Haitian Christmas, 101: Drinking Cremas with Wyclef

Words by Jesse Serwer:::Video shot by Allison Swank:::Edited by Kieran K. Meadows—

A few nights back the LargeUp + Okayplayer crew were invited to meet with Wyclef in NYC to talk ‘Clef’s just announced appearance at next week’s Sting festival in Jamaica, among other things ranging from classic dancehall clashes to Dave Chappelle.

As we stepped in the room, we couldn’t help but notice a homemade bottle of cremas which, it turned out, had been lovingly crafted by ‘Clef own aunt. For those that don’t know, cremas (or kremas, as it’s sometimes spelled) is Haiti’s extra potent answer to egg nog.

As with rum creams across the Caribbean, the highly alcoholic substance proves particularly popular around the holidays, when it serves as a critical lubricant for good times at Christmas, and New Year’s/Haitian Independence celebrations.

Seeing as we were all in a festive spirit, we threw back a few sips of the stuff (with some extra Barbancourt Reserve for extra strength and flavor) along with Mr. Jean, and got his perspective on what makes the perfect glass of cremas. The Refugee Camp president even blessed us with a soundbwoy-kiling LargeUp x cremas dub.

Watch the video below, and look out for our full Wyclef interview on Large-bloodclat-Up.com soon. For more on cremas, check out Alexandra C. Wood’s “How To Make Cremas” story on LargeUp.