Thumper with a column?

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

Moderator: Site Moderator

User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Thumper just acts as another pot. Nastys in, nastys out.
I use a valve to run fores and early heads past my thumper, then close it to send later heads and the rest of the run through the thumper. I think this helps reduce smearing.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
Havenor
Novice
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:41 am

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by Havenor »

I love all this great insight. Thanks.

The thing I'm struggling with is the double thumper design that appears to be the norm in making rum. I believe they are clearly getting depth of flavor in the process but I keep hearing that the thumper only acts as another pot. I've done the Buccaneer Bob recipe, the essence, and a couple other methods with burnt coconut sugar and caramel but the complexity just isn't there. It's good but not great. One would think that the rum process should be more simple than the whiskey making process since rum goes so far back in history. I can find an abundance of information on making whiskey but the rum making process (quality rum) is vague at best.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by NZChris »

To get the complexity you are talking about requires compounds created prior to putting down the ferment and after the ferment goes dead. The specifics of how to do this is commercially sensitive so manufacturers keep quiet about what they do.

Have a read of Bryan Davis' article Hot & Dirty.
http://distilling.uberflip.com/i/622468 ... -winter-16
wtfdskin
Swill Maker
Posts: 451
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 5:33 pm

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by wtfdskin »

Havenor wrote:I love all this great insight. Thanks.

The thing I'm struggling with is the double thumper design that appears to be the norm in making rum. I believe they are clearly getting depth of flavor in the process but I keep hearing that the thumper only acts as another pot. I've done the Buccaneer Bob recipe, the essence, and a couple other methods with burnt coconut sugar and caramel but the complexity just isn't there. It's good but not great. One would think that the rum process should be more simple than the whiskey making process since rum goes so far back in history. I can find an abundance of information on making whiskey but the rum making process (quality rum) is vague at best.
When i first started making rum i struggled to find what i was looking for. Did pot strip and spirit, pot strip and spirit with thumper, finally built a double thumper setup and do single runs. Image
This is basically my setup but i dilute thumper charges with dunder rather than water. After at least a year on oak, i am very pleased. There is still room for improvement, there always is. But it works very well for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Havenor
Novice
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:41 am

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by Havenor »

I did end up trying the thumper with the column and the result is pretty much what the great minds here told me. I got a higher ABV, and no real difference in the flavor per se. The end result rum has a cleaner taste, and a better product, but no actual thumper flavor came through. I do like the end product so I will likely do it again. Thanks all.
Havenor
Novice
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:41 am

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by Havenor »

Just did another batch using the same method and the result did show that there is come carryover taste from the thumper. For the liquid in the thumper this time I took some old Kahlua. I wasn't entirely happy with the Kahlua because it end up with a slightly smokey flavor from the coffee beans I used. I had roasted the beans myself and some were overdone. That smokey flavor did carry through to the alcohol. I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from this but it definitely was noticeable and not in a bad way. I will try it again and maybe use a more intense essence flavor like orange, cinnamon, or vanilla to see if it makes it's way thru to the alcohol.
Father_Time
Novice
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:30 am
Location: Middle of the Cornfields, IL

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by Father_Time »

Depending on what coffee beans you're using, you'll get that smokey taste anytime you roast past the 1st crack. If available to you, try a Tanzanian Peaberry bean and dump at the 1st crack. Very complex flavor and no smokey flavors.

Btw. I was the lead roaster at a coffee house for 3 years. It's a passion I still enjoy on a very part time basis.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Havenor
Novice
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:41 am

Re: Thumper with a column?

Post by Havenor »

Thanks for the off topic post. I've been doing the coffee roasting for a few years, never done the Tanzanian Peaberry but I'll give that a try. These beans that carried through the smokey flavor were a feckup, I got distracted. I thought they'd be good enough for the Kahlua , or the garbage, but not good enough for a cup of coffee. Now that I know the thumper will carry through a flavor I'm going to step up my game and try an intense vanilla, or something else. I have some more experimenting to do.
Post Reply