The 2023 Courage Gin Challenge champion, created by RON Xinyi bartender Wang Xiaoying (Xiao Yang), transforms the terroir of Taiwan into a liquid landscape. The woody aroma of coffee peels opens the story, intertwining the subtle sweetness of pandanus fruit with tea notes, while the rich sweetness of sweet potato echoes the island's contours, and a touch of coriander seed brightens the layers. The palate is smooth and rounded, with a gentle, sweet finish that lingers with the aromas of coffee and tea, bright and warm like the first rays of dawn, reflecting a deep connection to the land.

2023 Courage Gin Challenge Champion

Bartender: Rong Ron Xinyi / Bartender: Wang Xiaoying (Little Sheep)

Taiwan has a unique and wonderful landscape, and I am deeply happy to be able to stand on this land.

I am Little Sheep~ Coffee cherries have a woody aroma like the mountains in the western plains, while the pandanus fruit, a specialty of the seaside, is a snack I carry in my pocket when I ride the waves on Orchid Island. The aroma of tea wafts along Provincial Highway 3, which is full of tea gardens, accompanying me on my bike ride. Sweet potatoes are a perfect reflection of the shape of Taiwan and also represent the footprints I have left on every inch of this land. The sunrise on the wine label represents the "Xiao" in my birth name, which means "dawn," and also represents my hope that the warm people on this land will live towards the sun.