Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval 7 ans vieillit en fût de Caroni 2018
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Sipped neat, this drinks as a clairin-first Haitian: floral, citrusy and cane-forward, with that telltale glue note and a whiff of marzipan. Dry and slightly astringent on the palate, with the alcohol tucked in well despite the strength. The much-advertised Caroni cask? Most tasters barely find it — a little tar and leather emerge only after a long rest in the glass.
The community says- Floral citrus nose
- Well-integrated alcohol
- But: Caroni barely detectable
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval 7 ans vieillit en fût de Caroni 2018 taste?
Summarized by AI from 25 community reviews.
Dry, floral clairin; Caroni cask barely shows Well-liked as an elegant, dry clairin with lovely floral-citrus character. The recurring gripe: the Caroni cask is nearly invisible, so don't buy it for that.
Clairin fans who like dry, floral cane spirit
Anyone buying it for the Caroni influence
Style & occasion: Fresh & grassySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
13 of 25 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Community voices
What does the community say?
25 community reviews
12 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 16% of Haiti rumsTop 18% at Arawaks
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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 DutchRumPirate
Most helpful positive review
This is a very smooth, delicious, round Vieux Vaval. It smells and tastes fruity, of grapes, red grapes, so slightly sweeter. It's also wonderfully smooth, and the alcohol is very well integrated. I don't notice any Caroni Cask. The finish is medium and round. Slightly dry.
Review by zabo
Most helpful mixed review
Im Grunde genommen nicht allzu schlecht. Eher ein easy Sipper, wer diese Richtung bevorzugt. Der Ursprungrum ist hier klar im Vordergrund mit seinen floralen Noten. Das das hier etwas mit Caroni zu tun hat, lässt sich nur schwer erschrecken.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#7141 09.08.2026 Just got a box with lots of Haiti unaged rums and I just can't wait to give them a go. (Found some aged in there as well, yummy) Listening to some nice Armin van Buuren tracks on Spotify. Pretty nice release with a high price tag in my mind. Intense profile with sugarcane, fruits, tar, diesel, caramel, salt, spice and smoky wood.
Review by Boletus
This is a really impressive and complex nose that seems to be constantly evolving. Right after pouring, it’s almost sharply sour with nuances reminiscent of fermenting vegetables like mushy bell peppers or overripe tomatoes, then gradually revealing more candied fruity and woody notes. The taste also delivers an appealing mix of spices, candied fruits, and wood, leading to a fairly long and fine finish where the smoke, only subtly present on the nose and palate and reminiscent of suede leather, becomes more pronounced. Nice one!
Review by Jussi Piirainen
Another rum Haiti matured in Caroni cask. On the nose: At first it had sugarcane notes with vegetal and citrus notes. Light glue notes. Then palate changed towards woody and spicy notes. Now after sitting in the glass for a good 40 minutes, i am starting to notice some Caroni influence on the nose with light burnt rubber and light tar notes. Taste: At first there was citrus sugarcane and floral notes. After sitting in the glass some spice notes like anise notes opened up and some earthy, root notes opened up too. Caroni cask influence did bring some light tar, light medicinal notes in the end. The abv integration is pretty good. Finish: Olive and light grassy notes. Then you get woody notes and leather notes. Light fruity notes. Medium finish. I guess you have to wait for cask influence to appear, however the cask influence is not that significant, but it brings nice complexity in to Haiti rum.
Review by Mentalo
The Vieux Vaval is fruity (citrus), slightly medicinal, brings quite a bit of acidity, a bit of marzipan. The alcohol is well integrated. Some wood influence, but I don't notice anything from the Caroni cask.
Review by Schnubbii
Ja, der ist schön. Hier ist mir das Fass auch nicht zu aufdringlich. Am Gaumen recht trocken und adstringierend. Von den Vieux Vaval, die ich bisher probieren konnte mein Favorit. Eine schöne runde Sache, Alkohol ist auch gut eingebunden, recht elegantes Teil.
Review by F.L.O.
Clairin rarely disappoints—this one here is great again. Nice floral notes, fruity... and an outstanding nose. The alcohol is perfectly integrated. The citrus fruits really come through in the finish.
Review by Jarek
I'm looking for the influence of the Caroni cask but don't find it. Still, I like the bottling quite a bit. The nose is very pleasant, fruity (citrus fruits), spicy and with lots of glue. Similar notes on the palate.
Review by Johannes
I can't really taste Caroni. The Haiti is very good, fruity, marzipan.
Review by Michal S
Interesting aged rum from Haiti, very scented (flowers, candied fruit, citrus), the influence of the Caroni cask is somewhat reflected in the taste, but it definitely doesn't overpower the original distillate. I wouldn't pay the current auction price for it, but it doesn't disappoint.
Review by Michal Jurka
Olives or more like vinegary, sugarcane, floral, spices, especially my favourite anise, something technical/chemical, light fruits. These last two Velier bottlings (with Le Rocher ex-Blanton) are really top notch.
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Community shelf
10 bottles logged by 7 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
10% opened, 0 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval 7 ans vieillit en fût de Caroni 2018?
Community paid 110–253 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 254 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
10 purchased · 25 tasted · 6 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval 7 ans vieillit en fût de Caroni 2018
A Clairin from Haiti, bottled by Velier, at 54.75%.
About the Arawaks distillery
The Arawaks distillery is located in Haiti. Rums from Arawaks have been reviewed 538 times with an average of 8.0/10.
To Arawaks →Read on in the RumX Guide
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