molasses vodka

[Rastus]

I have done:
death wish wheat germ,
sweetfeed,
odins rye ,
uncle jesse's simple Sour mash,
and now this recipe.

And i have to say so far This Molasses and sugar is the easiest and fastest with a nice flavor to boot....

of course there are many variables in my progression as i learned with them.

i used Boka 3" in the beginning Now using a flute....

The heat and yeast nutrient are the 2 biggest factors that are different from my past ferments...

The Fermax nutrient, which i am using conservatively, makes a profound effect on the activity of the yeast its like puting them on Meth.
As for the heat,my new battery blanket heater help keep the yeasties happy and so they work harder that obvious...

... i have Odins rye bread side bye side with it and all things equal the molasses clearly has less obstacles in its sprint to completion and goes much quicker. and having 2 distinct flavors is real nice also. it seems almost too good.... hmmm what can go wrong now???

i have parts coming for a new PSR25 controller ... then my runs on the flute will step into the world of bliss with smooth steady heat, as opposed to running a PID that pulses ugh... that worked OK with the Boka... but not the flute... so progress in the right direction.

Meanwhile, second round is below 1.000 now so going to let it cool and clear as best i can for a few days. and see how it comes out...

Life is good

[Odin]

Better than Odin's Rye Bread Vodka, Rastus? No, no, no ... that cannot be the case. Never!





Regards, Odin.

[Rastus]

OHHH no no no i am not saying it is better....

merely that it is very simple to prepare and it ferments very quickly, and that there isnt any grain or extra substance in the fermenter like the bread layer at the bottom.... they are different and both are good in my opinion.

I am 2 days away from another rum run, and maybe a week away from another rye bread run.... i am excited to see as it will be the second run on both. so i will see how the flavors come through....

[pounsfos]

wow, i'msorry but not for a second would this be better than odins experimentations!!!

Mine is sitting on 1.04, so about 2.5 weeks away from being done.

my car was an icicle pop this morning.......
I'm glad someone is enjoying this recipe , I believe it is a great stepping stone into more complex methods (ujssm and others)

[Odin]

Pounfos, I am sure your craft stands in high regard! My experimentations are just that ... experimentations!

I am happy to see you made this succesfully.

The molasses vodka I had was sweet. In fact, very contrairy to rye vodka, which is rather spicey and not sweet at all. And, well made, both are very interesting products!

Regards, Odin.

[Rastus]

Well said Odin, it is like apples and oranges and both are good... each has its place.

for a few days here been getting snow and rain and snow and ice....
sunday i had to literally pry my car door open to get in frozen crusted ice and snow.
but who cares!!! my molasses is below 1.000 now just waiting for it to settle a bit before i run it.

I am starting to think the warmth of a running still is better than a hot chocolate after playing in the snow!

have a great day!

[pounsfos]

thanks Odin, a great compliment.

It was you and your exoerimenting that help get me experimenting.

Theres definatly enough nutrients in that molasses to get a good ferment, but I believe you do need to pitch a good amount of yeast as well.

Mine is now down to 1.000 so am waiting for it to settle and will run next weekend

oh and i have had a few people ask me what I use to keep my brews warm, I use a fish tank element, I find a 100w does the job nicely from 25-200l fermenters, and not bad on the elctricity bill either
also I wrap a blanket around my fewrmenters.

