Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Le Rocher Clairin 2017
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Opinions genuinely split here: some are hooked by the "olive-briny side" and a long finish, while others find the smoke and bacon too much. This Haitian clairin from Le Rocher leans into black olives, brine, lemon and campfire smoke, with a funky fermented edge. One taster called it a very refined white rum; another just couldn't get past the barbecue-sauce smokiness.
The community says- Olive-briny character
- Long finish
- But: Heavy smoke
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Le Rocher Clairin 2017 taste?
Summarized by AI from 31 community reviews.
Smoky, olive-brine Haitian clairin People are divided: fans adore the olive-brine, smoke and long finish, calling it the most approachable Velier clairin. Others find it too smoky, fermented and salty to enjoy.
Fans of funky, savory, olive-and-smoke Haitian clairins
Anyone who dislikes smoky, salty, fermented flavors
Style & occasion: Fresh & grassySipping neatCocktails & mixing
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
17 of 31 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Community voices
What does the community say?
31 community reviews
11 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
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Ranges include their upper bound: “7–8” means above 7 up to and including 8. See the full rating guide
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
05.10.2026 Very nice Clairin with a good price tag in my mind. ------ RETASTING ------ 20.12.2018 Enjoying samples at home. Colour Transparent in colour. Nose Fresh, vanilla, faint rubber, fruits, berries, floral, sugarcane, faint melon, spice. Palate Fresh, sugarcane, apple, spice, banana, olive, light salty, light floral, light smoke, light anise, berries. Finish Medium long, fresh, oily, sugarcane, apple, light tea, berries, light anise, light vegetal, faint smoke.
Review by Casper Nielsen
Most helpful critical review
Nose: Funky fermented and rotten meat paste. Taste: Jamaican funk, olives and smoked bacon. A little too fermented in both smell and taste. Lots of smoke aftertaste.
Review by Timo Groeger
Also Clairins are really great, I even like them slightly better than the ones from Martinique/Guadeloupe. This one is very similar to the previous one, with recognizable cane, grass, olive, and salt, just a bit more watery.
Review by rumcokki
Lots of brine here, some shoemaker's glue and rubber. Didn't impress me but it's a drink to try. Bacon and barbecue sauce in the empty glass
Review by Martin Spooner
Tasted first in the Clairin session: the nose already olive-like, fruity and grassy. Palate somewhat metallic taste. Has a certain dirtiness. Not necessarily a case. However, the finish is relatively long-lasting. Confirmed in the night tasting. But into the mixer with it.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
very ungewöhnlichr agricole. horny black olive note that picks me up full...comes really cool in dirty martini with mancino secco vermouth 3:1 and Kalamata olives to it!🤤🍸
Review by Mentalo
Unfortunately, I can't do anything with the Clairin Le Rocher. Salty, very smoky, bacon, olive and a little earthy. The extreme smoky note alone is absolutely not my thing. Maybe something for fans of smoky barbecue sauces.
Review by Ian Gilman
My first Clairin and wow! Hooked! After trying a few others, this one tends towards the olive-briny side and has a fantastically lone finish.
Review by Thunderbird
An Agricole on the smoky olive vine!Very soothing and delicious
Review by Henry Davies
It’s the most approachable of all the Clairins from Velier. The nose is more muted than I was expecting, lemon, plasticine, some basil and olives but tame in reality bathe mouth brings more of what you are after, lemon, olives, pear, some floral notes. The finish is rich, with more honeyed sweetness, olive and brine. It really is a very refined white rum, bringing a bit of something different but in a great package
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Velier Clairin Le Rocher 2017 – 46.5% Clairins are Haitian artisanal rums in their rawest and most authentic form. Locally hand-cut sugarcane, spontaneous fermentations in open vats, pot still distillation heated by direct fire, unfiltered cask strength bottling. Real, alive. 👉 At the Le Rocher distillery (Bethel Romelus), a notable peculiarity: they do not ferment pure cane juice but cane syrup. Easier to preserve, but especially fermented in wooden vats with added dunder Jamaican style to boost the aromatic palette. Result: a clairin that packs a punch. The vintage tasted tonight: 2017, bottled at 46.5%. And yes, it's a Velier, even without the iconic black bottle — hard to glamorize a white rum in black 😅. 👃 Nose Ultra expressive, massive, animal. Smoky, herbal, very fresh. In the background, almost mezcal notes. Funky as hell, typically Haitian. The dunder clearly did its job. 👅 Palate Slightly acidic attack on lemon and lime. The alcohol is perfectly integrated, it drinks itself. Creamy, floral texture, then the smoke gradually takes over. 🔥 Finish Long, earthy, deeply Haitian. Let's be honest: it's messy. Totally unpredictable. But that's exactly what makes the experience so captivating. A very aromatic clairin, with a unique mouthfeel. 👉 Personally, I still had a slight preference for the 2018 vintage...
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.1/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by The Secret Rum Bar
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Community shelf
51 bottles logged by 49 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
41% opened, 5 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Le Rocher Clairin 2017?
Community paid 34–41 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 33 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
51 purchased · 31 tasted · 13 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Le Rocher Clairin 2017
A Clairin from Haiti, bottled by Velier, at 46.5%.
About the Le Rocher distillery
The Le Rocher distillery is located in Haiti. Rums from Le Rocher have been reviewed 258 times with an average of 8.2/10.
To Le Rocher →Read on in the RumX Guide
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