Dark rums...

Post by **bronzdragon** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:29 pm

This question is more about the aging of rums.

I have a good recipe going and I have been able to get a very drinkable amber rum. But what I really want is a black rum, or dark rum.

With my amber, I went the route of aging on dark charred oak cubes and adding a couple of tablespoons of thinned out carmelized sugar to each quart. I like the flavor that this gives it, but I don't really want to add more sugar to the spirits.

Is the answer, just a lot more time on charred oak to achieve the dark rum? As it is, I've been throwing in about 10-15 of the cubes and after a few months it's still ambler, I don't really think it will get darker.

Any ideas from all you rum makers out there?

~r~

absinthe · Post by **absinthe** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:45 pm

forget the caramel for dark rum.. use molasses (about a dessert spoon).. then let it settle (i have a bottle about 1/4 full o molasses then top with still proof rum to thin her out then all the "dust" will settle) for a good dark rum add some cloves and Cinnamon i also add a little bit o a vanilla bean

Post by **bronzdragon** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 5:45 am

I've had good luck with a spiced rum using some of those ingredients. Next batch I will try using the molasses instead of the carmelized sugar and see how it goes. Thanks.

cheers

~r~

mikeac · Post by **mikeac** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:41 am

Some people have also mentioned using their backseat to get a dark rum, can't remember how well they said it turned out, but might be worth experimenting with a little bit...

Post by **blanikdog** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 1:21 am

Some months ago I made around 15 litres of HGGGP rum. It's been sitting on oak, pineapple, apricots, lemon grass, cardomom and pepper for about two months. Abv was 70% and it was going really well and tasted wonderful even if a bit strong at 70 abv.

I diluted it to 45 abv which is my normal procedure using tank water. The BLOODY stuff turned very cloudy. I reckon that I've collected too much tails during the distillations of the washes and will need to redistill it. Any comments?

blanik

rumbaba · Post by **rumbaba** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:55 am

blanikdog wrote:Some months ago I made around 15 litres of HGGGP rum. It's been sitting on oak, pineapple, apricots, lemon grass, cardomom and pepper for about two months. Abv was 70% and it was going really well and tasted wonderful even if a bit strong at 70 abv.

I diluted it to 45 abv which is my normal procedure using tank water. The BLOODY stuff turned very cloudy. I reckon that I've collected too much tails during the distillations of the washes and will need to redistill it. Any comments?

blanik

I have had this happen on dilution a couple of times also, blanik. I eliminated the problem of relegating anything under 75% to tails for rerunning. I know its an awful time consuming process, but its a trade off for clear product, eh? I have 6 bottles of beautiful rum, but slightly cloudy. I am still thinking of rerunning it. It tastes great, it just does not look as good as the clear stuff. I will probably put it into the "future projects" category.

CoopsOz · Post by **CoopsOz** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:27 pm

Could it have pulled oil's or something from your spicing ingredients? Perhaps next time you could macerate at drinking strength.

Post by **bronzdragon** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:13 pm

I usually mix mine down to 85 proof and then put the spices in to let them sit and haven't had a problem with it going cloudy.

~r~

Post by **manu de hanoi** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:09 pm

mikeac wrote:Some people have also mentioned using their backseat to get a dark rum, can't remember how well they said it turned out, but might be worth experimenting with a little bit...

yes , i did. It gives a very interesting flavor, and a very dark colour

pothead · Post by **pothead** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:12 pm

I tried using molasses a couple times, only turned out good once.
The rest of the time it tasted like crap.

I prefer using a lil backset, and then aging it on oak with a bit of sherry