By Christian de Lespinasse of Cabinet de Lespinasse- Haiti

My Caribbean friends will pardon me but am sure they will understand when I say that I believe Haitian Rum is one of the best if not the best. In the spirit of securing its place amongst the many contenders, Haiti has created a certification mark for its rum, HaïRum. It has been created by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which also acts as the regulator to grant and manage the right of use of the mark. Once the certification is obtained, the certified entity has a license to use it for cobranding with its own trademark.

The application for registration and the governing regulation were published in the official gazette, Le Moniteur No. 154 dated 4 November 2021. It sets the requirements to be eligible to qualify. The main ones are that the raw materials must be fermented, distilled, prepared and aged in Haiti and the rum must contain no less than 40% alcohol by volume. The text also sets, amongst others, that the alcohol content of the distilled product must be greater than or equal to 75% alcohol by volume at 20^o C and less than or equal to 95% by volume at 20^o C. It does not address the origin of the sugar cane used to produce the rum, in accordance with CARICOM standards.

The official fees to obtain the certification is 25,000 Gourdes or approximately USD 250 (based on FX rate of 100 G/1USD).

Although Haiti is a member of the Lisbon Agreement, Haitian products have not yet benefited from GI protection. This certification mark is a first step.