MHOBA Umbila Bourbon Cask (LMDW New Vibrations Collection) 2023

Mhoba is a South African distillery that has built a name making intensely funky pot still rum from fresh pressed sugar cane juice, agricole in approach if not in protected name. This Umbila bottling, a single cask aged in ex bourbon wood and released in La Maison du Whisky's New Vibrations collection, is the most bourbon forward of the set and a showcase of Mhoba's estery, high impact style at 59.7%.

Distilled on a pot still for maximum aromatic weight, it opens with the gluey, varnish tinged funk that links it to heavy Jamaican rum, wrapped around fermented tropical fruit, honey, vanilla and marzipan, with grassy, mineral cane notes underneath. The bourbon cask brings sweetness and structure without softening the funk. Certified unsweetened and full of character, it is one for experienced palates who enjoy ester driven rum, best in small neat pours or with a splash of water.