Mhoba's rums can be quite commonly found on the shelves of specialist boutiques or rum bars today. But it wasn’t always the case; to my knowledge, Mhoba rums really started garnering attention when they released this 2017 vintage with Habitation Velier back in 2021. I believe what made Mhoba stand out among the vast number of rum distilleries dotted around the world is the management of its own supply chain - from growing organic cane, to the crushing, the distillation through a self-built high reflux pot still, and finally to the hand-labelling of its bottles.

This Habitation Velier edition, in particular, was distilled from sugarcane juice in 2017 and tropically aged for four years in its home in Malalane, South Africa, in ex-bourbon barrels, and eventually bottled in 2021 at 64.6% ABV.

On the nose, it had this incredibly sweet, vanilla, and caramel-like nose, much like crème brûlée, and paired with wafts of sweet cup corn, something I’ve come to associate with for nearly all Mhoba rums I’ve tasted. It was able to balance beautifully between that soft, sweet side with some harder-hitting industrial notes, such as varnish, a hint of plastics, and some light fusel notes.

The palate starts off soft, with those vanilla notes and sweet cup corn that left a lasting impression. Texture-wise, it was rather spritely in the initial stages due to the higher ABV, but as it lingered on, it developed an oily texture, which helped elevate the complexity, pairing well with those crème brûlée notes. Interestingly, those industrial notes were very subdued, and those sweet notes continued to linger on into that long finish, which brought about fruitier notes of banana essence, a touch of tangerine, and that sweet cup corn that seemed to go on forever.

This Mhoba rum, to me, is one of the perfect examples of simplicity at its best. There was nothing particularly mind-boggling about it, no messing around with cask finishes or secondary maturations (not that there is anything wrong with either), nor are there layers and layers of complexity. It really encapsulates what good distillates aged in proper casks, and careful nurturing, can result in a tasty rum that I am confident will appeal to anyone regardless of where on the rum spectrum you may be.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu