What is rum? What is rum made of and how? The best homemade rum recipes.

The person who wrote the immortal "Treasure Island" is immediately introduced to the pirates. However, the beginning of the drink of sea robbers long before their appearance was laid by the Chinese and Indians. It was then called Brahms. Once again, Caribbean slaves “discovered” the technology for the production of rum. And only then did the pirates become interested in them. The history of this drink is bright and exciting. There is in it the romance of sea voyages, and bloody riots, and moments of glory. How and from what is rum made to make it so popular? Why is it black and white? What should it be in terms of strength? Let's start in order.

What is rum and why is it called that?

It is an alcoholic drink from, more precisely, from the residual products of the islands in the Caribbean, bending their backs on plantations, discovered in the first half of the 17th century that fire water could be prepared from the sweet molasses left after sugar was pressed. They persecuted and used it solely for the purpose, at least for a while, to forget about the hardships of slavery. Soon the drink became so popular that it began to be produced on a huge scale.

Historians have no unity on why rum was called rum. Some believe that this is from the word "glass", which the Danes have "roemer". Others attribute the origin of the English word "rumbullion", that is, "big noise", others are sure that the drink was called rum, because it was made from sugar. In Latin, sugar is called saccharum.

Production process

The lion's share of rum production belongs to the Caribbean and some areas of South America. It is there that the birthplace of the famous brands "Havana Club" and "Bacardi". Previously, this drink was also made in the Soviet Union from sugar cane grown in the Asian republics.

Many people are interested in how rum is made. The process is not so much laborious as lengthy, because any rum must be aged. There are no strict standards. Each country has its own technology. It all starts with the fermentation of molasses. To do this, yeast is added to it. Some industries use conventional ones, while others use specially designed ones to make the taste and aroma of the drink more refined. Bacardi plants use fast-fermenting yeast. However, with prolonged fermentation, the taste is richer.

The second stage is distillation. The result is rum alcohol with a strength of about 70 degrees. To make a refined drink out of it, alcohol must be aged for more than a year.

How to make rum from alcohol?

The drink obtained after distillation is not yet rum. To make it so, it is poured into barrels and set to ripen. Barrels are used differently. Some of them are stainless steel. High quality rums are aged in oak vats. And the best - in the so-called Bourbon. There is a province of Bourbon in France, where they accidentally discovered that an unusually fragrant and tasty rum is obtained in charred wooden barrels. They should burn not as you like, but in a special way. What is high aged rum? This is a drink that has stood in a barrel for more than 7 years. This rum is awarded the premium category. They drink it in its pure form, without mixing with anything.

After aging, light rums are filtered to remove color pigments. Caramel is sometimes added to dark varieties. At the last stage, various spices or fruit essences can be added to the drink. They can also blend (mix) rum from different barrels and even produced in different regions.

Light brands of leading brands

Some people think that a good rum should be very strong. This is only partly correct. Together with the fortress, the taste of the drink is appreciated. Plays the role and purpose of its use. So, silver, white, amber rum is more suitable for cocktails. He has a fortress of 40 degrees or a little less. The most famous brands are Havana Club Blanco, Ron Barceló Blanco, Mocambo, Rum Barton Light. It is impossible to list everything.

Guadeloupe white rum "Karukera" is in great demand among connoisseurs of the drink. It is made according to French technology, that is, not from molasses, but from cane juice. But the reed is taken not ordinary, but blue, which has a particularly intense smell. Rum from it is rich in citrus aromas, and the aftertaste has subtle hints of cloves and dried fruits. This can not only be added to cocktails, but also drunk with ice or soda. I would like to say a few words about the “weak” Calypso rum. It is only 35 degrees, but the most delicate shades of honey, dried fruits, vanilla, chocolate make it extremely pleasant, especially for women.

Drinks for real men

Roma strength in each country has its own approved standards. For example, in Colombia it should be 50 degrees or more. But with such a line, rum is also produced in other regions. For example, "Bristol Classic" in Guyana has a strength of 46 degrees, Panamanian "Ron de Jeremy Spiced" 47, and English "Black Tot" as much as 54.

But this is not the limit. There are drinks with a higher strength. For example, the Austrian black rum "Stroh" is produced in 3 types - 40, 60 and 80 degrees. Yes, yes, exactly 80. Of course, you need to drink such rum only diluted or use it for making cocktails and sweet dishes. Stroh makes an excellent punch, hunting tea. This drink is ideal for flaming (setting fire to dishes poured over with it). It has a spicy aroma and dark golden color. Stroh received a gold medal for its excellent taste.

