MHOBA Ingwe (Collection Foundations) 2019
Caramelized banana is the headline here — ripe, almost overripe, with fruity esters, resinous wood and a whiff of smoke behind it. The nose is the showstopper (grilled pineapple, honey, fresh cane), and several tasters found the palate a touch drier and woodier than the fruit-bomb aroma promises. A cask-strength South African pot-still that drinks a lot like a Jamaican.
The community says- Caramelized banana nose
- Big fruity esters
- But: Palate trails the nose
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The look inside the bottle
How does MHOBA Ingwe (Collection Foundations) 2019 taste?
Aggregated from 26 community reviews.
Banana-ester bomb with a woody, drier palate Widely loved among Mhoba fans — intense banana-and-ester nose, balanced oily palate. The one gripe: the palate doesn't quite live up to that spectacular aroma.
Jamaican-funk fans curious about high-ester South African cane rum
Anyone wanting a soft, sweet sipper or bothered by high ABV
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
18 of 26 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is MHOBA Ingwe (Collection Foundations) 2019 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.9 sits in the “Very good” band. 96% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 3% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
96% rate it 8 or higher. 15 selected write-ups from 26 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,9:On the nose, esters, solvents and honeyed sugarcane, fermented bump into our nosetrils, with overripe tropical fruits like banana, pineapple.We have a roasted wood with caramel, smoky, spicy with baking spices.The cane is vegetal with an olive.Sometimes we get a pungent feeling... On aeration, the cane is herbaceous, the fruits, with an additon of red ones, citrus and apricots,are like a marmelade...some notes come out like a yoghurt after a while. 9,2:On the palate, the attack is delicious, balanced and round with overripe tropical fruits like banana, pineapple, esters, roasted, smoky wood notes like leather, chocolate, caramel, spicy and a bit salty.The cane is fresh, grassy and herbaceous, with some fruit notes a cola note arises, the cane also lends honeycomb to glaze the pastry that contains dried fruits, apricots and red fruits.We also notice citrus like an orange, grapefruit... 9,2:The finish is dry, tasty with delicious fruits in honeyed pastry, chocolate, vanilla and peanut butter biscuits, the cane is candied, vegetal and the fruits are fermented..
Review by RumTaTa
Nose: awesome - the grilled pineapple with caramelized cane sugar appears vividly before the mind's eye, alongside warm, ripe banana. This is one of the fruitiest rums on the nose! The palate is nowhere near as fruity and sweet as expected, but rather very balanced. Medium-long finish with the impressions from before. This is an exception! Or hopefully not and there will be more of this type of Mhoba! Unfortunately, the aromatic spectacle on the palate is much less intense than on the nose. Nevertheless, I rate the rum 9.1 because of its fascinating impression on the nose.
Review by Thunderbird
Endlich habe ich auch den Ingwe mal im Glas. Es ist ja recht schwierig überhaupt noch ein Sample zu ergattern. Einen herzlichen Dank an unser Forum, speziell nach Österreich! Nun zum Rum… in der Nase die herrlichen Mhoba-typischen Ester-Fruchtaromen, gepaart mit einer schweren Süße. Am Gaumen verteilt er sich cremig ölig und setzt zunächst kurz süße fruchtige Esteraromen frei, die aber relativ schnell ins holzig harzige wechseln, von Gewürzen und pflanzlichen Aromen begleitet. Aber alles sehr stimmig und angenehm. Der Abgang ist mehr auf der pflanzlich, würzihgen Seite. Ein erstklassiger Mhoba
Review by Dr.Django
Tasting the Mhoba New Vibrations: All three have those terrific Mhoba wood varnish ester notes. Imbasha: A delicious rum, but in a direct comparison with Mhoba it falls very far short. No complexity, bitter-woody, seems watered down. 76 pts. Kigelia: more complex in the west, more fruity and better balanced. 84 pts. Ingwe: Oh yes! that's the winner! great piece! Very fruity, with a lot of wood influence and wood varnish. Complex, every sip sends you on a journey of discovery. 90 pts. the Ingwe should be included in a best-of-Mhoba tasting. It will be a feast
Review by Frank
