San Zanj Haitian White Rum
San Zanj Haitian White Rum is the unaged side of the Ak Zanj family — a blend of two clairins and one cane-juice rum, wild-yeast fermented and Creole-column distilled in Port-au-Prince, bottled at 43% ABV in a 750mL bottle with no oak time at all. "San Zanj" means "Without Angels" — no cask, no angels' share, just the raw cane-juice spirit. Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- Proof / ABV: 86 proof (43% ABV) — 750mL bottle
- Style: unaged — a blend of two clairins + one cane-juice rum
- Base: fresh sugarcane juice; wild-yeast fermentation
- Still: Creole column stills, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Source: sourced and blended by Berling S.A. (lineage to 1862)
Without Angels, All Spirit
Where Ak Zanj ("With Angels") is about what oak and time give, San Zanj is about what the cane gives: a vivid, grassy, funky white rum in the Haitian clairin tradition — the closest thing in the rum world to a white rhum agricole with attitude. The two-clairin blend adds rustic complexity that a single column run can't, and 43% bottling strength keeps it assertive in cocktails. Find it in the white rum collection or browse all of Ak Zanj at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
Sugarcane juice, green grass, and white flowers on the nose with a distinctive clairin funk — overripe banana, wet earth. The palate is bold and savory: cane sweetness up front, peppery mid-palate, a long grassy finish.
How to Enjoy
In a Ti' Punch — cane syrup, lime, done — the classic agricole serve. Also outstanding in a daiquiri, where the funk lifts the drink into another dimension.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "San Zanj" mean?
"Without Angels" — the counterpart to Ak Zanj ("With Angels"): this white rum never sees a cask, so no spirit is lost to the angels' share.
What is clairin?
Haiti's traditional cane-juice spirit — pot- or column-distilled from wild-fermented cane juice, often rustic and funky. San Zanj blends two clairins with a cane-juice rum.
Is San Zanj good for cocktails?
Excellent — at 43% with real clairin character, it is built for Ti' Punch and daiquiris.
Raw Haitian cane spirit — order San Zanj Haitian White Rum from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.