Rum-like drinks

Some people, knowing what rum is made of, may confuse it with other sugar cane drinks that only look like rum but are not. The most famous of them is cachaca. This drink is also made from sugar cane by fermentation and distillation. Only some brands of cachaça are aged in barrels, but mostly small batches. In industry, the drink is bottled immediately after distillation. To make cachaça, you need not only sugar cane, but also cornmeal, rice, and soybeans. In Brazil, this drink is considered national, just like champagne in France.

Another non-Roma is the American "Aguardiente" and the Indonesian "Arrak". In the production of both, sugar cane is used and anise is infused.

What is homemade rum?

None of us grows sugar cane, and it is ridiculous to buy this raw material in distant countries in order to treat yourself to a bottle or two of the most pleasant drink. Yes, and you need to have willpower to withstand it for at least a year. But it turns out that there are easier and more affordable ways. How is rum made at home?

Recipe 1. "Pineapple"

For preparation, you will need ordinary vodka, sugar and three essences - 10 ml of pineapple and vanilla and 50 ml of rum. Toast the sugar in a dry frying pan until dark. Boil sugar syrup separately and pour sugar over it until dissolved. Let cool. Add essences and vodka "to taste". Keep for only a month.

Recipe 2. "Erebuni"

It's even easier here. Medical alcohol is taken, you can wine, (for color), water and (50 mg). All this is mixed and a unique drink with a strength of about 50 degrees is obtained.

Is it just rum?

The use of real rum

Answering the question about what rum is, one can not mention sugar cane, but say that it is a pleasant alcoholic drink, an indispensable companion of youth and secular parties, a wonderful ingredient for many sweet dishes. Light brands are used for all kinds of cocktails, for example, Cuba Libre, Zombie, Mojito. Certain brands of light rum are pleasant to drink without the addition of other alcoholic beverages.

There are many rum liqueurs that have fantastic flavors. Malibu liqueur, beloved by many, is made in Barbados. It has many varieties, depending on the additives present in it. There is Malibu with coconut, passion fruit, mango.

Rum is used in marinades, fruit preserves, and added to baked goods.

It is very difficult to prepare rum close to the original, since a real drink has an extremely complex production technology and many exotic ingredients that are quite difficult to get in Russia and the CIS countries. Nevertheless, in any case, you will get something non-standard and the result may pleasantly surprise you.

The easiest way to make rum is with essences. It is a concentrated flavor that can taste like rum, brandy, cognac, calvados, and so on. It is usually added to baked goods, but for some reason it is the mixture of moonshine and rum essence that is considered to be really tasty.

Of course, just dropping a couple of drops of concentrate is not enough. It is necessary to carry out serious work on the preparation and infusion of the drink:

Classic rum essence (about 200 rubles).

1. We prepare moonshine of double distillation with a strength of 45 degrees (do not forget to separate the heads and tails).
2. We insist the drink in for 3-4 months, or use oak or bark for this.
3. We prepare in advance (an alternative to molasses, from which the original rum is made), after which we add it to our already infused drink (a teaspoon of 2–3 liters).
4. Add sugar at the rate of 100 grams per 1 liter.
5. Add rum essence at the rate of 1 ml per 1 liter of drink.
6. Mix everything intensively and put it in the refrigerator for two days to stabilize the taste.
7. Let's try!

“Seasoned” moonshiners don’t really bother and simply mix moonshine of any quality with essence. It turns out a very peculiar drink, which is even quoted among some segments of the population.

An interesting video was found on Youtube from moonshiner Timofey, who talks in detail about his feelings from the use of rum essences. This is the most objective and informative review that I found on the Internet.

More complex rum recipe (coffee, burnt sugar, vanilla)

In fact, its preparation is not particularly difficult, it’s just that there are a little more ingredients and the proportions have changed a little. For 5 liters of moonshine 45% we will need:

Sugar can be cooked directly on a spoon.

• Sugar - 100 grams (we will cook caramel).
• Oak bark - 10 grams.
• Vanilla sugar - 2 grams.
• Ground coffee - a teaspoon without a slide.

In advance, you only need to prepare burnt sugar, after which you simply mix all the ingredients in one container and let the drink brew for two weeks.

