Renegade Rum is owned by Murray McDavid and part of the Bruichladdich group. They apply the same ACE concept (additional Cask Evolution) to their rums as to some whiskies. They ship the rum to Islay, finish it in wine casks and bottle it at Bruichladdich.

This 10 years old Brazilian rum was distilled at the colossal and modern Epris distillery near São Paolo, where they also distill for Bacardi.

Congratulations to Bruichladdich for the bottle design (again) and the nice metal name tag, although I must add that it’s almost impossible to pour a glass from this type of bottle without spilling (maybe this will be easier once the level starts to lower).

Epris 10 yo 1999 (46%, Renegade 2009, Chateau Lafite finish, 1380 btl.)

Nose: a mixture of dried fruits (plums) and fresher fruits (apricot, berries). Quite spicy. Some toffee. Hints of musty oak. Mouth: smooth, lots of berries again. Red wine gums. Caramel and brown sugar. Soft vanilla and spices. Finish: not too long. A very light hint of mint.

I don’t think this Brazilian rum was of special quality before being ACE’d by Renegade. The wine helped to add complexity in a nice way, but the end result is still not really exceptional (in the eyes of a rum novice). Around € 45.