It burns, it burns...

[Uncle Jesse]

from the old message boards:


Anonymous
(Unregistered)
12/07/02 08:36 PM
subject: It burns, it burns....

For some reason, the rum I made recently leaves a fairly intense burning sensation in the mouth. There is also a fairly strong/foul odor coming from the bottle. Does anyone know why this might happen, or what I could do about it? I've made rum before, but with a different still. The still im using now is almost exactly like the one I previously made. Its a pressure cooker pot still with a doubler, which uses copper tubing for the lyne arm and the condenser. To seal it i use aquarium silicone, which has been fully cured and washed. I cleaned out this still the same way I cleaned the other: washed it first, then did a run with only water. I also collected the distillate based on the same temp. readings/ hydrometer readings (I cut to tails at a little less than 90C, and the hydrometer read about 65-70% alc. in the distillate), although i did notice the taste was a little off. I'm pretty sure its not the wash that caused it, since I used the same recipe and even the same brand of mollasses. So far, I've only watered down the distillate to about 48-50% alc. i was planning on adding some caramelized sugar, but I've put that off since im not sure this stuff is ok to drink. Any ideas?


Dirk
(newbie)
12/08/02 04:09 PM
Re: It burns, it burns.... [re: Anonymous]

Hi,

I am thinking about some possibilities:

1) You went too far into the tails.
2) You burnt your wash.

Many variables exist and these cause a different wash and/or distillate: Did you use the same amount of heat? Did you use the same yeast? Did the wash ferment at the same temperature? Was the final density of the wash the same ?

You can still redistill the rum.

Greetings,
Dirk