Rum

[hornedrhodent]

I've just done the spirit run on my first attempt to make real rum using molasses. The stripping runs smelt and tasted fantastic but I've lost a lot of that flavour on the spirit run.

I have another 4 fermenters on the go at the moment and am thinking of stripping 3 of them and doing a spirit run with the stripped results and the wash from the 4th fermenter. I'm hoping this will give a high enough alcohol content to make good cuts but give the good flavour I got from the stripping runs.

Will this work - does anyone else do this?

[possum]

You becha!
It brings across good flavor. I often do 2 strip runs, and top up the boiler with undistilled molassis wash. I don't get as high of proof that way, but I don't need anything beyond 120 proof for my aging. my final average after cuts comes out around 120-130.
I like a bigger flavor in my rum, otherwise I would make all sugar wash and make vodka.

[Tater]

Ive done it as well when single runs wernt possable cause of proof.

[erbachem]

Just a quick question on this. Would you recommend doing a stripping run and then diluting the distillate with the backset as an option for bringing through more of a rum flavour? I have my first 50L wash nearing completion at the moment.

I currently use one of the old duplast reflux stills. With my previous sugar washes I have tended to leave the packing in place and just turned off the primary condenser. I tend to get around 140 proof on the stripping run if I do it this way.

For the rum wash, should I be looking at removing the packing and run it as pretty much a straight pot still or leave the packing in place to provide a minor level of reflux?

[Husker]

If you are getting 140 proof from your run then there is not a "minor" amount of reflux. I am pretty sure you are stripping out a heck of a lot of flavor.

In my pot, this is a pretty good rule of thumb. Strip run is about 1/3 original volumne, and about 3x stronger %ABV on the backside. Thus a 10 gallon 12% wash would strip to about 3.5 gallons of 34-36%. Any minimal reflux pot stills should see about this result. The further away from this "ideal" means your still is less and less like a pot still, and thus there will be less and less flavor results in your product.

If you have water lines going through your column, I would recommend pulling ALL of the packing, AND insulating your column. Thus, anything that is condensed out, will simply drip back into the pot, and reboil. This will get you closer to a pot still. It will run a little slower than a pot (since some condense will NOT be collected, but be returned to the pot). However it will work much more "like" a pot still, than something giving you 140 proof, on your first run.

H.

[Monster Mash]

Possum and Tater (or anyone else),

The idea of running a regular first unstripped wash in with the low wines is a very interesting idea. Is anyone doing this with whiskey and with what kind of results? What is the best ratio of wort to low wines?