Mhoba Rum 2019/2023 Woodford Bourbon Cask - Cherry

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 63.5% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

A former Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel shapes this single-cask bottling from MHOBA. The American oak barrel previously held bourbon for six years before being filled with pot still rum distilled from sugarcane juice in 2019. Kirsch Import selected cask WR 10 for an exclusive bottling. The rum was produced, matured and bottled on the MHOBA estate in Malalane.

In 2023, it yielded 252 numbered bottles, each containing 0.7 litres at a cask strength of 63.5%. The rum is neither chill-filtered nor coloured, and no sugar or flavourings are added. Alongside the fruity ester character, the cask contributes impressions of corn, butter and spicy oak.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Solvent-like ester notes, black olives and diesel oil emerge first. Behind them, pineapple, green banana and mango unfold, accompanied by a hint of acetone and lime. Subtle notes of brown sugar and fresh leather appear later.
• Palate: Pineapple and lime open the palate, followed by salty notes, a little coconut and charred wood. Beneath these lie raisins, prunes and salted caramel, with a nuance of buttered corn. Vegetal notes, ginger and further solvent-like esters then appear, with a slightly numbing effect; a hint of rubber completes the picture.
• Finish: Sugary sweetness, pronounced ester notes and spice remain in balance throughout the very long finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

MHOBA is based on the Greaves family's sugarcane estate near Malalane in northeastern South Africa. The family has grown sugarcane there since the 1980s. Robert Greaves returned to the farm during the 2007–2008 economic crisis and looked for a way to process the family's own harvest. Following a trip to Mauritius, the mechanical engineer developed the idea of a rum distillery; in 2013, he produced his first white rum using stills he had built himself.

Greaves also designed and built the other equipment needed for distillation. MHOBA uses juice from its own sugarcane rather than molasses and distils in pot stills. This approach draws on the agricole style of the French Caribbean. For its unflavoured rums, the distillery adds no sugar, colouring or flavourings: the raw material, fermentation, distillation and cask maturation determine their character.

Facts: