian clairin
Type	Distilled beverage
Origin	Haiti, Caribbean
Introduced	18th century
Color	Clear
Related products	rum, rhum agricole
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Clairin (/kleɪˈrɛn/, French pronunciation: [klɛʁɛ̃], Haitian Creole: Kleren) is a distilled alcoholic spirit made from sugarcane produced in Haiti, that undergoes the same distillation process as rhum, although not as refined.¹ They have become popular outside of Haiti largely due to the efforts of Luca Gargano.²³ The name "clairin" is translated from kleren, the Haitian Creole word for "clear".²

There are between 500 and 600 micro-distilleries in Haiti, compared to fewer than 50 in total throughout the rest of the Caribbean.⁴⁵ The distilleries known as guildives are artisan productions: most of them are small shacks dotted around the countryside producing for the consumption of their own villages. There is no government regulation for the creation process of clairin,⁶ however, the Haitian government created HaïRum, which is a certification mark granted to clairins which meet certain criteria.⁷

Clairin is made from indigenous cane varieties, non-hybridized, with no chemical interference in the agriculture. They are spontaneously fermented with no yeast selected, distilled in traditional Creole stills using techniques from the mid-18th century, and are not filtered.⁸⁵

While under the colonial rule of the French, enslaved people working on sugar cane plantations learned how to distill fermented cane juice into a spirit, which they called "kill-devil".⁶ Clairins have been tied to Haitian vodou, where it's frequently used in ceremonies, such as being offered to the spirits,³ and the two have been attributed to the success of the revolt against the French.⁹ Clairins were largely consumed entirely locally within Haiti until recently, largely due to the efforts of La Maison & Velier chief Luca Gargano, who wanted to introduce this unrefined, raw, and intensely flavored spirit to the world.²³