Aroma visualization from community tastings
Holmes Cay MHOBA South Africa 2017
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Here's the twist: it drinks like an agricole and a Jamaican pot-still had a kid. Sharp cane-juice greenness, overripe banana and pineapple, plus a real ester funk running underneath — one taster nails it as "white dog" wildness. Four years in a South African whisky cask leaves it dry rather than sweet. At 59% it kicks, but a rest in the glass lets the fruit through. Wild, distinctive, and not an everyday pour.
The community says- Cane-juice funk
- Overripe banana
- Keep in mind: Dry, bitter finish
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Buying advice
These ship to you
Yes, if you're after bold, tropical, funky rums for sipping neat.
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The look inside the bottle
How does Holmes Cay MHOBA South Africa 2017 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Wild cane-juice funk, agricole meets Jamaican Members keep landing on the same word — unusual — and mean it as praise. Fans of funky, cane-forward rum rate it highly; it's a treat, not a daily sipper.
funk chasers who love cane-juice pot still
beginners or anyone wanting sweet, easy rum
Style & occasion: Tropical & funkySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
13 of 32 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
What does the community say?
32 community reviews
Rating scale & review checks
On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.
See the full rating guideHow ratings are made and how we check them ›The website shows a selection of written reviews. The distribution also includes ratings without text. All published reviews are available in the RumX app.
13 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 32 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
#6987 02.07.2026 Relaxing with a few samples after a checkup at the doctor. Listening to some EDM for a change on Spotify. A pretty good rum with a nice price tag in my mind. Intense and fruity with some spices, light rubber, mineral and light roasted wood.
Review by Jakob
Most helpful mixed review
Lots of youthful freshness, the nose presents accented fruit notes with some sweetness. On the palate, a spicy-roasty aroma comes in, reminiscent of cigar smoke - heavy tobacco aroma combined with smoke. For me, it could have a bit less roast note, but that's a matter of taste. Overall a good package.
Review by Frank
From the first Mhoba on, I love this distillery with its very own rum profile. This one matured the entire 4 years in a South African whisky cask - maybe Bains? Nose: clear Mhoba profile, fermented fruits with honey and yogurt. Overripe banana and papaya and slightly vegetal towards olive. Also present is the typical funk, noticeable with fruit esters and vinegar. Honestly, I don't notice the whisky cask here. But, as always, good. 8.4 Palate: yes, now the whisky shows itself. The classic Mhoba seems a bit more barley-like, coarser. The base is again fermented fruit and honey with a slightly bitter-salty start. Esters and banana. Seems a bit dry. Am I mistaken or does some soap come in the finish? 8.0 Actually, I don't like the whisky cask that much, even if it adds a clearly different note to the usual Mhoba taste.
Review by Jussi Piirainen
First of all, nothing but love to Trailer Happiness bar, i absolutely loved my visit down there. They had a few Holmes Cay releases on the back shelve, so i chosed this one because i have really liked Mhoba's releases so far. On the nose: Esters, overripe tropical fruits like banana, pineapple and little bit of papaya. Light citrus notes in the background. The ester level is "mid-range" range, not a ester bomb. You can tell that this is a young rum. Taste: Esters, tropical fruits like banana and pineapple. Light glue notes in the background. Finish: Warm and light tropical fruits at first. Then palate gets dry, slightly bitter and fermented. Medium finish. This rum gives quite typical tropical fruit notes with nice "easy to aproach" mid-range ester levels that unfortunately gets lost at the finish.
Review by rbfsnow
Maybe my favorit 2017 Mhoba 🫣 a little "whisky" but not smoky😅 funky, pineapple & walnut barbecue with bananas flambées 😋😋😋😋😋😋
Review by Kayla Roy
Phenomenal, how delicious! This is not for everyone, but if you like funky, almost gross smelling rum (if you know, you know) this is the thing. It smells like white dog and fights like a much younger distillate. Wonderful!
Review by Anton Krioukov
Will blow your socks off! Just wow! If you like high ester rum, this is for you. Intense, fruity, and exciting.
Review by ChrisPro
I think this is my rum of the year from 2022. Just trying to drink the bottle as slow as I can. Delicious!
Review by Kieron Wood
Tasting 23-03-2023 The nosing on this is quite weird as it's really heavy ina butterscotch grass note which confuses the brain . The tasting is just as insane that's a beautiful blend of agricole notes with a sweet rum .. This is an excellent bottling from Eric that's so unusual it blows the mind
Review by Abrahan Reyes
I was given a sampler for this to try. The color is very clear and that may be because is aged for only four years. Nose: Sugarcane, pineapple, very pleasant. Taste: The first impression is that kicks hard, that's because is bottled at 59% ABV. After letting rest you can get more from it. Banana, coconut, sugarcane. The aftertaste is prolonged and pleasant. Very good indeed will probably be better with some extra time in the barrel. Will I buy it, not so sure the price is a bit stiff for me, and in that price range I can get some excellent rums.
Review by Peter Bosel
very unique and wild. This is a fun one! It's great, but not something you can drink casually every day.
Review by Moss Cail
I don't think the finish is doing it any favors. It's a little clashy, still really good.
Review by Henry Davies
Unusual and very distinctive nose - really great strawberry and overripe pineapple. A bit of heat on the tongue but nothing crazy given the age profile, tropical fruit, Indian spices, treacle and caramel. Light slightly flat finish with a bit of pepper and green hay. It’s different, interesting and an exciting early release - keen to try more from Mhoba
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Secret Rum Bar
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Holmes Cay MHOBA South Africa 2017 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
26 bottles logged by 20 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
15% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Holmes Cay MHOBA South Africa 2017?
Community paid 88–112 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
26 purchased · 33 tasted · 14 wishlist · as of
Details about Holmes Cay MHOBA South Africa 2017
A Pot Still Rum from South Africa, bottled by Holmes Cay, at 59%.
About the MHOBA distillery
The MHOBA distillery is located in South Africa. Rums from MHOBA have been reviewed 2,534 times with an average of 8.2/10.
To MHOBA ›Read on in the RumX Guide
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