Habitation Velier MHOBA 2017

Part of Velier's Habitation line, which exists to showcase Pure Single Rum, pot still spirit from one distillery with nothing added, this MHOBA marks South Africa's arrival in that company. Made on a pot still from sugar cane, it is often set beside Hampden for its glue and ester driven funk, while keeping a buttery, rounder texture of its own.

Four years of tropical ageing in ex-bourbon wood has knitted honey, roasted tropical fruit and a touch of cane sweetness around those esters, with a faintly smoky, pleasantly bitter finish. Bottled unsweetened at a hefty 64.6%, it is dense and youthful but surprisingly balanced, the alcohol carrying rather than burning once it has had air. This is a rum for drinkers who already enjoy funky pure cane spirits and want to meet one of the genre's newer voices.