RAZING CANE

“CLAIRIN TASTES NOT JUST OF HAITI BUT OF THE PARTICULAR VILLAGE AND PLOT AND CANE IT’S MADE FROM,” SAYS RUM EXPERT LUCA GARGANO. “IT’S AN EXTRAORDINARY THING.”

I’M driving through the remote region of Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye in the north central valley of Haiti, where the road is lined on both sides by steep walls of sugarcane. I’m with one of the world’s most knowledgeable rum experts, Luca Gargano. As soon as I sniff burning sugar in the morning air, we slam to a stop. Gargano jumps out of the vehicle and exclaims, “Smell that!” From the tall stalks that run to the edge of the road, a group of Haitians emerge and greet us. Gargano slaps the men on the back and kisses the women on both cheeks. He is so exuberantly friendly that they all respond in kind, even though they don’t know him.

Soon we are racing with his new friends through the cane toward a primitive-looking device: Two bulls, attached to a pole, walk in a circle, turning logs that act like