At 5 years old, probably one of the oldest Mhoba at the moment? Although... from now on there could be an oldest every year 😉 Anyway, I've been a big Mhoba fan since the first bottling. Nose: blatantly fruity-sweet, from overripe to fermented. Overripe honeydew melon and super-sweet blossom honey with a very light pineapple-marzipan sweetness. Plus these typical vegetal notes of olive, pumpkin and camomile. Spicy at the back with clove, light green tea and sweet again, caramel-sweet. But the fruit vinegar esters are on top of everything. Delicious. 8.8 Palate: very different here. Rather spicy and woody. Strong, intense, astringent and slightly bitter at the beginning with roasted aromas. The esters with pineapple marzipan come right away, immediately replaced by salty, nutty caraway and nutmeg. Chamomile with a slight honey or banana sweetness comes far behind. An exciting aroma curve. 8.8 Mhoba has its very own, unmistakable profile and normal bourbon barrels are enough to make something wonderful out of it. Keep up the good work!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4916 Whisky Live in Paris 27.09.2024-30.09.2024. Another great event meeting a lot of RumX new and old friends. This year three weren't as many new releases as in 2023, but I still had a great time. I consider myself lucky as this was a secret bottle that many asking weren't allowed to get a sample of. The bottle was a release meant for distributors to showcase what Mhoba can do. Nose Fresh, balanced, light wood, faint smoke, ester, fruity, banana, spice, sugarcane, light vegetal. Palate Oily, balanced, round, fresh, light wood, faint smoke, medium spicy, fruity, overripe, banana, ester, light grass, faint caramel, faint leather, light chocolate. Finish Medium to long, light wood, faint smoke, faint chocolate, light ester, medium dry, fruity, medium spicy. This one is very well balanced and I really liked it. Would have loved to get my hands on a bottle 😊
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Impressive! This rum smells like a really big one! Warm cherries, honey, resin - really great! The impression on the palate does not quite match the olfactory explosion. Dry, resinous, vegetal aromas dominate here, less fruit. But still top shelf. Mhoba, as I predicted here in an earlier tasting, is making more and more of a name for itself, which really pleases me. DrDjango, I'm very grateful to you for the sample of this rare rum.
Review by SaibotZtar
Wow what a great nose immediately reminds of a tropical fruit basket but just before it has to go 🤣... Peach banana pineapple, strawberry jam ... Fruit esters . A little less fruity on the palate but very complex and balanced... Difficult to classify exactly but definitely delicious. The finish is full of banana, namely the brown, extremely overripe .... Very great Mhoba ... unfortunately I never got my hands on the bottle 😢
Review by Banana Joe
After opening the sample, fruity aromas immediately waft around the nose, with green banana being very dominant for me. Otherwise, it is more reminiscent of a Jamaican. On the palate, I would have blindly guessed Jamaican. Mhoba has really done a great job here, the rum is harmonious all round. The alcohol is also very nicely integrated. I missed out on getting myself a bottle. If you have one, please let me know.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Wow! What a board! Never before have I smelled such an intense and authentic banana note in a rum, caramelized in honey like in the Asian for dessert. There's also some peanut butter, dark chocolate, slightly smoky aromas, freshly squeezed sugar cane juice and an incredibly thick, oily and intense mouthfeel. Awesome stuff, a huge surprise for me that I hadn't expected!😍🚀🇿🇦
Review by zabo
After I had the Flag South Africa in my glass two days ago, I think I can make a pretty good comparison here. All in all, I like the Ingwe a little better. For me, it's the better bottling, although not quite enough for a 9. I can well imagine that a Mhoba will soon be released that will crack the 9, if its bottlings are perhaps left to rest tropically in the cask for a few more years.
Review by Jarek
Small" Mhoba Cross-Tasting 2025: On the one hand, I now understand the enthusiasm for this bottling. Very nice variation of the Mhoba profile. On the other hand, it lacks some intensity on the palate.
Review by F.L.O.
Wow...the nose pulls me back and forth. Between sugar cane distillate and funky jamaica molasses. The taste also makes me think of Jamaica. Ester, fruit, delicious. But then it's Mhoba. Absolutely brilliant.
Review by mto75
Wacky nose, fermented fruit, cream, and the described caramelized bananas hit the spot quite well. Spicy, roasted, chocolate, malt on the palate, a healthy dose of acidity on the finish...
Review by Johannes
Super krasse Bananen/Ester/Honig-Note. Richtig gut!
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Market value
Avg. community purchase price 129 €
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 Ingwe (Collection Foundations) 2019
A Pot Still Rum from South Africa, distilled by MHOBA, at 59,1%.
Community purchases
17 bottles logged by 12 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 1 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for MHOBA Ingwe (Collection Foundations) 2019?
Community paid 118–137 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
17 purchased · 27 tasted · 26 wishlist · as of
About the MHOBA distillery
The MHOBA distillery is located in South Africa. Rums from MHOBA have been reviewed 2,473 times with an average of 8.2/10.
To MHOBA →Read on in the RumX Guide
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