Apple Brandy/Rum

[zouthernborne]

I often get the urge to start new mashes about two days before I get paid. And on my salary, that means I've already been broke for at least a week. So I end up scrounging for stuff to make something new. Two weeks ago I had a gallon of cooking molasses but nothing to add in. I considered for a while just using the molasses for a heavy rum, but that's nothing new in my house. Rum is 80% of my hobby. I looked through my garage and found four containers of Mott's apple juice, totalling two gallons. So I used that along with the gallon of molasses to knock up a five gallon batch. I'm stripping it right now, and the flavor is delicious. Not sure what one would call this, but it's tasty nonetheless. Experimentation is the other 20% of this hobby for me, by the way.

[MuddyDuck]

Not sure if its considered Rum (whiskey is my passion), but I made something akin to this using dark brown sugar and applesauce. The flavor was great even without aging and has quickly become a hit with the family! I have made it a couple times and have been wondering if the addition of molasses would be so strong as to diminish the lingering apple finish.

[heartcut]

Rider? Cidum? Interesting idea, wonder if it'd be different from blending the two after stilling.

[Halfbaked]

If it wasn't so good you could call it Applaasses. How about calling it Randy. I think I hear Randy calling me. It would be an inside joke.

[LWTCS]

Luv it.
Best part about this hobby is the ability to experiment.
Makes every finished batch like Christmas morning.

[zouthernborne]

Randy. Awesome name for it. It has been airing out for roughly 24 hours now and I'm getting the usual carmel notes that I get from my rums, but with with an apple brandy note just underneath it. The molasses has certainly taken over, at least on the nose. I'm going to keep 350ml white, as I do with every batch, and age the rest on charred oak. I'll report back with smells and flavors periodically. LWTCS, I hear you, every batch is like Xmas for me, even if I know exactly what I'm getting out of it. My wife doesn't understand my obsession with this, but I don't hear her complaining when she has a good buzz watching here nonsensical shows on Netflix.

[zouthernborne]

I decided to go with the "less oak for longer" method on this one, hoping to preserve some apple flavor in the end. I don't want the oak to be the driving flavor force. So I ended up with just over a half gallon of the best parts of the run at 65% abv, and I put it on 3"x .5" x .5" stick of used toasted white oak. Almost one week later and it is starting to get the slight woody smell, and has a light gold color forming. So far the rum smells and the apple smell are still there. I'm thinking I'll start sampling at six months and then report back. Until then, on to the next batch.

[zouthernborne]

Just found this bottle in my shed when I was moving some stuff around. Had a baby, so I had to pack up my little hobby for what my wife called "safety and legal reasons". Lol. Doesn't look like I'll be cracking open the big box out there full of copper and stainless anytime soon, but I figured I could at least keep my interests alive by visiting here from time to time and giving a mediocre update on how this particular drink turned out. After over 3 years in a half gallon glass jar on oak, it was incredibly smooth and had a beautiful color. The oak smell was fairly strong at first, but after cutting it down to what my friends would consider "drinkable" strength (wussies) and letting it sit a few days before individual bottling, it smelled and tasted like damned good rum with a hint of apple.

I ended up giving the bottles away to my closest friends, even printing some nice labels, corking them, and dipping the tops in wax. The most I'd done before was cork the bottles then open them within a few days to drink them. So I guess it was a nice way to end the hobby. Not that it's actually ending. As soon as this kid starts going to school full time and we get our own land I'm gonna be right back at it. As long as molasses can be bought, I'll be making rum. And this state is nothing if not flush with apples.

[Mikey-moo]

Thank you! I'm going to try this once my jaggery runs out