River Breeze Rum

[8Ball]

This is a 50/50 panela and feedstock molasses rum with a twist: pure organic coconut extract. It is added to the ferment, and also a little bit more during the spirit run only. The result is a very rich and smooth mouth feel that is evident immediately after distillation. The coconut flavor is very, very subtle. Time will tell if the coconut comes over more distinctly after aging, but the initial result is just a nice rich mouth feel. I call it the River Breeze Rum because I live near a river and the breeze feels good when I’m running my rig.

River Breeze Rum
Ingredients
8# Panela
1G Evolved Habitats Premium Molasses
Oyster shells, sanitized, 1/4 cup
1 G dunder - 8th generation
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tea spoon gypsum (10 ml)
3 spoon Fermax (15 ml)
1 spoon epsom salts (5 ml)
1 B complex
1 multiV
1/2 spoon citric acid (2.5 ml)
12 spoons pure coconut extract (60 ml)
1 habanero pepper
0.5G Rum Heads 79%
0.5G Rum spirit tail feints with rum oils 32%
0.5G fresh fermented wash
Butter tabs to keep the foam down


Starter:
40g Red Star Active Bakers Yeast
1/4 spoon (1.25 ml) fermax
8 oz wash
24 oz water at 90F

Combine 1G molasses, 2G water, juice of 1 lemon, epsom salts, gypsum, citric acid, and 50 ml coconut extract, and one habanero pepper with slits cut in it. Throw the lemon in too. Heat up to 195F while stirring.
Cut heat, let settle and cool for a couple hours or more. Carefully drain off into your fermenter the clearer DARK liquid from the top, leaving the heavier LIGHT stuff behind. This will help reduce puking and fouling of the inside of your boiler
Rinse out your pot and add your panela, dunder, citric acid, and a gallon of water. Start heating up to 185F to dissolve the panela. Let cool and transfer to fermenter along with the clarified molasses. Leave behind any heavy sediment stuff.
Add oyster shells, ice, water, and nutrients as needed to initially top off at 6.5G mark @ 80F.
Check pH and verify ~ 4.8 at pitch temp.
Take SG reading if you want to. I figure it is around 1.070 & 10.5%
Aerate 30 minutes with aquarium stone.
Pitch starter and top off at 7.0G. Let it rip till it is done in about 2-3 days. Let it sit a couple days.
Reserve 0.5G fermented wash for the spirit run. Strip the wash with the heads included. Charge copper pot boiler no more than 2/3 full and add a tab of butter. Come up to temp slowly. Collect everything except the fores.
For the spirit run, combine the low wines, tail feints, 10 ml coconut extract, and the 0.5G reserved fermented wash. Collect 78-55% hearts. Start monitoring closely at 194F vapor temp for a ‘beer to bitter’ change, it happens around 197-198F.
Air out 24 hours then knock down to 65% with sweet water and age on toasted pecan or peach or leave it white.

Yield is ~ 3L@65% plus 2L of refined heads @ 80%.