Cheats Rum

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Hudster2001
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Cheats Rum

Post by Hudster2001 »

I'm finding it hard to get unsulphured molasses where I live at a reasonable cost.
With the prices if have to pay, I could buy rum at almost the same price.
I can however get good quality dark brown sugar.
Would I be able to make a passable rum using that and only a small amount of molasses.
Something like Jesse's safety net Irish whisky, but in rum format.

As a rum drinker I'm eager to start making my own, I have many ideas for different rum infusions I want to try.

Any advice or pointers to a good recipe or ideas would be great.
Thanks in advance
Last edited by Hudster2001 on Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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still_stirrin
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by still_stirrin »

Most rummies would use only molasses for their rum because that’s what it’s made from. But, depending on your perception of “passable rum” will determine whether or not you’ll be satisfied with it. A sugar wash is typically made with refined sugar and molasses is unrefined and raw. It has a lot of constituents other that sugars that contribute to the taste.

So, can you make something you can call “rum”? Sure. Will it be a “rum”? Maybe. Try it and see if you like it. But I doubt it will compare to the commercial examples you tend to favor.

Have fun. Make what you can. Call it what you want to call it.
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Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Both Pugirum and Hook Rum recipes use a mix of sugar and molasses.......both recipes are in the tried and true recipe section of the forum.
Both should make a decent rum using a mix of brown sugar and molasses.
Brown sugar is only white sugar with molasses added back to it after refining.
Oatmeal
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Oatmeal »

Alternatively you might try and find some panela....
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TwoSheds
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by TwoSheds »

If it's made from 'products of sugar cane' it's technically rum, but what's in a name? That would include most of our sugar washes by definition, but I don't think any of us are calling it 'rum'.

But don't believe that rum can only come from molasses. A lot of rums are made right from cane juice, but that isn't practical for most of us either.
Saltbush Bill wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:54 am Brown sugar is only white sugar with molasses added back to it after refining.
SB has your key piece of info there. The darker the brown sugar the better. Panela, turbinado (sugar in the raw) or any other form of unrefined (or at least less refined) sugar will bring in more flavors as well.

I'd say give it a try with what you can get your hands on and fits your budget. It might surprise you, and I bet it will at least be a good base for infusions!

Good luck!

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zed255
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by zed255 »

You'd be surprised at how little molasses begins to deliver a rum flavour. I'd give brown sugar a go with one of the 500g cartons of fancy or blackstrap molasses from the baking section of your local grocer. Just be sure to include some additional nutrition to support your yeast if your wash will be mostly sugar.
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NZChris
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by NZChris »

There are a bunch of tricks used commercially to boost flavor in rums, choice of yeast, choice of pH, ageing the ferment after it goes dead, culturing dunder to create esters, lime salts, recycling dunder, recycling lees from the spirit run, recycling heads and tails, type of still, distilling protocols, etc..

You can also boost flavor by removing one or two of the most flavorless middle jars when selecting your heart cut.
MiddleOfTheWorld
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by MiddleOfTheWorld »

I think the panela idea is a great one to start with . I'm not sure how much of this is good or easy for you to find.
I live about 1 hour away from sugar plantations and can get that super cheap and will give it a go eventually.

As far as unsulfured molasses go , those are usually sold in the farm store as "energetic" supplements.(cows love it)

I wish you the best and would like to hear from you and what you go with !
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hawkwing
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by hawkwing »

I made rum with blackstrap molasses and white sugar and it was one of the closest to a commercial rum that I’ve made. It was fine with no backset and some citric acid for pH adjustment.

I bought three one gallon jugs of buck slop (deer bait) for $15 per jug and it’s 100% molasses. No idea what it made up of other than that. I have one fermenting using that white sugar and Dunder. Will see what happens.

I tried the experiment with blackstrap and white sugar to equal the same fermentable sugars vs fancy molasses and I liked the blackstrap more. For me Walmart sells quarts or liters of fancy molasses pretty cheap. Just over $5.
Olmatemick
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Olmatemick »

Hey mate, ill probably get bollocked by the more experienced in here as im sure im telling you something off.
But
If you cant get hold of molasses, do a few gens of brown sugar neutral, use all the dunder in each gen, be liberal with the yeast and brown sugar. Put it into a bucket or some such and infect it.
Smells like puke or pretty well anything youd rather not injest once its proper rotten
Run a fresh brown sugar wash once your muck reeks, leave say 1/4 head room in your wash tub.
Once the yeast have stopped foaming and going mad, top up with the reeking crud. Leave it a few days then run it.
Makes a hell of a difference
Olmatemick
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Olmatemick »

Or if youre hard up, run your brown sugar wash then in a pan put (depends on taste) bout a desert spoon full of brown sugar and a teaspoon full of molasses, burn it black, cool, mix with ya grog, filter through something and up it. Bit of an essence of sorts
Metalking00
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Metalking00 »

Not sure where you are, but if you have any Indian grocery stores around they carry jaggery. It can make some very tasty rum.
Hudster2001
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by Hudster2001 »

So, I tried a cheats Rum, I treated it like a sugar wash, I used 5 kilos of dark brown cane sugar, (from a budget German supermarket), dissolved in hot water in a bucket, topped up to 25 litres with cold water.
I added 4 teaspoons of yeast nutrient, and a sachet of still spirits rum yeast.

I adjusted the PH to 5.5, and took a gravity reading. It had a starting gravity of 1.078, and took 10 days to finish at 0.998 at a steady 27 degrees C.

I ran it on a stripping run last night till what was coming off the still reached 20%, giving me 5 litres of spirit.

I had a sneaky taste mid run and it was amazing, the liquorice flavours from the cane sugar carried through together with a background of burnt sugar, almost like puffed candy.

I kept 10 litres of the wash and added it to the second run which I started this morning.

Once that's done, I'll strip it, add to the first batch and run it slowly for the final spirit run.

But so far so good .
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NZChris
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Re: Cheats Rum

Post by NZChris »

Hudster2001 wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 3:14 am I ran it on a stripping run last night till what was coming off the still reached 20%, giving me 5 litres of spirit.
Stopping with 20% ABV at the spout is very early and leaves a lot of useful flavor and alcohol in the backset. Like commercial pot distillers, I strip until the total collection is below 30%, usually 24-27%, the low wines looking very murky by shutdown. I don't know what the ABV at the spout is because I don't check it.
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