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Mhoba Franky’s Pineapple Rum
The Mhoba rum line is produced at their distillery located in the hills of the Onderberg district in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Using sugarcane grown onsite, the company currently produces ten different styles of rums. All of them are pot stilled using fermented sugarcane juice and contains no additives or coloring. The rum for Franky’s Pineapple is a blend of their Glass Cask rum and two different Pot Stilled rums that have been infused with fresh and seared Natal Queen Pineapple. The rums are blended together and brought to 43% ABV before bottling. All of Mhoba’s rums are produced in small batches and front label has a batch noted on it. The bottle for this review is from US19FPL.
Mhoa Rum
Appearance
The liquid in the square 750 ml bottle is secured with a wood capped cork. Both the front and back labels are loaded with information about the product, much of which is in the introduction.The rum holds a lovely amber gold color in both the bottle and glass. Agitating the liquid creates a medium band that drops multiple waves of thick, fast moving legs before finally beading up.
Nose
The aroma of the rum leads with an “agricole style” fermented sugarcane juice note that I would expect from any rhum produced in Martinique or Guadeloupe. The earthy terroir really creates the baseline and then the pineapple notes take over in the middle and high notes. In my opinion, you really can detect two distinct pineapple aromas with the “cooked” charred seared pineapple taking the midline, and the sharper juice tang of what would have been the fresh cut pineapple. Toward the end of the aroma profile are some notes of char and oak tannins.
Palate
The first sip is proof forward as the alcohol paves the way and conditions the mouth for the next sips. Additional sips deliver savory pineapple balanced by the charred oak, baking spices and caramel. The mineral rich terroir base I discovered in the aroma is present and intermingles well with the smoky flavors of the profile. The pineapple flavors are ever present, but nothing in the flavor profile overwhelms the other notes. Instead, we get a well balanced flavor profile that’s only sweetness is coming from the pineapple juices and caramel notes of the rum. As the rum fades the pineapple flavors and oak notes drift and mingle leaving behind a light toasted oak note before the finish fades away.
Review
My first time encountering this rum line was at a show in Miami (Miami Rum Congress) and while I was intrigued by the aromas, my palate was so fatigued I passed on actually tasting them at that time. With that said I really enjoyed the complexity of the aroma and flavor profiles and am glad that the company has distribution in the United States. While I enjoyed this rum neat, some may prefer it mixed in a cocktail and it holds up great in any recipe that calls for a pineapple rum ingredient. When you are shopping for a new rum line to explore, Mhoba may just be different enough to entertain your senses. I look forward to acquiring more from the line as opportunities allow.
