Unaged rum

[Glock19Fan]

Hello.

I just finished my last run of rum a couple of weeks ago, and since then it has been sitting in a new barrel I purchased from Gibbs.

Well, I kept a small quantity of the unaged rum, just to have something to compare to when I decide it has been sitting long enough (which I am thinking right around 2 years). Anyway, I bought a bottle of rum from the liquor store today, and did a taste comparision.

I guess after not drinking my own rum for a while, I am not "tolerant" of it anymore. Anyway when I tried my own rum, it almost made me gag. It was HEAVY. But it didnt seem like tails, unless the tails in rum taste different from other spirits. It just didnt taste anything like the rum I bought. The rum I bought, which was clear (no color), was almost like a vodka, but has some flavor to it.

This has got me worried though, becuase I have a lot of time and money into that batch.

I was just wondering for all the rum producers out there, does your unaged rum taste anything like the commercial white rums? Hopefully the aging process will mellow it out, becuase I was after a fairly light rum to begin with.

Any experience/thoughts/comparisions are appreciated!

Thanks!

[kiwistiller]

out of curiosity, what recipe do you make your rum by?

[SuperDavid]

I'm the same with my unaged rum. even mixed with coke I can't drink it. The flavour without the oak is just too strong for me.

[Glock19Fan]

My recipe was 50 percent molassas (by sugar weight) and 50 percent white sugar. So for example, if there were 2 pounds of sugar in 1 gallon of molassas, I would mix one gallon of molassas and 2 pounds of sugar.

I have it sitting in a barrel, and I am really hoping that the charring and the oak all help mellow and change the flavors a bit.

What about other rum makers? How is your unaged rum? Is there a significant difference in your aged and unaged rum?

[Glock19Fan]

I'm the same with my unaged rum. even mixed with coke I can't drink it. The flavour without the oak is just too strong for me.

How long do you typically age for? Do you notice a big difference in the flavor after aging?

Thanks!

[Barney Fife]

We need more input; style of still, ABV at output, size of wash and where were the hearts, etc....

Sounds to me like you messed up on the cuts.

[schnell]

Single distilled white dog rum is pretty much undrinkable...

except for really special occasions.

Most of the big industrial commercial rum came out of a continuous still and was effectively redistilled many many times in the column.

You will get better with practice at making the cuts and end up with better and better white dog products with practice. These will of course improve with extra distillation, aging, and other "tricks" you'll pick up with time. I recommend you set that bottle aside for a few years as a reference standard. Then one day after you make a batch, whip it out and compare. You'll only be encouraged to be able to smell, see, feel, and taste the difference.

[Tater]

Might wanna read up on rum http://www.rumuniversity.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow .Lots of rum that are white were still aged in charred barrel.I single run mine and its drinkable as is but I prefer to air out age 6 months with little char to it and then add my other ingredients.To make my dark rum that we like with coke cola or use making daiquiris.

[muckanic]

We need more input; style of still, ABV at output, size of wash and where were the hearts, etc....

Agreed. I suspect a lot of rum washes are made too strong, and are encountering the same byproduct problems of sugar washes. One local distillery employs an all-molasses, 7% ABV wash, as they figure anything stronger wastes alcohol in favour of other cogeners. Molasses is 40-50% fermentable by weight - do the numbers. Note that they don't dilute with sugar, as this is effectively like making a vodka blend. Blending in some neutral after the event probably provides better control.

[Glock19Fan]

As I remember, the wash was 2 1/2 gallons of blackstrap molassas, 12 pounds of sugar, and enough water to fill up a 10 gallon trash can. I think I had to do 3 or 4 of these all together to procude 5 gallons of rum.

The still is a simple pot still, made from a 16qt pot, with a 12 inch, 1 1/2 inch wide column, which connecting to it is 10 ft of 1/4ID, 3/8OD copper tube. I have made several other spirits with this still, all of which have turned out great. But most were just straight sugar wash, or with 25-35 % agave (an attempt at tequila).

