Aroma visualization from community tastings
MHOBA Select Reserve French Cask Rum 2019
Most tasters land somewhere between pleasantly surprised and impressed — a Mhoba that behaves. Solvent and ester lead the nose, then tropical fruit rolls in: banana, papaya, coconut, mango, with vanilla and buttery caramel softening the edges. The South African red-wine cask adds a bit of wood without smothering the cane. At 65% it's hot but the alcohol sits well integrated, and a few drops of water open the fruit right up.
The community says- Tropical fruit
- Well-integrated 65%
- But: Hot neat
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The look inside the bottle
How does MHOBA Select Reserve French Cask Rum 2019 taste?
Aggregated from 58 community reviews.
Fruity, polished Mhoba that drinks young well The recurring verdict is a tamer, fruit-forward Mhoba that's remarkably polished for two years — well liked; if you want the wilder full-throttle ester bomb, other batches go harder.
Mhoba fans and cane-juice ester lovers
anyone wanting the wildest full-power Mhoba
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
31 of 58 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is MHOBA Select Reserve French Cask Rum 2019 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.3 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
81% rate it 8 or higher. 26 selected write-ups from 58 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by TheRhumhoe
Knowing the spirit of the distillery, this Mhoba is different in many ways from the standards on offer. Very pastry-like (brioche, cookie, butterscotch), the nose also evokes sugarcane, esters and rubber on a background of sweet spices and exotic fruits. A particularly sweet, gourmand profile on the nose. The profile is just as intriguing on the palate. Esters, rubber and burnt notes mingle with exotic fruits and warm spices, sugar cane and caramel for a most surprising blend. A powerful yet flavorful Mhoba, where the alcohol is very well integrated. The long, warm finish is at once ester-like, caramelized with crème brûlée and fruity with coconut, banana and mango. Woody, candied sugarcane and spicy notes are also present. A very drinkable Mhoba, less heavy than its congeners, but just as interesting for the distillery's future.
Review by Lukas Jäger
RumX Ester Calendar Day 3, blind. Tangy esters, solvent and some dominant alcohol. We don't have a bottling from Jamaica here. A slight nuttiness pairs with a woodiness that I almost didn't recognize as wood.A rather familiar aroma lingers on the tongue that one or the other rather doesn't like and triggers bad associations(it doesn't get more specific 😛).Mhoba is and remains exciting with each bottling, even if not all of them appeal to me. French Cask is probably one of them, I don't like the kind of woodiness so much. Nevertheless, I always enjoy Mhoba, because it is different and the bottlings are continuously improving. A nice enrichment of the rum world!
Review by Fasen
This Mhoba offers us a lot of fruits (Banana / Coconut / Mango / Pineapple / Dry fruits) a huge greediness (Pastry brioche / Butterscotch / Chocolate / Fatty nuts) on sweet spices (Cinnamon / Vanilla / Pepper).We feel, under all these aromas the small side of sugar cane with vegetal (Hay / Green) as well as a beautiful freshness (Citrus / Ginger).fortunately we still have in the background the empyreumatic side of Mhoba (Solvent / Tar / Rubber).it is overall really good!
Review by Stylo
C: honey, bright yellow N: acetone, wood, spices (green pepper). Tropical fruit (papaya, green apples?) well hidden beneath the acetone/ nail polish. Some bitter chocolate later on. P: mildly sweet on the first sip, with ripe fruits upfront (papaya and apples, kiwi), little astringent. F: metallic, wood, slightly peppery. Guess: ABV-wise, i’d say in the 53% range. I am wildly guessing: maybe Fiji or some sort of Clarendon? Like 10y of aging. Reveal: very woody for being just 2yo! Not my favorite
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4621 23.02.2024 Relaxing at home warming up for the tasting at Whisky Watcher in Odense tomorrow. Nose Medium intense, light wood, faint smoke, fruity, ester, light solvents, vegetal. Palste Medium intense, light roasted wood, fruity, ester, solvents, spicy, faint rubber. Finish Very long and warm, wood, light roasted, ester, light rubber, faint coconut. The empty glass has some nutts, light caramel and faint chocolate. Price to quality is very good in my mind.
