Oak Chips and Caramelized Sugar

[Daemientia]

I'm looking to make a nice, smooth sipping rum and am looking for some feedback from the pros. I have a great smelling molasses/Cane sugar wash that I'll be distilling tomorrow, and was wondering about the aging on oak process.

I have some oak Chips from a bourbon cask - how much should i use and for how long? I do realize I'll need to experiment but am looking for a starting point.

Also, I've read that much of rum's flavor comes from stuff added after it's been distilled (oak, Caramelized sugar, etc). Has anyone played with adding Caramelized sugar? Again, just looking for a starting point as to how much to add

Thanks and cheers from Canada!

D.

[pounsfos]

molasses washes are my favorite, in fact I asked for it to be added to the tried and true.

oaking is a hard thing to do, you have to pay semi attention to it (once a week depending on size)

read this if you havent already http://homedistiller.org/aging/aging/wood" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

when I oak, I like to put a vanilla bean in, some put in lime zest, be as creative as you want, just get a teaspoon everynow and again, open the lid, guive it a sniff, give it a taste, if something is getting overpowering, take it out, the other stuff will mellow it out.

in this hobby, experience is key, and there is only one way to get experience, but i'l tell you this, ive never had sanything bad come out from aging, maybe something overpowering here and there, but still delicious.

[shadylane]

I'm looking to make a nice, smooth sipping rum and am looking for some feedback from the pros. I have a great smelling molasses/Cane sugar wash that I'll be distilling tomorrow

How fast, do you want to have nice, smooth sipping rum

[bluefish_dist]

I do add caramelized sugar to our white rum. I found it does help. I also found that it takes time for it to smooth out. I would give it a couple of weeks minimum if you are doing a white, since you are oaking, it should not be an issue.

I bought a couple silicone ice cube trays to make sugar blocks. I caramelize a couple cups of sugar then place the tray on a scale, filling each compartment with a known amount of sugar. Once its cooled I pop them out and drop as many as needed to get the amount of sugar I want in a batch. I have to keep it less than 2g per liter since I dont call out the sugar on the label, but you can probably add up to 10g/l depending on what you like.

[Saltbush Bill]

If you want a nice smooth rum don't be tempted to add any heads or tails. You will still get plenty of flavour if you have used enough molasses.

oaking is a hard thing to do, you have to pay semi attention to it (once a week depending on size)

There is nothing hard about oaking Rum, Ive done it both ways , in barrels and in glass using home toasted sticks.
In my opinion toasted oak works better for Rums than Charred Oak..keep the chars for Whiskys.
When aging in glass I use sticks cut from old barrel staves, these are approximate 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 6 inches long, they are then toasted until a light chocolate brown right through the stick. Probably what would be considered a med / heavy toast. You can use one of these sticks to every liter of Rum without fear of over oaking. Ive left them in the bottle for over a year and the rum just kept getting better. Doesn't hurt to sample once a month as the flavours will change as time goes by.
Rum aged/ oaked in glass will rarely be as smooth as that aged in a barrel due to the angels not getting their share

[Daemientia]

Thanks for all of the replies and advice! I'll experiment in smaller jars for the aging and caramelizing .. the fun part will be the tasting

And the ice cube trays are a great idea @bluefish_dist .. I'll look into that!

[Daemientia]

If you want a nice smooth rum don't be tempted to add any heads or tails. You will still get plenty of flavour if you have used enough molasses.

oaking is a hard thing to do, you have to pay semi attention to it (once a week depending on size)

There is nothing hard about oaking Rum, Ive done it both ways , in barrels and in glass using home toasted sticks.
In my opinion toasted oak works better for Rums than Charred Oak..keep the chars for Whiskys.
When aging in glass I use sticks cut from old barrel staves, these are approximate 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 6 inches long, they are then toasted until a light chocolate brown right through the stick. Probably what would be considered a med / heavy toast. You can use one of these sticks to every liter of Rum without fear of over oaking. Ive left them in the bottle for over a year and the rum just kept getting better. Doesn't hurt to sample once a month as the flavours will change as time goes by.
Rum aged/ oaked in glass will rarely be as smooth as that aged in a barrel due to the angels not getting their share

Trying to find barrels around here - I don't think there's a local bourbon distillery, however. Will keep looking...

[Daemientia]

I'm looking to make a nice, smooth sipping rum and am looking for some feedback from the pros. I have a great smelling molasses/Cane sugar wash that I'll be distilling tomorrow

How fast, do you want to have nice, smooth sipping rum

Yesterday? Lol... I don't mind waiting to be honest. I'll be setting some aside for longer aging on oak Chips.