Rum recipe advice, please?

[Steve Broady]

I just want to run this by people who know more than I do, in case I’m about to make some kind of stupid mistake. I know we all have to experiment and explore, which I’m happy to do, but you guys have helped guide me in the past and I value your advice on my sometimes crazy ideas.

I’ve got 5 gallons of blackstrap molasses here now, and 24 lbs of panella en route. Naturally, I’m planning on making some rum. I’ve also got a couple gallons of dunder saved from the last time I made rum earlier the year. I’m intrigued by SBB rum, but the comments about it being a bit rough white and needing mints or years on oak have me a little concerned. On one hand, I love long aged spirits with complex flavors. On the other hand, I have a good friend that I like to share things with, and she prefers white rum. I make no claims about the sophistication of her palate, but since I can make more than I can drink, it makes sense to me to make something I can share and know will be enjoyed.

This is what propose to do. Divide my 5 gallons of molasses equally into four 1.25 gallon units, and make four batches of rum. Supplement each with 2 lbs of panella. If my math is right a 5-6 gallon wash ought to yield roughly 10-12% alcohol. For the first one, use one gallon of the dunder which I have saved, after boiling it of course. For each successive batch, use a gallon of the dunder from the previous one. In other words, follow the process as laid out by SBB, but dial the intensity back a little by using panella to (hopefully) turn the molasses into something more like what would have been around a few hundred years ago.

Am I about to do something silly? Would I be better off making straight SBB and then a separate panella rum? I’ll be making the latter anyway, since I have enough coming for a couple more washes easily. I know some of you have a lot of experience with rum, and I have no doubt you’ll pull no punches when it comes to telling me the truth. I appreciate that about you, even when it smarts. Thanks in advance!

[NZChris]

I reckon that you are aiming for too high an abv, mine are around 8%.

You don't have to blend them in the fermenter, you can keep them separate and blend later.

If you want something drinkable young and white and something for long aging, you can do both from one run by selecting two different cuts from the same jars.

[Saltbush Bill]

I agree with everything Chris says below.
keep the wash at 10% or less.
Make two Rums, see which you like , then possibly blend.
Tight cuts from the heart of the hearts will give a smoother white rum to drink sooner.

[Yummyrum]

I guess it all depends what your lady friend considers white Rum ? And does she drink it with Coke or just on ice cubes?

Coke will mask a heck of a lot .

To me , White arum means something like Bacardi which is very close to Nuetral but still with a subtle Molasses character . I make that in a packed reflux still from either stripped wash or heads and tails from Pot still runs . The former gives more product but both are equally good if you do the cuts right .

Others consider a white rum to be something from a pot still or a Plated still that has not been aged .

As I drink my Rum on Ice cubes and no longer with coke , I find I can’t stand this un aged White Rum , even if I grab the middle jar .

Buts thats just me .

[NZChris]

Bacardi is barrel aged rum that has had the color stripped out with specialized activated carbon. Good luck emulating that with recipes, platers and pots

[Yummyrum]

Bacardi is barrel aged rum that has had the color stripped out with specialized activated carbon. Good luck emulating that with recipes, platers and pots

Indeed it is Chris with as they would tell you up to Fifteen different types of charcoal :….. but it can be quite well emulated . Personally , I think the barrel aging is just to get the remainder of the heads out after the continuous columns it is made in . That can also be done quite well in a reflux still batch style .
Agree, platers and Pots …. Naah .

[Saltbush Bill]

I think Yummy,s also on the right track .......Running it through a decent reflux still will only improve a white Rum made from mollases......I wont comment on the panella as Ive never used the stuff........the other advice still applies.
A combination of all should give you a nice white Rum.

[Metalking00]

I havent used panela, but ive made a bunch of rum with jaggery, which is similar. I find the panela/jaggery style rums to be much more palatable much much sooner than an all blackstrap.

The only rums ive made that id consider drinking white were the heart of hearts of a jaggery rum (that one had a great cinnamon/ spice thing goin on), or the hearts of a half moly/half raw sugar run through a reflux. I prefer the jaggery.

The molassess is better suited to letting it do what molassess wants to do: have a lot of flavor and then sit for a long time, in my opinion.

Id do them seperately in a pot still, save the feints from both and then run the feints through a reflux to get your white rum.

[Steve Broady]

Thanks for the advice. Reading this, I think I’ll change my plan up. Straight molasses first, then follow that up with panella and using up the last of the molasses. Blend and age to suit.

I often joke that I might have a touch of OCD about me. I admit that part of the reason I was thinking about all this was so that I could divide my molasses up into equal portions. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is.

[Dougmatt]

I find that using the molasses to flavor the panela for a little extra kick is quite nice then using the fresh dunder in future runs as well. Here’s where I landed on about the sweet spot for something drinkable early and something the develops with age:

Ferment batch 25 - moly + Panela
- .5 Gallon TSC feedgrade Moly
- ~6 lbs Panela
- Made to a 6 gallon wash
- .5 gallons new dunder
- OG - 1.071@ 106 - 1.077
- Pitched yeast at 92 degrees
- FG - 1.019
- % Abv - 7.61%

Edit: above is starting point, below is the batches that follow:

Ferment ++ - only Panela
- ~ 8 lbs Panela
- Made to a 6gallon wash
- 3/4 gallon fresh dunder
- OG - 1.070 @ 85 ~ 1.072
- Trub from ferment 3 no new yeast
- FG - 1.020 at rack

[Steve Broady]

Well that works out conveniently! I figure that if I scale down the SBB recipe to my fermenters, I’ll be using about 1.5 gallons of molasses each time. That leaves me with .5 left over. Perfect to starting your recipe, Dougmatt. Thanks!