The bark is a great alternative to oak chips and barrels, as it makes moonshine more palatable than natural oak.

According to some moonshiners, the taste of this drink is close to the Guatemalan rum Zacapa.

A complex recipe for delicious rum (prunes, burnt sugar, pine nuts)

This recipe is the least popular due to the large number of ingredients. The opinion was expressed on the forums that the main ingredients are still prunes and burnt sugar, and everything else is already added there for more subtle flavor notes.

On 1 liter moonshine 45% necessary:

If you really want a noble taste, then use a barrel instead of oak bark.

• Dried prunes - 30 grams (7-8 fruits).
• Burnt sugar - 1 teaspoon.
• Dry apple branches with leaves - 30 grams.
• Oak bark - 20 grams.
• Pine nuts with a kernel - 25 pieces.
• Chicory - 5 g.
• 3 grams of sage, sweet clover, yarrow herb, heather and St. John's wort.
• 2 grams of cardamom, clover flowers, bison and dried black elderberries.

Mix all the ingredients and leave for 10 days. Then filter everything well through cheesecloth and refrigerate for 2-3 days.

It would be useful to infuse moonshine in an oak barrel before mixing with all the other ingredients, but we add oak chips, so the drink will have a noble brown color anyway. We decided not to complicate an already quite rich recipe, so we recommend that you do without a barrel.

In the video Alex Bootlegger this recipe is simplified, and wood chips are used for infusion. But nevertheless, this is the most visual guide to making rum at home with similar ingredients. We advise you to watch it if you chose this particular recipe.

Recipe for tangerine rum from Antonych

In general, this guy's videos are a treasure trove of information for moonshiners and distillers of any level. We highly recommend watching most of his videos.

Getting a good cane molasses rum is not at all an easy task, as it seems at first glance. Although it seems that it is difficult, poured molasses with water, fermented like sugar, overtook it, and here it is - happiness.
​
In fact, there are many nuances, without observing which there is a chance to get a trivial sugar moonshine, and even smelling of stale footcloths.

To separate those who do not have time, I will describe how to make rum in a quick way, and in the second part we will try to make good rum for solid ones.

The easiest economical option for making rum at home

Ingredients for making molasses rum:

• Molasses 14 kg
• Water 80 l
• Sugar 7 kg
• Aktiferm 15-20 gr
• Double Snake Rum Turbo

Making homemade molasses rum

1. 14 kg of molasses pour 80 liters of boiling water.

1. After cooling to 30 ° C, add:

• 7 kg sugar, 15-20 gr.
• Aktiferma
• 70-100 gr. yeast. Better than special rums
• Double Snake Rum Turbo, but most importantly fresh.

1. It is better to ferment in warmth, at 26-28 ° C. ​

1. When the fermentation intensity has declined, 10 liters of dander are added. (if there is no dander, then nothing is added, how to cook it - in the second part).

1. At the end of fermentation, and this is about 10-12 days, we distill the mash. We do not select anything, we get raw alcohol (SS). The average is 25 liters of 28% alcohol. ​​​​​​​

1. Next, we ideally clean the CC using a column. Any one will do, even a plate-shaped one, even a packed one in the dirty rectified mode (about 94-95%). We select the heads, without partiality, 200 ml, and we get the body. By the end of the haul, we cover the selection in order to leave all the fusel in the cube, we squeeze the alcohol out of the cube.

​

For those who do not have a column

Here it is possible to propose to carry out successively three strengthening stages, with selection on the third stage into the body not higher than 85 ° C in the cube. We select the heads with the first stage. It is clear that product losses will be higher.

1. Further, everything that we received is diluted with water without salts, preferably osmotic or Arkhyz, to a strength of 60% - if aging in a barrel or on oak chips is planned, and up to 40-38 - if soon consumption is planned.

​

The product thus obtained will have a slight molasses flavor. This is one of the three constituent flavors of rum, and the most valuable.
If hurry-ups can buy rum essence with rum and pineapple flavors, you can't fake the deep flavor of molasses.

1. Here everyone can do it at their own discretion, whoever is eager to treat friends to a quick Bacardi will most likely add flavoring, the main thing is not to overdo it, the drink should turn out tender. You can add dextrose (glucose) for softness - 3-5 grams per liter, or sugar-caramel color.

1. After all the manipulations, it is necessary to let the drink rest, preferably at least a month, then the taste - smell will be balanced.

