Clairin Le Rocher

@Mujuru picked up a lot more flavors than I did, to me this is a smoked bacon laced with Worcestershire sauce kind of rum. When I first read his reference to bubble gum I didn't get it, but I am now starting to taste faint traces of bubble gum, how weird is that? It definitely wasn't there upon first opening the bottle, or even a few days later, but after a week or so it showed up out of nowhere. I'm not smelling it on the nose, but its there on the finish.

I'm a bit relieved that after all the superlatives and warnings thrown about regarding clairins, I am able to sip my first one neat and enjoy it. I agree with the comments about it not being for beginners, this is a bit of a wild style to get thrown into early in your experience with sipping rums.

@Paul B. compared it to Laphroaig scotch, given that they both have a smoky component, but to me its not the same kind of smoke. (I have a Laphroaig scotch right next to the bottle of clairin) Laphroaig has a smoke flavor like a campfire, this has a flavor more like smoked bacon over a frying pan, its a bit sweeter and fatty tasting.

Another reviewer mentioned motor oil, glue, and banana, I don't get any of those flavors, go figure.

Paul's review is 4 years old, so we aren't reviewing the exact same product, and given this is 100% pot still and kinda crazy I suspect that each year's product is going to be a little different from the others. I'm not sure how much they may differ each year, it may be negligible, but I suspect they're not identical from year to year. And the price has gone up from $39 in Paul's review to $59 for the one I bought. Mujuru states the ABV at 48.2%, and my version is 49.5%, so we're not reviewing the exact same thing either.

If you're open minded, and looking for something totally different, give it a try if smoked bacon is to your liking.

Boy, this is likely the best unaged rum on my shelf, which is quite a surprise to me. It was a whole lot of too much for me at first, and it took a hesitant revisit several months later for it to click for me. Many say that the initial briny olive character of Clairins tends to dissipate after being open for awhile, or after the neck pour is gone, and I have sure found that to be the case here. After time, what I taste now is a strange sweetness that is really unlike anything else I can compare it to, in gastronomy or mixology... it's a powdered sugar or aspartame, sweeter than sweet, but irresistibly impossible to pin down. This is to me the dominant note, even as flavors savory, sweet, and petrochemical drift in and out.

It's like some mystical or alchemical elixir of life where all flavors possible in the world coexist. This makes for a challenging tasting experience, and also, the best daiquiri you will ever taste, though I generally only sip it straight.

The way Clairins seem to divide people into factional fanboys seems to have no rhyme or reason (aside from the purists and agricole heads who unilaterally favor Sajous)... but I frequently see Le Rocher being referred to as the strangest, most challenging, of the expressions. For me, this was decidedly not the case: I think the strangely savory notes of Casimir and Vaval are way more inaccessible.

Super interesting flavor
Like sipping it. A bit hot but worthy of sufferin

Ananas, ovoce, sladkost, slanost, měl jsem vzorek, kde byla v chuti mýdlová levandule, musím zjistit, jestli špatný vzorek nebo reálná chuť.

Nose - buttered movie popcorn, campfire smoke, tropical pandan leaf, flaky pastry’s, salted ice, Valentine’s Day heart candies, black pepper, salt water, taffy, buttered toast and jam, Maple syrup.

Palate - Smoke! Islay smoke, peat, rocks and minerals, fruit, papaya, a little cherry cola, sweet cane.

Finish - long finish, more smoke, hickory and peat, black pepper extract, light vegetal stuff, pop rocks, laphroaig 10.

Thoughts: This stuff rules! They use 30% dunder in each batch so this is like sweet and Smokey Jamaican influenced spirt with some Haitian veggie funk. Definitely one of my favorites.

Intensive aroma - molases and ester, smoke in the body, sweet ending

Sorry, my evaluation may not have reference value, but this is my real experience——wood soup

The nose is just a piece of work! Lots of funk and other stuff! And then the taste... pineapple, mango skin, bacon biscuit, lots of smoke, vanilla custard. Long finish too! It's just excellent and unlike anything else I've ever tried. If you can find this, try it!!

Nose: Funky yet fragrant; the kind I can nose for days. A cup of frozen yogurt with toppings of fresh blueberries and strawberries, caramel sauce, and kiwi. The blueberries, in particular, easily take over the room and stay for a while. There are also aromas of dried grass, crab roe, and tire rubber, plus undertones of buttered croissants and sliced almonds. This checks many boxes!

Palate: The mouthfeel is oily, but the flavors are not cloying or overpowering. Light and fluffy tres leches cake covered with fresh fruits. The same yogurt bowl flavors are there but lifted by a layer of herbs and honey over the surface of the tongue. Olives. As it develops, funky hints of diesel, day-old sliced bananas, and slimy pineapple shows up. Very refreshing and dessert-y.

Finish: Honey, rosemary, soy milk, and a bouquet of old bananas. Long, long, long.

Rich sweet, woody in the nose but very refreshing sweeter taste, very perfumy in taste for me