Raising Glasses Clouded Leopard Renaissance Distillery Bordeaux Cask. Rums from Renaissance Distillery have been attracting a lot of attention among rum enthusiasts over the last few years.

Located in southern Taiwan, the distillery has built something of a cult reputation for producing bold, experimental pot-still rums using long fermentations, dunder and unusual maturation casks. Production numbers are tiny and most bottles rarely leave Taiwan, which only adds to the mystique surrounding the brand.

The Clouded Leopard Bordeaux Cask Single Cask #19136 is one of the more unusual releases from the distillery even by their standards. The rum was distilled from molasses following a long 13-day fermentation using French West Indies yeast and dunder before being distilled on a Charentais pot still.

It was then aged entirely in Taiwan for around five years. Initially in new American oak before spending almost four years in a Saint-Julien Bordeaux wine cask from the Léoville-Poyferré estate.

Raising Glasses Clouded Leopard Renaissance Distillery Bordeaux Caskwas bottled in 2024 at full cask strength, a hefty 66.5% ABV, with an outturn of 90 bottles making their way to US Independent bottlers Raising Glasses. These have sold out now even at $250 price point. So secondary market again if you want to pick this one up. Sorry but I had to still review this.

The combination of heavy fermentation, pot-still distillation and an active red wine cask immediately suggests this isn’t going to be a delicate or easy-going rum. Or straightforward to review……..

In the glass the rum is a reddish-amber colour. It hints at the wine cask influence before you even get your nose anywhere near the glass.

The nose is immediately intense. This is not a gentle introduction. The first aromas that jump out are dark berries and stewed fruit plums, blackberries and something almost like raspberry compote. There’s also a darker edge lurking underneath. Cocoa powder, bitter dark chocolate and a slightly earthy note begins to appear.

The wine cask influence is fairly obvious here. It brings a strong red fruit character but also a slightly tannic edge which stops things from becoming overly sweet. Alongside that there’s a noticeable savoury note. Something slightly herbal and spicy. A touch of cumin, perhaps a little black tea and a vaguely umami drift through the background. Soy sauce? Marmite?

Give Raising Glasses Clouded Leopard Renaissance Distillery Bordeaux Cask a minute in the glass and the nose becomes even more layered. There are hints of roasted sweet peppers and warm spice along with something that feels almost medicinal. It’s quite an unusual aromatic profile and certainly not your typical rum experience.

On the palate the rum wastes no time reminding you that it’s bottled at full cask strength. The first sip delivers a serious punch of flavour along with a noticeable burst of heat. However, it never really crosses the line into harshness. Instead the alcohol carries the flavours in a big, bold wave.

Dark fruit flavours dominate again, particularly plum, raspberry and cherry. At times it almost edges into cough syrup territory, which sounds strange but actually works surprisingly well with the darker chocolate notes running alongside it.

Behind the fruit there’s a more savoury layer building up. Black tea, earthy spices and a slightly smoky character begin to develop. The Bordeaux cask influence brings a firm structure to the rum with noticeable tannins and a dry grip that keeps everything from becoming overly jammy or sweet.

There’s also a slightly funky edge that occasionally peeks through. Likely the result of the long fermentation with dunder. It’s not full-on Jamaican-style funk, but it adds another dimension to what is already a very complex flavour profile.

The finish is long, intense and very enjoyable. The darker fruit notes gradually fade away leaving behind cocoa, charred spice and a lingering herbal bitterness. The tannins from the wine cask remain present right to the end, giving the finish a dry, almost red wine like structure. After a few moments there’s also a faint savoury note that returns.

The combination of high strength, heavy fermentation character and active wine cask influence makes it quite a demanding spirit. It’s the sort of rum that rewards slow sipping and perhaps even a few drops of water to open things up further.

What makes this bottling particularly interesting is how different it feels from most traditional rum styles. It doesn’t really fit neatly into the usual flavour profiles. Instead it feels like something sitting at the crossroads not quite sure in which direction it is heading maybe.

For adventurous rum drinkers that’s part of the appeal. Renaissance Distillery clearly isn’t trying to replicate classic rum styles. Instead they’re pushing the boundaries of what rum can be, using unusual casks and fermentation techniques to create something genuinely distinctive.

Whether that works for everyone is another question. The wine cask influence is strong and occasionally threatens to overshadow the base spirit. When it all comes together the rum delivers a seriously complex and memorable experience.

Overall this is a bold, uncompromising rum that shows just how exciting the emerging Taiwanese rum scene can be. It’s intense, unusual and packed with flavour. Definitely not an everyday sipper, but certainly one that rum enthusiasts will find fascinating to explore.