Business View Caribbean - June 2024

A RENEGADE DISTILLERYHOW THE QUINTESSENTIAL GRENADIAN RUM IS TAKING ON THE WORLD THE DISTILLERY Renegade Rum Distillery, in north-east Grenada, is an industry-changing project from Mark Reynier, who has over four decades of experience in the drinks industry. Half in wine, as a former wine importer and merchant; and half in spirits, from the renaissance of Islay’s Bruichladdich single malt whisky to Ireland’s groundbreaking, multi award-winning, Waterford Distillery. Eschewing molasses, Renegade Rum distils only pure sugar cane juice from over 50 distinct fields across 14 individual Grenadian farms. Every farm was purpose-planted by the distillery,  the Grenadian sugar cane industry having experienced a drastic decline over the past decades. Following the model of elite Bordeaux Châteaux and Champagne houses, the distillery processes and matures each field individually, preserving the distinct flavours of each farm. ‘For several years, the award-winning team behind Renegade Rum has tirelessly worked to change the conversation surrounding rum’  - FORBES WORLD-BEATING RUM, AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE Following its farm-by-farm methodology, the distillery releases its rum both as MicrOrigins – precise expressions of a single field – and as Cuvée Concepts, where rums matured in an industry-leading oak portfolio are layered for greater complexity. Noted in The Times, Forbes and Decanter, Renegade Distillery’s rums have, in the last two years, won five Double Golds and the title of ‘World’s Best Rum’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and ‘Distillery of the Year’ at the New York International Spirits Competition. Coinciding with this success Renegade Rum announced an ambitious expansion of their distribution in the USA, with major new partners such as Breakthru Beverages, Johnson Brothers and Frederick Wildman & Sons. Soon to be available in every state, their new core range of All-Island Cuvée Nova, Pre-Cask Cuvée Aura, Single Farm Cuvée Dunfermline and MicrOrigin Hope were released in the USA in 2023. All now Gold medalists, with Cuvée Nova earning 11 awards in under a year. OF GRENADA, BY GRENADIANS Since its inception in 2018, Renegade Rum Distillery and its sister company CaneCo, which looks after its sugar cane farms, now employs a team of 166, almost all Grenadians. The distillery boasts the world’s only all-female distilling team in rum, and in the last year has opened its doors to visitors for tours. Renegade Rum is a pure expression of Grenada; made on Grenada, from Grenadian produce, by Grenadians. Yet already making a global impact.