Home made molasses

[clarkee142]

I am living in Bulgaria where home distillation is the norm and even the villages have a communal still which is great fun. Very few people buy their spirits and certainly the only spirits they drink, usually a brandy called rakia, becomes a talking point at all the parties.
I want to make a rum but the availability of cane molasses in Bulgaria is zilch so I was wondering if anyone has a method of making a home-made molasses that would be suitable for rum making. My thoughts were that a strong solution of white cane sugar with a lil citric acid, heated to invert the sugar and form a dilute caramel may surfice. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for any suggestions or comments.
Greg

[rubber duck]

Do you have any brown sugar available? Or raw cane sugar? That would make a nice light rum.

[clarkee142]

Yeah some brown sugar is available here but only in very small quantities and would be cheaper to fly to Carribean than buy the quantities that I need. I can buy white refined sugar in bulk. I hear the beet molasses is not suitable for rum making so trying to manufacture some from the refined white cane sugar.
Thanks anyway.
Cheers.
Greg

[Dnderhead]

iv read some where that rum flavoring is made like caramelized sugar but is almost burnt.
this mite be somthing to play with.

[Husker]

The problem with 'trying' to manufacture molasses with white refined sugar, is that about 30% (or more) of molasses is off by products. Tiny fragments of cane, unfermentable sugars, and other stuff (and a LOT of flavors). By the refining process, all of that is removed.

Thus, taking that refined end product, and trying to make molasses will likely be a losing proposition. However, it may be that burnt/caramelized sugar may produce a distilled product that is close enough to rum. You might give it a try. The worst you will get is a lightish rum type neutral product.

H.

[WeeStiller]

I'm in the same no-cane-molasses boat here. Molasses is scarce, and if you find it, it's purple/black beet sugar molasses, used as a fish lure. I used raw demerara cane sugar and pot stilled it twice (fast strip runs, medium /slow spirit run). It makes a nice drink if you sweeten it a bit with brown sugar, but I wouldn't call it a rum, it's more like cachaça when tasted unsweetened. Perhaps more flavor will carry over in successive generations. This was the first. The backset tastes a bit salty, and I've heard cane molasses is a bit salty too, so I have hopes that some rum flavor may come up in later generations.

Has anyone tried beet sugar molasses and if yes, did you get a rum flavor?

Thanks,

Mike

[clarkee142]

Weestiller..
hey Mike
All the recipies I have seen for making rum say that the beet sugar molassis should not be used but no one gives a reason, but what the hell I guess if its no good then I will put it thru the charcoal and then make a liqueur out of it. I will give that a try as in Bulgaria they grow some sugar beet so hopefully can get some molassis from that. I will try the fermentation of the dilute caramel too and then put it in the cask with some maple syrup/caramel to flavour and age it.
Its worth a try eh!
Incidently I tired the Cointreau recipe from the "Home distillation"website and that turned out really excellent. Could not tell it from the real Cointreau except a slight cloudiness when chilled, probably the orange oil coming out of solution due to a lower Ksp.
Cheers

Greg

[Dnderhead]

beet molasses wont make the cut.

[Mud Mechanik]

I've heard cane molasses is a bit salty too

I have been growing sugar cane and making syrup for 20 years, have never been told that it is salty.

[docdave]

Clarkee142,

I bet you could get decent molasses from Spain or Portugal since they still have a fair amount of trade with Carribean. I'm sure you could get it shipped to you or it might may a nice little vacation.

DocDave

[docdave]

Mud,

I bet you could get a pretty business going just supplying cane juice for us folks. If you want to sell it in bulk, I'm getting a truck and taking a Southern vacation.

DocDave

[Mud Mechanik]

Mud,

I bet you could get a pretty business going just supplying cane juice for us folks. If you want to sell it in bulk, I'm getting a truck and taking a Southern vacation.

DocDave

I can definately supply you some, just PM me around halloween of this year. It will spoil quickly if the weather is warm, you'll have to get it fermenting quickly