Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015
Tasted blind, a few members swore this was Jamaican — esters, glue, varnish, overripe fruit — before the grassy, herbal clairin core gave it away. Eight years in cask has rounded off the wildest spikes and dialled back the florals, which is either the appeal or the letdown depending on who you ask. Underneath: medicinal iodine, olive brine, a dry bitter finish. Still unmistakably a clairin, just a calmer one.
The community says- Funky ester punch
- Grassy clairin core
- But: Alcohol pokes through
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015 taste?
Aggregated from 47 community reviews.
Aged clairin: funky, medicinal, calmer with years Most owners land firmly positive — the cask tames the roughest edges without hiding the clairin. A recurring note, though: a few expected more fireworks from eight years.
clairin fans and blind-tasting funk lovers
newcomers or anyone chasing smooth sweetness
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
18 of 47 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.2 sits in the “Very good” band. 95% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
72% rate it 8 or higher. 11 selected write-ups from 47 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,4:On the nose, it is estery with overripe tropical, dried fruits like raisins, prunes and vegetal with herbal notes.The wood is roasted. On aeration, the sugarcane is more evident, swimming in caramel, flowery, some medicinal notes with nail polish, perhaps glue.Citrus pleasantly rounds up the notes. 8,2:On the palate, the attack is stormy, unbalanced, funky with gemischt of different notes like spices, vegetal, salty, woody and fruity.It is bitter with an olive, wax, acidic with a vinegar, roasted and resinous wood, dry.Some overripe estery tropical and dried fruits round it a bit.After some rest, it becomes balanced with citrus, floral, herbal and dark notes like roasted nuts, chocolate, licorice, some caramel. The sugarcane is mineral and minty, the overripe pineapple tasty, some tea is obvious. 8,3:The finish is a bit rounder, long, dry, there come some more industrial notes like wax, rubber, bicycle tube, even dirt.The sugarcane is mineral, vegetal, the wood earthy and roasted. Fruit spectre is lingering from the palate.Bitterness continues.... Edit: 14.12.-more resting, oxidation balances the palate, new notes could be noticed like vanilla custard, marzipan, pastry, even cola
Review by F.L.O.
The first impression is still a little spongy. Typical Vaval on the nose, just a little weaker than a fresh unaged distillate. Then a little irritating on the tongue... The alcohol is present but well integrated. The floral notes are clearly reduced. This makes it more accessible, but also somehow more boring than the unaged or 4y. Nevertheless, still a good rum. "Won't and can't" describes it quite well. I'll have to try it again... not that I'm doing it an injustice.
Review by Fuwi
I'm Dreikampf Vieux Sajous/ Casimir/ Vaval belegt dieser Kandidat den zweiten Platz. Die Nase war eher nicht einladend, sehr alkoholisch, verbranntes Gummi und eher penetrant, unangenehm. Auf der Zunge dafür sehr überraschend mild, nahezu floral. Aber natürlich sehr agricole lastig und grasig, bringt mehr Bums und Spaß auf der Zunge mit als der Casimir bei identischer Reifezeit und weniger Alkohol
Review by Schnubbi
Not really bad, quite tasty. Unfortunately, there is hardly anything left of the original DNA of the unripened Vaval, in this respect I liked RX8887 with its green olive even better. In the end, it was unfortunately a little unspectacular for me and did not meet my expectations. You can try it, but you don't have to buy it.
Review by John Coffey
J'ai adoré ce boisé en bouche tout le long ..
Review by Dr.Django
Grundsätzlich gefallen mir die Rums aus Haiti sehr. Dieser Rum wurde im Vorfeld sehr gehyped. Er wird seinem Hype überhaupt nicht gerecht. Schon an der Nase sehr alkoholisch stechend, was sich am Gaumen, bis zum Abgang durchzieht. Das dreckig fruchtige Profil wird von den Kräutern und Pflanzen untergraben.
Review by Mike H.
82 points. Tasted at the WLP 2023.
Review by Jakub Kula
very nice surprice for me
Review by Maxime Clr 🇫🇷
Bouteille sur les épices, la colle, les fruits tropicaux. Sympa mais retombe trop vite, finale assez courte.
Review by Pavel Spacek
WLP tastings
Review by zabo
Franconian Tasting Gang on 23.11.24 at Jarek. For me, this was the negative surprise of the evening, and by far the loser of the evening. I don't really need to have it in my glass again.
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Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 171 € – 212 €
from 2 sales, latest 11/2024
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 133 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015
A Rhum Agricole from Haiti, bottled by Velier, at 51,8%.
Community purchases
18 bottles logged by 15 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 2 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015 cost?
Community paid 120–198 €.
Current best price: 159.00 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
18 purchased · 47 tasted · 2 wishlist · as of
About the Arawaks distillery
The Arawaks distillery is located in Haiti. Rums from Arawaks have been reviewed 525 times with an average of 8.0/10.
To Arawaks →Read on in the RumX Guide
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