Overview
Brand: Habitation Velier
Origin: Mhoba, Malelane, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Still: Pot
Age: Unaged
Finish: n/a
ABV: 62%
Next on the list is an unaged expression of a popular South African rum, produced at one of my favorite non-Caribbean distilleries.
Habitation Velier Mhoba is a sugarcane-based, pure single rum, produced using a pot still at the Mhoba distillery in Malelane, South Africa. The rum underwent a dual fermentation process, with one component spending 28 days in wild fermentation, which also included dunder from previous distillation runs, and the other component spent 14 days fermenting. It was bottled unaged at 62% ABV.
For transparency, this bottle was provided to me by a brand representative, with no obligation other than to enjoy the rum.
Appearance
Clear, medium viscosity
Nose
Underripe pineapple, model glue, honeydew, underripe berries, fresh sugarcane, honeycomb, golden raisin
Palate
Underripe blueberries, sugarcane, papaya, green bell pepper, fresh grass clippings, golden raisin, dried straw
Finish
Medium-short, fruity, bright; pineapple, sugarcane, green bell pepper, dried papaya
Rating: 7/10
Summary
This unaged Mhoba is quite the journey, especially if you're primary experience with the South African rum is in aged expressions. This has a lot of fruit notes that I don't get on those bottlings, putting this on the Rivers end of the unaged sugarcane juice rum spectrum.
There's a lot to get to on this one, but the highlights of the nose include a stinging underripe pineapple, an industrial model glue note, and golden raisins. The pineapple turns to blueberries on the palate, with sugarcane mixing with papaya and green pepper. Grass clippings, golden raisins, and dried straw fade into a bright, fruity, but somewhat short finish.
I appreciate being able to try this, and can certainly see where this fits in the market of unaged rum/specialty releases. For me, I lean more towards the aged Mhoba rums over this one, even though this was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.