[Rastus]

last week i ran round 2, one week to the day of round one, gives new meaning to the term thirsty thursday....

came out great i dumped 3 quarts from round one back in the kettle which i believe raised my ABV so i had 1 gallon and 3 quarts out of round 2 that weighed in at 90%.

took a 3 pint jars of the 90% diluted with water, added molasses of varying degrees... it fogs up at first then sediment settles next day.

one i added some vanilla bean, other i added a slice of fresh ginger, may add some more Ginger as it isn't showing up, i am a little cautious dont want to over do it... plan is evaluate the blends and pick one to do on a larger scale.

as i sip each ... the molasses seems to add body and smooths the flavor and also broadens the flavor. (hope that makes sense)
I love it.... i keep thinking Dark and stormy is in the works... the one rum i was getting at the likker store was Goslings Black Seal, i like it of all my limited rum experience has shared to me... it seems destiny My first ever booze purchase was in the 70's I was 14, walked into a state store on the coast of Oregon, and bought Meyers Rum ... so now it is different butt back to rum. that clerk had to know i wasnt 21.
i can see i am close enough to happy sipping, i don't have a dunder pit so not sure how much closer i can get but for the amateurs i drink with who will know... hahaha

thank you for hollering out with your recipe... Odin if your out there your rye bread is working fine also. waiting for me to run it through round 2... may have to a double run again next week.

regards

[pounsfos]

Rastus

I just realised you are adding molasses to the final spirit

How much do you roughly add per quart (or per litre)?

Havent tried adding molasses to the final spirit

[Rastus]

right now i am using pints to experiment and all i can say is add a couple of teaspoons look at the color and taste and stir... i am letting them sit to evaluate how they mellow. I can see value in more and less depending on what you want to mix. you can always add more till its right .

i will tell you molasses didnt like to mix into the high proof, so when i knocked it down to 45-50% it mixed better. i stirred and shook i have 3 shades of brown happening. my one buddy i sent a sample to told me according to his taste he wanted it stronger on the molasses ....

i could almost see it now a rum runners novel titled 50 shades of brown....

a real saucy book illustrated with real copper porn

[pounsfos]

http://homedistiller.org/sugar/wash-sugar/molasses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

a read from the parent site

[pounsfos]

mine has just finished fermenting

it's in the still heating up, should be ready to go once I get back from archery

[InglisHill]

Hows it looking ?

[Rastus]

Just a follow up on my details...

i took 3 separate quarts diluted to 40 some % added degrees of molasses, one i added a few pieces of Vanilla bean another i added a few thin slices of fresh Ginger root. the third i left alone with only Molasses... each tasted good, i was enjoying the individual flavors of each... then yesterday when we invited family and friends over for the big boxing match I wanted to have something to put out for the refreshments... so i took the leftovers of all 3 and poured them into a bottle.... and SHAZAM!!!!

the flavors all came together the vanilla and the ginger along with the rich rum flavor that molasses brings in well balanced. it was just enough flavor to make you want another taste to try and capture the elusive essence, you know its there but you cannot catch it ... it was nirvana rum style.

i can see there is always room for fiddling around, i can see room for some citrus in there at some point.....

simple recipe, big result for me. with the battery blanket to keep the temps up
i add just a teaspoon of fermax and the ferments are the most robust i have ever enjoyed.

[pounsfos]

Good to hear Rustus

I have a litre infusing with feijoas at the moment from my last batch and it smells amazing!!!

***had to do maintenance at archery so will run still sometime this week***

[Rastus]

So i finally looked up feijoa....

that sounds interesting, my mind was playing tricks on me and was thinking some kind of frijole some kinda spicey ...

now i understand more clearly and it sounds much better. the description of the flavor seems to make sense as a good flavor profile for the rum...

yummy

wish i could drop in for a sample... when i travelled in the philippines they had all kinds of fruits and such that seems would work well for flavoring....

best regards

[pounsfos]

yes although I am making this as a flavoured vodka ( i know that sounds wierd) instead of going for a rum.

The feijoas make a great fruit to infuse, literally after a day it had already turned the spirit green and tasted like I was eating one!!!
I will give it another week and maybe take a photo for you sometime tonight while doing my run

[pounsfos]

i finally got around to starting my still run,
45litres into the boiler,
threw 100ml of just nasty meths into the meths jar, collected about a litre of heads
hearts were beautifull, sweet, with a body, can literally drink straight from the still (after watering down)
moving this upto my bigger fermenters........ definatly my new main recipe

[Brutal]

Thanks for keeping us up on it. Sounds good and I will be trying it soon.

