Renaissance is an up-and-coming new distillery from Taiwan, which, despite their rather young releases and short history, already managed to make a new for themselves. To me, that means that the distillate has to be very good, first and foremost, but cask management seems to play a crucial role for Renaissance as well.
As a long time reader of Single Cask Rum, you probably know that we always had a deeper interest in the historical aspects and background information as well. With Renaissance, that has to wait for some other time however. In case you are super curious, you might want to check out this review by Lance, where you can find some more information at the end of the article.

Renaissance 2019 4YO “Deuxième Cru Classé” #19028 (66,7%): I think it would be a massive understatement to say that I am curious what this stuff tastes like. Especially since wine casks can be extremely tricky! Before I forget, please not that this is not the correct label. Nose: Oha! My first impression is that this is very good! This stuff smells fresh, fruity and well, indeed rather modern. I get a mix of cherries (sweet and sour ones), kiwi, grapefruit, now plenty of strawberry and honey dew melon. This is extremely cool stuff. In the grand scheme of things, this is high ester stuff, think Wedderburn style and beyond! Based on the nose alone, my closest reference would be Savanna, I think. With more time in the glass Emeukal drops (the cherry again) and more herbal notes along the lines of an excellent Amaro. I love it! Palate: I didn’t really check the abv conciously but holy moly, this is high voltage rock’n’roll. This is indeed relatively close to some Grand Arômes by Savanna. We get the whole potpourri of fruits again, even though they appear in and exceedingly dry and somewhat salty form. I think we should attribute that to the wine cask. I am totally blown away, this fruitiness paired with the astringency and creaminess is absolutely stunning, especially at this age. This somewhat bubblegummy note totally does the trick as well, but you have to like that I guess. Finish: Extremely long and dry, with oak, mint, strawberry, ice candy, juniper and gooseberries as well as a certain spiciness here and there. Bring this stuff to Europe, my friends! (89/100)

Renaissance 2018 3YO “White Alligator” #18257 (64,8%): Nose: It is clear now that this is the Renaissance profile, i.e. strawberry, something along the lines of cherries, passion fruit and other related fruits that have both, sweet and sour elements to them. Without know Renaissance, I probably would have guessed that this is another Savanna. Now papaya, guava and toothpaste. Very nice, even though it is lacking the depth of the red wine cask a bit, in direct comparison. Palate: A bit sharp at first but then we get the whole bunch of esters, fruits as well as several more herbal notes, spearmint and parsley, most notably. With the second sip we get more of that papaya and guava combination, even though these strawberries are still in charge. While the Rum’s profile is extremely broad in the fruit spectrum, I wouldn’t necessarily say that it is extremely complex because you’ve figured it out very quickly. That said, this is still excellent stuff, which lacks a few of the surprising elements that really stood out in the red wine cask, i.e. the extreme adstringency and ultra creamy texture. Finish: Long with yellow plums, gooseberry, kiwi and plenty of mint. Here and there oak and herbs. The folks in Taiwan really know what they are doing, my friends! (88/100)

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