Now the second part is the Jamaican rum recipe

It is dedicated to obtaining the so-called Jamaican rum, or dander rum.

It is known from various sources that the rum flavor is given by two esters obtained by reacting ethanol with the corresponding acid.

• Ethyl formate - ethyl ester of formic acid (primary rum aroma)
• Ethyl butyrate - ethyl ester of butyric acid (pineapple flavor)

It turns out that obtaining the necessary esters for rum is ensured by the presence of formic and butyric acids in the brew of raw materials during distillation.
So it turns out that we need to have these two acids in the mash at the time of distillation. They are products of butyric acid fermentation. Actually dander - and there is a wiring of these oily - acidic bacteria on molasses bard.

How to make a dander?

You will need:

• potatoes - 5 pieces (peeled)
• water - 1 glass

​

Actually, there is nothing complicated, it is necessary to ferment the molasses stillage by distributing butyric acid bacteria. The best thing is to take a little bit from the already established dander. If this is not possible, we do so.

1. We take peelings from five fresh potatoes, unwashed, pour boiling water over it and after 10 minutes pour it all into 10 liters of molasses stillage. We close the lid, not airtight, but so that excess air does not walk there.

1. We put it in a warm place, for example, to the battery, the optimum temperature is 30-33 ° C, and observe the change in smell. It will change from completely disgusting to tolerant, and by the end of the second month it will resemble shoe glue. This means that you can use it.

1. We add it to molasses mash about 10% of the volume, at the moment when violent fermentation ends, 10% of the mash volume.

1. In the future, after it all ferments, we distill, as it is written in the first part.

It is better to use not all the dander, top it up again with stillage (not hot), then the maturation of the new dander is faster.

These are the recipes for homemade rum.
Write your questions in the comments to the article or on a special page:

Tasty drinks for you!

Let's talk about rum today.

Probably all of you read Stevenson's books as a child and remember the phrase: "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum."

It is about making rum at home that we will talk about.

A strong liquor made from molasses or cane syrup is called rum. A clear liquid is formed in the process of fermentation and distillation of secondary products of cane sugar production, after which it is aged in oak barrels, it is there that the rum changes its color from transparent, like a baby's tear, to a rich dark shade. By the way, to improve the taste and give a darker color, caramel is added to the elite varieties of rum.

How to make rum at home

I will say right away - to make rum at home, you will need molasses from sugar cane or cane syrup.

2.5 kg (5.5 lb) molasses
2.5 kg (5.5 lb) processed sugar
20 liters (5.2 gallons) distilled water
1.5 oz dry yeast

Sugar and molasses dissolve in 20 liters of water when heated to 80 degrees on the stove. The molasses dissolves for a long time, so stir vigorously in the vat. After dissolving - bring the mixture to a boil and as soon as bubbles appear - immediately turn off the heat.

Dry yeast is added to the mixture cooled to 30 degrees. You can dilute them in advance in warm water, this does not affect the final product.

We put the finished wort in a warm, dark place under a water seal and let it ferment until the end of gas evolution.

Unlike ordinary home-brewed moonshine, the production of rum requires the sludge of mash. To do this, after the end of fermentation, we take a sample of the mash (straining and mixing the sample) and measure the density with a hydrometer. When the density has remained at the same level for 3 days, the mash is ready for distillation. Usually it takes 7-10 days.

Now let's move on to distillation, or rather the distillation of cane mash into homemade rum.

The first 100 ml are the “heads” of moonshine, you can’t use them, they contain methyl alcohol and other muck. It is good to use moonshine heads to kindle a fireplace, and then sit near it drinking homemade rum and smoking a cigar.

The next 3 liters will be real rum. Then the "tails" of moonshine will go. They can be collected and added to the second portion of the mash before distillation.

If you decide to make a double distillation rum, then we connect the tails and the body, add a liter of water and start the second distillation.

It is necessary to drive rum through a dry steamer, then fusel oils will settle in it and after a rum drinker your head will not hurt.

After distillation, homemade white rum is obtained. To ennoble the drink, it must be rolled up in burnt oak barrels for 1-3 years. You can do without barrels, add burnt oak chips or oak chips to the pergenated rum.

Since after double distillation rum is obtained with an alcohol concentration of 65-70%, it should be diluted already before bottling, after aging in barrels

There is another recipe for rum, without the use of sugar cane.