[InglisHill]

Yup, same here.......

[pounsfos]

just finished the final run with 1kg of molasses instead of the original recipe of 0.5kgs
there was definatly more flavour
migth keep it at 1kg, or might put a ferment down with 2 and see how we go, or start backseating it

[InglisHill]

Well interested in the Feijoa comment!

[pounsfos]

in what regard inglishill

it infuses greatly and tastes amazing.

If you want i can give you an infusing recipe

[InglisHill]

I'd go for that Poundfos.....

I've been fermenting feijoa for close to six years every season now, and most of what I read on the internet about them is myth. If you got something that works mate, I am all ears.

"Cut it up and put it in a gin basket" - that's the best taste I ever got from them..... And it wasn't even my brew!!!!

[pounsfos]

wow, I've never fermented them but I know already thast it would come out great

I livr in dunedin, due to the recent flooding my garage is now a soggy mess, luckily i put all electrical items on the top shelf, so they are fine,

I lost 2 molasses ferments though.....

anyway, all I do is after you collect your spirit from the still
cut feijoas into 4's (cut in half, and then half again)
fill jar half way with feijoas
pour spirit in top
add some sugar (i use 2 tablespoons per litre)
wait AT LEAST 2 weeks, shaking regularly
your aiming for a brown or dark green colour
tastes and smeels exatctly like feijoas, and dissappears as quickly as eating one

Highly recommend
...back onto topic, i have found 1kg of molasses to be fine for ferments, anything after that doesn't make any difference
you can pick up 5kg "tubs" of blackstrap molasses from any crt or farmlands store in NZ for about $19

or you can get bigger but just some hints. if anyone finds a cheaper place, please holla

[Rastus]

As time goes bye, and we approach a holiday of things we are thankful for, i couldnt let it go unsaid how thankful i am for this here recipe!

i have run several generations, saving the dreggs on the bottom of the fermenter, and using approx 25% Backset

i am still using 12 pounds of white cane sugar to 5 pounds of bakers molasses (not blackstrap)

first round was using bakers yeast, but after that when needed i have re kindled the fire with red star Cuvee yeast.

when it seems sluggish i add a little Fermax. keep the heat between 75 and 85 f ....

when i run it i am using 4 plates of my 4" , 5 plate flute. i pull out 150 - 200 ml of foreshots. followed by a pint of heads and from there i run till the tails come in strong. my hearts come in at 89% most all of the way through.

each round seems to get better and more defined the sweetness is really coming out i am more often sipping some on the rocks than mixing any more. still put some molasses back into it for a flavor change. but mostly white.

awesome rum bye golly!!!

[Rastus]

I just ran generation 6 on this recipe.

each generation is clearly getting better. sweet and flavorful.

i am finding that when i run it through my flute, i am going a little deeper into the tails,
this last time i went till my percent hit 77% i stopped, and i blended everything i had a clean gallon that weighed in at 89% ABV

wonderful drop sipping straight sippin... i think the flavor will make a good rum and coke also.

just saying

[pounsfos]

the furthurest I've gotten is gen 3 25% backseat.... then I had to move house, hoping to restart soon, glad your loving it

[Rastus]

good luck man I just ran gen 9 a few nights ago.... this current ferment is moving slow ... I may do a reboot on it from fresh if it gives me too much trouble.

I sure am happy how it has turned out though. just got to remember to label my experiments and various experiments with treatment such as oak , gin or other additions... best one so far seems to be oaked with Vanilla bean and a few teaspoons of maple syrup.

[Rastus]

as i wrote last night i was vexed with a slow starting ferment. nearly 48 hours from when i started it... but this morning by golly, its fired up and has a thick foamy cap and the furnace is starting to roar... kicking into molasses warp drive ... beam me up Mr Scott!!!