Some runs were fine, drinkable as they came out, while others were a little harsh. Still not bad, but maybe I was just used to drinking it. I was thinking about double distilling it all, but I always lost too much in the process, or I just wasnt doing it right...

It has been sitting for about 2 1/2 weeks now, and I was having a little trouble with leakage around the plug, so I might pop it off and replace with a new one, and in the process, see how it was doing, although I dont expect much at all in the short time it has been sitting.

[SuperDavid]

I'm the same with my unaged rum. even mixed with coke I can't drink it. The flavour without the oak is just too strong for me.

How long do you typically age for? Do you notice a big difference in the flavor after aging?

Thanks!

the youngest rum I've got in the bottle is 3 months old...and I'm considering putting it back on oak...its nice..but I think it could be better.

[kenfyoozed]

I did what I am calling a light rum. Basically a sugar wash but used half dark brown sugar and half white sugar. Started with 7 gallons, distilled returned about 2.5 gallons, redistilled and got roughly 1.25 gallons when cut to 110 proof. It had a sweet buttery,bananna, rum smell. I tossed in some chared oak, and other spices and let 1 liter age for a week. I love it. It added a little to much in the way of spices but mixes great. I need to try the molasses recipie. Also it seems I like the higher abv. Seems there is more flavor there with the rum, but i, probably wrong.

[absinthe]

i don't age my rum.. i use an all molasses recipe to about 9-10%abv (i don't even weigh or measure the molasses do it by eye) i then do a real hot and long stripping run and then collect a few batches and do a mixed spirit run.. she makes a real nice smooth white rum i have been told its the best allot of people have tasted

i think you stuffed up your cuts

[muckanic]

As I remember, the wash was 2 1/2 gallons of blackstrap molassas, 12 pounds of sugar, and enough water to fill up a 10 gallon trash can.

Looks super-strong to me. I use 1 part molasses by volume to 3.5 parts water in order to obtain an original gravity of 120. Your ratio of 1:3 would produce a gravity of 140, then raising by about another 55 with the sugar. Another point to note: I believe, without having used it, that fancy molasses can be up to 90% fermentable by weight. This makes some of those blackstrap vs. fancy comparisons a bit misleading. The first thing any pro distiller would do when obtaining a new batch of molasses would be to check it for fermentables and nutrient levels, and would probably brew a small test batch.

[kiwistiller]

The first thing any pro distiller would do when obtaining a new batch of molasses would be to check it for fermentables and nutrient levels...

How would one do that? I've just assumed that blackstap is blackstrap.

[muckanic]

How would one do that? I've just assumed that blackstap is blackstrap.

The low-tech way would be with a hydrometer. Brew a batch noting starting and finishing gravities. The difference is fermentability. Then investigate whether nutrient additions push the final gravity down any further, with DAP and Vit B1 probably being of most concern. Of course, there can be a big difference between brewing a batch from scratch, and brewing a batch on top of a previous one. In the latter case, there will most likely be much more active yeast available, and there is also the possibility of using some of the previous yeast cake as a nutrient source.

[kiwistiller]

How would one do that? I've just assumed that blackstap is blackstrap.

The low-tech way would be with a hydrometer. Brew a batch noting starting and finishing gravities. The difference is fermentability. Then investigate whether nutrient additions push the final gravity down any further, with DAP and Vit B1 probably being of most concern. Of course, there can be a big difference between brewing a batch from scratch, and brewing a batch on top of a previous one. In the latter case, there will most likely be much more active yeast available, and there is also the possibility of using some of the previous yeast cake as a nutrient source.

Oh I'm already doing that . I thought you meant there was a trick for knowing what nutrients were needed based on the molasses.

[Glock19Fan]

As far as sugar content, I would using the amount of molassas based on the weight of sugar per tablespoon. IIRC, the way I mixed up the final weight would have been 25 pounds of sugar per 10 gallon of wash, which is what I have seen recommended before. And not only that, but the turbo yeast I used was supposed to be able to handle it.