Making rum at home

Homemade moonshine 60% (one liter)
- Vanilla essence (10 milliliters)
- Pineapple essence (10 milliliters)
- Sugar (200 grams)
- Essence of rum (50 milliliters)
- Water (0.5 liters)
Pineapple, vanilla and rum essences are mixed with homemade moonshine.

Separately, water is poured into the pan, sugar is poured out, put on fire and constantly stirred, cook for two minutes.

Place one tablespoon of burnt sugar in the prepared syrup and stir until completely dissolved.

This mixture is cooled no higher than room temperature, then it is mixed with the previous prepared mixture (moonshine with essences).

The resulting rum at home is poured into bottles, corked well and kept for one month in a dark and cool place.

Roma history

The birthplace of rum is the Caribbean cane plantations, where in the 17th century slaves discovered that alcohol was formed as a result of the fermentation of molasses. The distillation of the mash, which helped to remove impurities, made it possible to obtain the first real rum.

Having gained popularity in the Caribbean, rum spread throughout colonial America. To meet growing demand, in 1664 the first rum factory was opened on the territory where Staten Island is now located, and three years later a similar factory appeared in Boston.

In the Dominion of New England, rum production was the largest and most prosperous industry. In the 18th century, the rum that was produced there was not only popular, but the best in the world. In European countries, Rhode Island rum was used for some time instead of gold for transactions. Before the Civil War in colonial America, an average of 13.5 liters of rum was produced per year per average capita.

What is sea rum

Since the supply of fresh water was not preserved during long voyages, water was often replaced with rum, beer or wine. Piracy began to be associated with rum after English pirates discovered it as a source of considerable income. The parallels between the two were strengthened after the publication of R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island and other well-known works.

Initially, rum was consumed either diluted with lemon juice or neat. But since the middle of the 18th century, it has become popular to dilute the drink with water. The reason for this was the order of Admiral E. Vernon, whose goal was to reduce the influence of Roma on sailors. This mixture, in honor of the admiral's fai cloak, which E. Vernon wore in bad weather, was called grog (from the English grogram cloak). Until the middle of 1970, the daily ration of sailors of the Royal Navy included rum.

How rum is made

The production processes for cognac, whiskey and other alcoholic beverages are standard, but in the case of rum, everything is more complicated. There are a lot of beverage production technologies. They depend on the traditions of the area where it is made, and may also differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.

fermentation

Molasses is the main raw material for the production of rum, which is mainly imported from Brazil. But in the French-speaking Caribbean, rum is made from cane juice.

First, yeast or water is added to molasses or cane juice as a fermentation catalyst. The yeast that is used for this may differ from one rum producer to another. Some use natural yeast, others use a special type that allows you to predict the fermentation time and gives the drink an original taste.

Bacardi relies on the so-called "fast" yeast for the production of light rum. If "slow" yeast is used as a catalyst, then the resulting drink will have a richer taste, due to the huge amount of esters that are formed during fermentation.

Rum distillation

The lack of one standard for rum production also applies to this stage. There is no single method for distillation. A few producers use stills for this, and most of them carry out vertical distillation.

The difference between these methods is that in still-distilled rum, the content of various additives and impurities is higher, and therefore the taste of the drink is richer.

Also read:

How to make a homemade moonshine for distilling rum.
- How to make absinthe. A real full recipe. In Russia, it is forbidden to sell natural wormwood absinthe, you can only drive it out yourself.

Alexei speaks:

Yes, everything is cool and detailed, I already read it, to make rum at home you need cane molasses, it is on sale, search on Google. Since it was not realistic to buy it in Russia, but now it has appeared on sale, and rum without cane molasses is simply an alcohol-containing drink.

Leonidambus speaks:

I spent half a day looking through the materials of the network, and suddenly, to my delight, I discovered this best site for moonshine. For us, this site is very important. All the best!

Until recently, in our region, it was possible to prepare a drink at least separately reminiscent of rum in only two ways. The first way is to prepare a tincture based on spices, herbs, oak bark and a number of other ingredients, the second is to use commercial essences, such as or. Both methods allow you to get a really good drink with an acceptable taste profile, similar to rum. But these are imitations, the flat taste of which is due to a limited set of ingredients in tinctures and essences. While real rum is a very complex and multifaceted distillate, the taste and aroma of which is formed by hundreds of different compounds that result from the fermentation of molasses. And today, when molasses has become available in almost every corner of Russia, we have a unique opportunity to make 100% real rum.

