Renegade Rum Distillery has unveiled a diverse new selection of four Pre-Cask white rums. The rum brand is the latest launch from Mark Reynier, the man behind the renaissance of Islay’s Bruichladdich single malt whisky and Irish whiskey Waterford Irish whiskey. Similar to his previous two brands, Reynier looks to explore the impact terroir, cane variety, and distillation style has on the flavor of rum. Last year, we dove into the history of rum and the impacts of terroir, fermentation, distillation, and aging.
The cane plant, rum’s primary raw ingredient, is the natural source of its flavor. Thus the land on which it grows and its microclimate determines its character. With these details in mind, Renegade Rum chose to explore the terroirs of Grenada one place, one farm, at a time – to be shared initially as these fresh, vibrant spirits before cask ageing.
The Renegade Rum Pre-Cask Collection of rums are for spirits connoisseurs to compare and contrast original nuances, but they are also great for making cocktails with real provenance. The first batch of the Pre-Cask Collection were made available in Europe in late 2021 and have already sold out.
“We are delighted to share more Pre-Cask bottlings for the curious, to explore with us these new realms of natural flavor derived from sugar cane,” explains Reynier. “They are for spirits connoisseurs searching for authenticity and transparency. And as the building blocks of our Renegade Rum, we have discovered they also make for intensely flavored, ultra high-provenance ingredients for the most discerning cocktail enthusiasts.”
“Even though these are among our first distillates, we have been delighted with their award-winning reception and the fact that we have commenced serious discussions around terroir, traceability and transparency in rum,” he added. “This is a prelude, of course, to our aged rum – and we look forward to sharing our first serious studies with the world this autumn.”
The four Single Farm Origin white rums to be released in the United States within the Pre-Cask Collection are as follows:
Single Farm Origin: Nursery – The genesis of this pioneering project to propagate entirely clean and healthy heritage cane varieties began at the brand’s nursery farm. Nestled in La Calome Valley, with its almost terraced valley floor, it is made up of Hartman & Woburn clay loam soils and a profusion of volcanic boulders. For this rum Renegade harvested the sucrose-rich variety we call Yellow Lady from “big pumps” field, which stands on the terroir known as Upper La Calome.
- Terroir: Upper La Calome
- Cane Variety: Yellow Lady
- Pot Still
Single Farm Origin: Hope – On the island’s south-eastern flank, sheltered from the Atlantic Trade Winds by a narrow mangrove belt, stands this distinctive terroir. Bright, iron-red clay and pyroclastic boulders and rich, alluvial soil and its cool, high water table ensures a humid microclimate with lush cane in the driest season. For this rum, the brand harvested the oldest of its varieties, Cain, from Mamo Field, which stands on the terroir known as Boulders.
- Terroir: Boulders
- Variety: Cain
- Pot Still
Single Farm Origin: Lake Antoine – Lower Crater Lake South and Upper Crater Lake South – At Lake Antoine, intriguing terroirs wrap around the steep, seaward-facing slopes of a volcanic crater lake, where cane grows on granular Woburn clay loam – sparse and dry at the summit, deep and rich at the foot – fully exposed to the desiccating salt-laden Atlantic trade Winds. For these two rums we harvested the sucrose-rich variety we call Purple Tallboy from two fields, one from Ball Pasture Field, which stands on the terroir known as Lower Crater Lake South and the second from More Field, which stands on the terroir known as Upper Crater Lake South.
- Terroirs: Lower Crater and Upper Crater Lake South
- Variety: Purple Tallboy
- Pot Still
The Renegade Rum Pre-Cask Collection of Single Farm Origin: Nursery, Hope, and Lake Antoine Lower Crater & Upper Crater Lake South are each 50% ABV and are available in 700ml bottles for $65 in fine retail stores. Renegade Rum is imported by Glass Revolution Imports.
For more information, head over to the brand’s official website.
