Pure Cane Juice Rum, South Africa

The Mhoba distillery produces rums from the juice of a sugar cane variety known locally as “nkomazi”. Aged in a cask previously used for a Woodford Reserve bourbon, this version baptized Umbila (corn in siswati) reveals a complex, powerful and heady character. Taking evermore exotic, empyreumatic and mineral paths, the palette of flavors and aromas is incredibly harmonious and confident. Bottled for LMDW’s catalogue New Vibrations.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: Full, deep. On the first nose, a fine layer of salted butter caramel covers the aroma palette. Soon, however, it becomes more empyreumatic (rubber), heady (iris, tuberose) and hot. Allowed to breathe, syrupy and oxidative flavors of cane sugar and juices stand out for their extroverted character.

Appearance: Old gold.

Palate: Clean, lively. The fruity (pear, apple), lemony and vanilla attack is also infused (camomile). As the fruit becomes more exotic (pineapple, banana, coconut), the mid-palate also becomes profoundly mineral (schist, manganese).

Overall: Long, full. At the start of the finish, flavors of slightly burnt cane sugar, cinnamon and dried fruit and nuts (grilled walnut, date) rival the intensity of floral notes (iris butter, lily) that unmistakably evoke the first nose. The powdery end of the palate is divinely chocolatey and roasted (endive).