Review by Jacques etdom
Au nez quelques esters et surtout un côté bourbon avec pas mal de coco grillée. Presque un nez sage. En bouche c est plus vif, avec un côté piment. Toujours fruité, sur la banane et la coco, avec quelques fruits jaunes. Le milieu de bouche et la fin de bouche sont très équilibrés, avec un léger côté huileux. Finale correcte. Étonnant pour un rhum aussi jeune, j aurais dit 6 à 8 ans à l aveugle, je suis bluffé. Sympa, hâte de goûter des embouteillages plus anciens.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Blind Tasting,
Review by Thunderbird
A very intense and sparkling Mhoba!I am always pleasantly surprised by this distillery!I am curious when in the next few years times a long matured Mhoba is available!Cheers to the Happy E(a)ster team! So far a very good choice
Review by Tim
Schade, dass die Standardreihe "French Cask" nur ca. 2 Jahre im Fass verbringt. Längere Lagerungen kommen nur als besondere Veröffentlichung heraus, haben mir aber bisher noch besser gefallen. Dieelser Rum ist ein verückter Mix aus Jamaika mit etwas Agricole, gelagert im südafrikanischen Rotweinfass. Im Mund intensiv und heftig, auch wegen 65°.
Review by Martin Ekrt
Po hodně dlouhé době se vracím k přechutnání kousku, od kterého jsem měl celou láhev. Jestli si dobře vzpomínám, tak jsem měl batch 1, 2 i 3 a všechny byly dost odlišné. Co Mhoba to zábavná africká haluz. Rum, co je třeba vyzkoušet. Možná až na Bushfire, který jsem moc nedával 😀 Edit: přechutnávam a je to pořád stejně divný i dobrý zároveň
Review by Harald
Color: Old goldOdor:Very fruity of tropical fruits (melon, papaya) with vanilla.Taste:Sweet and fruity in the mouth, then alcoholic.When swallowed spicy alcoholic and fruity.Aromas of tropical fruits (papaya) and caramel.Finish:LongFruity with esters, woody in the finish.87 points.
Review by Galli33
#3 RumXHighE(a)ster weeks: Blind tasting: Fiji 🤔 5-10 years of aging approx. 55% low ester Unvaried/boring… Not a big fan of this one. As a simple sample it‘s a bit unvaried/boring. The finish is quite short and the alcohol is vanished without a trace. For me the 151 Strand is still the mhoba benchmark
Review by Master P
Sehr fruchtig nach tropischen Früchten (Melone, Papaya) mit Vanille. Süß und fruchtig im Mund, dann alkoholisch. Beim Schlucken würzig alkoholisch und fruchtig. Aromen von tropischen Früchten (Papaya) und Karamell. Fruchtig mit Estern, holzig im Abgang.
Review by tojo
The 3rd sample (Mhoba) was unfortunately nothing for me. Little complexity - reminiscent of Tres Hombres. Wood, spices and some sweetness. Light estery notes on the palate. The 65 ABV one tastes clearly out.
Review by Jean Louisss
Very good rum from mhoba, well executed and well finished. The empyreumatic frame is well present in the nose and in the mouth, but contrary to the high ester, several other notes come to be grafted to give a very successful rum.
Review by Buddudharma
Good rum, especially for its age. In the finish a rather intense nutty note, which in my view does not fit the profile so well, so I like other bottlings (eg HV, Plastic) better...
Review by mto75
also here on the nose floral notes, coupled with a buttery-lovely (fruit-yogurt) note, as I could already detect in other MHOBAs.
Review by Santo
Un nez funky avec pas mal d'ester, en bouche on retrouve le profil classique de Mhoba un peu plus de fruité que d'autres que j'ai eu l'occasion de goûter.
Review by Righrum
A tamed down mhoba. Too much moved towards the sweet and caramel side to be, and esters seems to be a little bit hiding.
Review by Johannes
Nice balance between barrel influence and young fruity freshness. Almost similar to a young Jamaican.
Review by Christoph
For the short aging great complexity and great fruitiness.
Review by Clément Boetto🤤🇫🇷
Very pleasantly surprised by this Mhoba profile. Very good
Review by Lot-NAS
Quite a decent dram and a good swimmer.
Review by Renato
A nice balance between the aromatic diversity of the distillate and the roundness of the barrel.
Review by lars
Kam mir auch irgendwie bekannt vor
Review by FabiDram
Undiluted 75/100Diluted to approx.46% 80/100
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Very tasty, great nose, very nice on the palate. The balance is perfect
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 62 € – 77 €
from 8 sales, latest 08/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 85 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about MHOBA Select Reserve French Cask Rum 2019
A Pot Still Rum from South Africa, distilled by MHOBA, at 65%.
Community purchases
31 bottles logged by 29 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
48% opened, 7 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for MHOBA Select Reserve French Cask Rum 2019?
Community paid 75–105 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
31 purchased · 59 tasted · 14 wishlist · as of
About the MHOBA distillery
The MHOBA distillery is located in South Africa. Rums from MHOBA have been reviewed 2,493 times with an average of 8.2/10.
To MHOBA →Read on in the RumX Guide
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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