The universal recipe for molasses rum

Rum is a distillate made from fermented sugarcane juice or molasses. In the Caribbean, the birthplace of rum, only the French colonies are engaged in the production of the so-called "agricultural rum" (rhum agricole), the raw material for which is sugar cane juice. The rest of the world prepares its rum from molasses, around which the whole history of this drink revolves. Molasses is a by-product of sugarcane production, a viscous mass of deep black color with a unique fruity aroma. It also contains a decent percentage of sugar (from 40% and above), as well as a huge amount of nutrients that contribute to the reproduction and vital activity of yeast. An excellent raw material for creating rich, aromatic, dense distillates. So, to make real molasses rum, you will need:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 l (3.75-5 kg)
• 4.4 kg sugar (blend: 3.8 kg white/dextrose and 0.6 kg brown)
• 21 liters of clean water
• 1 sachet rum yeast

Optional:

• 5 liters of dander ("dunder", "rum bard")
• 2.1 liters yeast bruh (or yeast feed)
• 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (to lower the pH of the water)
• 8 liters of rum oils
• 1 tsp magnesium sulfate ("Epsom salt")
• 1-2 tsp diammonium phosphate (DAP)

Many yeast producers have cultivated special strains for rum, which are produced under the well-known term "" or alcohol yeast for rum. One packet of this yeast contains not only dehydrated yeast cells, but also nutrients, vitamins, trace elements, and an enzyme (glucoamylase) that is needed to break down dextrins (the non-fermentable polysaccharide found in molasses). They provide a stable and fast fermentation, as well as a higher product yield and better organoleptic. These yeasts include, and. Read the instructions on the packaging before using them.

You can also use yeast lees from a previous batch of molasses mash, which is considered to be preferred. This will give your yeast an advantage that adapts to fermentable sugar types and habitat, and save some money. Yeast sediment can be used no more than 7-10 times - after that, the yeast strain mutates and leads to an undesirable change in the taste profile. In addition, yeast sediment can be used as a top dressing (read about yeast bruh).

Yeast bruh (optional)

Bruch is a term from brewing, which in this case means a dense sediment at the bottom of the fermenter at the end of the fermentation of the mash, consisting of dead yeast cells, proteins, fatty acids and other elements. It is used as a natural and very effective yeast supplement. To obtain it, collect the sediment from the previous batch of rum mash and pour into a smaller container; wait for the formation of a denser sediment and drain the liquid, and heat the solid residue to 65 ° C and above to disinfect it. Standard yeast nutrition can be used in place of bruch, including magnesium sulfate, which hardens the water and promotes yeast cell growth, and DAP, which provides the yeast with the necessary amount of nitrogen that molasses lacks (can be replaced with a can of tomato paste).

Dunder (optional)

Dunder (dunder) is a sour stillage after the first distillation of rum mash, which contains butyric acid bacteria that produce acid with a characteristic pineapple flavor typical of many rums. It is believed that without it, real rum cannot be made. In tropical countries, dander is cooked in open containers when the bard is naturally infected by the surrounding microflora. We do not live in the tropics, so the opportunity to cook a real dander tends to zero, but adding bard to mash, replacing it with an equal amount of water, contributes to a more expressive taste, since it still contains a significant amount of aromatic substances, oils, fats, etc. . It is worth remembering that the stillage is very acidic and significantly reduces the pH of the mash, so the lemon juice indicated in the recipe does not need to be added along with it.

Rum oils (optional)

Rum oils is a term for a certain amount of tail fractions after the second distillation of crude alcohol from molasses. To obtain them, the fraction, which is usually taken in a classic distiller between 50% and 40% alcohol by volume, is poured or ringed (processed in a distillation column), and the “tails” following it between 40% and 20% alcohol by volume are just the same and are the same rum oils. By collecting and adding to the next second distillation (and collecting again), these oils will begin to “penetrate” into the “heart” of your distillate with each subsequent distillation and positively affect its organoleptic, without adding unpleasant tastes of tail fractions to the drink. It is believed that many famous rich rums are made with rum oils, which have been developed over decades and make a huge contribution to the flavor profile of the drink.

