Review: Renegade Rums – Aura, Nova, Dunfermline, and Hope – Swimming Pool
Drew has been dutifully chronicling the many releases of the terroir-obsessed Renegade Rum, a Grenada-based operation that specializes in products with incredibly specific provenances. Various “pre-cask” (white, unaged) rums, blends called Cuvees, and “super-geeky ‘MicrOrigin’” products are available — with nearly 20 different expressions now on the market.
We can’t possibly keep up with all of them, but here’s a look at four recent additions to the line, bringing our total coverage of Renegade up to eight bottles — three of which are aged expressions, which we’re seeing for the first time.
All 700ml bottles.
Renegade Rum Pre-Cask Cuvee Aura – This is the only blended white rum in Renegade’s lineup, made from fresh cane juice harvested from across Granada, including both pot and column distillate. Powerful notes of fresh-pressed cane offer ample sweetness and plenty of grassiness, touched with mint and just a touch of petrol. Pure and inviting, the rum has a power on the palate that wanders through coconut husk, green pineapple, and touches of florals. There’s some funk here, though it lacks the hogo pungency of a classic agricole, and the finish is in fact rather light on its feet — very grassy with just a touch of mushroom to back it up. Rums like this are always instructive as to helping the understanding of origin, yeast, and process, but they’re for more regular use they’re best reserved for mixing with aged rums in more complex combinations. As homework goes, I can’t complain. 92 proof. B+ / $39
Renegade Rum All-Island Cuvee Nova – A blend of cane distillates, pot and column distilled, from all over Grenada, aged 659 days. Surprisingly more pungent on the nose with bold cane elements than Aura, very grassy, but also peppery, slightly beefy, and redolent of dried flowers. It needs some time to open up in the glass, but the investment of time is worth it, helping the palate to find its sweeter side. Notes of butterscotch and vanilla pair with plenty of back-end greenery, lightly spiced with nutmeg and some ginger. Still a long way from maturity, it’s a signpost of what might lie ahead, with elements of anise, torched pineapple, and blood orange all on the finish. Gettin’ there. 92 proof. B+ / $61
Renegade Rum Single Farm Cuvee Dunfermline – Still a blend of pot and column distilled rums, but all from cane grown on one inland farm called Dunfermline — all harvested in 2020. Aged 787 days. Very fruity on the nose, with notes of grilled tropical fruit, green banana, and some citrus. Light wood polish aromas linger. On the palate, the rum showcases a lively and slightly oxidized sweetness, with a surprising note of red berries and plums alongside the more expected tropical fruit. Bananas and brown sugar meld with a touch of youthful petrol, green papaya, and a toasted oak element that arrives on the finish. Bracing at 50% abv, with touches of warming pepper to conclude. 100 proof. A- / $60
Renegade Rum MicrOrigin Hope – Swimming Pool – Harvested from a single field called Swimming Pool on Hope farm, on the west coast of Granada. Pot distillate from August 2021, aged 549 days in barrel. Boldly grassy with ample petrol and plenty of heat; the nose evokes hogo and camphor, with a hearty amount of spice in the mix. On the palate: Quite pungent with more camphor, hogo, and heady herbs evoking menthol and mint. The boldly perfumed notes slowly blow off though, revealing some dark chocolate, cola, and black tea notes. A powerhouse of a rum, but incredibly daunting without a splash of water and/or some time in glass. 110 proof. B+ / $74
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