Banana Dunder

[Reaverman]

Hi,

I am looking at making Buccaneer Bob's Rum. On on of the generations, I was thinking of making a second live dunder pit and chucking in chopped banana inc skins. I was wondering if the esters from the banana would transfer in fermentation, and enhance the flavour once distilled.

Advice, opinions?

[8Ball]

I put a bunch of mashed bananas & peels in a recent panela rum I made. Also some pineapple pieces. It fermented out nice. Did a 1.5 strip & spirit with wide cuts. Added banana & pineapple to the spirit run too. Did a very tiny “heart of hearts” cut also. All this was too try to get the banana & pineapple flavor to come over in the clear product. Well, during the spirit run it did. The aroma was fantastic and the banana taste just kept getting better & better. Even dubbed it the “Banana Madness” run. Sadly, it was short lived. Within a few days, all the banana aroma & flavor was gone. Now, four months later, the rum is coming along like it should, but no banana (or pineapple) is tagging along. So if you drink it the same day you make it, then this works.

[OtisT]

I’ve never had to add any bananas or fruit to get that banana smell. For me it was the esters formed from a molasses and dunder ferment and heated during the strip.

I’ve had similar experiences to what 8ball described. The most wonderful strong banana smell during and after a strip. Then all that banana smell is gone after the spirit run. There were a couple of runs where I got a faint banana smell from a spirit run. I think these were 1.5 runs, but not sure. Regardless, that faint banana smell only lasted a few days before it was gone, lost while airing out.

Next batch of rum I make where I get the banana smell after a spirit run, I’m not going to air it out before proofing and bottling.

Otis

[Reaverman]

Oh darn it!

Cheers guys!