Preparation of mash from molasses

1. Preparation of ingredients

Molasses is quite thick and does not dissolve easily in water, so the best solution is to mix it with hot water. If you decide to use a dander, you can heat it up with water. Otherwise, just use 5-10 liters of water. So, bring the water to a boil and pour it into the fermenter, where you first transfer the molasses. While boiling water (or a mixture of water and dander), yeast bruh can also be added. Stir the contents of the fermenter until the molasses is completely dissolved. You can also add some or all of the sugar/dextrose at this stage, depending on the gravity of the wort (use a hydrometer; 20-25% is optimal to start fermentation, the rest of the sugar/dextrose can be added later).

1. Start fermentation

Add the rest of the ingredients (lemon juice if dander was not used, magnesium sulfate and DAP, provided no other fertilizer containing nitrogen is used) to the molasses dissolved in water (or a mixture of water with dander and bruh) and pitch the prepared yeast (in dry form, starter or yeast sediment). Mix the wort well and install a water seal. The container in which the fermentation will take place should not be filled more than 75% of the volume, since molasses mash tends to foam a lot. A conventional water seal, in view of the fact that molasses ferments very actively, may not be able to cope with such a volume of carbon dioxide, therefore it is preferable to use a silicone tube of a sufficiently large diameter, lowered into a jar of water.

1. Fermentation of mash for rum

The recommended temperature for molasses fermentation is 22-28°C. Fermentation, due to the specific nature of the raw materials, can only begin after 24-48 hours. Fermentation should be vigorous and, depending on the strain of yeast, top dressings and other factors, will end in 5-10 days. This can be understood by the readings of the hydrometer (should show zero), the absence of bubbles in the water seal and the dense sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. Braga is likely to have a lot of unfermented sugars contained in molasses, so you should not focus on its sweetness. When the mash is fermented, you need to carefully drain it from the sediment (or add sugar / dextrose to increase the yield, wait until it ferments and drain) using a siphon, and proceed to distillation. At this stage, especially if you plan to make light rum, you can use a mash clarifier, such as . The yeast sediment remaining in the fermenter can be saved and used to start fermentation in the following batches of molasses mash or bruja.

Rum distillation from molasses

1. First distillation

Distill the molasses mash as quickly as possible in the "pot still" mode to dryness, to about 5% alcohol by volume in the stream. During the distillation, it is advisable to collect all the SS in separate liter containers in order to then examine them in the light and, if any, collect oil stains with a cotton pad or napkin. Pour the remaining vinasse or save as a dander for the next batches of mash.

1. Second distillation

Do not forget that rum is a fragrant distillate, so we carry out distillation in a gentle mode. Do not connect a reflux condenser if you are using a beer column. A pair can be placed in the drawer side to improve organoleptics and neutralize sulfur compounds. To obtain light rum, distillation columns are traditionally used. Before the second distillation, dilute your SS to 25-30%. Pick the heads slowly as usual, but remember that they contain some of the fruity and floral aromas that are characteristic of rum, so you need to cut them very carefully, relying on your sense of smell.

Select the heart of the distillate in the range of 85-50% alcohol per shot. The tail fraction between 50% and 40% alcohol in the stream should be disposed of or processed on the column, and the fraction between 40% and 20% alcohol in the stream should be kept - these are rum oils, which should be finished off in the next second stage (and continue to do this every second stage ). The result of your labors will be a light rum with a delightful aroma of molasses unlike any other distilled drink. It can be refined by aging, creating a golden or dark rum.

Rum aging and refinement

After the second distillation, molasses rum can be diluted to a drinking strength (40-45%), let it rest for 3-4 days and start tasting. But to get a more mature drink, it is recommended to keep it in an oak barrel or on oak chips (even for light rum). Traditionally, bourbon oak barrels are used to age rum, but you can use a barrel from any other alcoholic beverage (for example, the famous Guatemalan Zacapa rum is aged in sherry barrels). For pouring into a barrel or aging on wood chips, rum should be diluted to 50-60%.

Oak chips (cubes, chips), of course, are a more acceptable option for apartment residents. Following tradition, use wood chips of medium or strong roast. For one liter, 0.5-4 g of oak is enough, depending on the shape and degree of roasting. For light rums, oaking should be kept to a minimum, to a couple of days - this will be enough to round out the aromas of a freshly distilled drink. To soften and discolor light rum, after a short exposure to wood chips, it can be driven through a coal column, which is practiced by all manufacturers of this category of rum. Golden and dark rums can be oak aged for weeks to months, with constant tasting to control the taste. After aging, the drink should be diluted to a drinking strength and bottled.