Rum Questions

[Tabucowboy]

So I have bought Blackstrap Rum and it has a bitter-tart flavor, which I do not like.

If I use Blackstrap Molasses to my fermentor will this flavor come through?

[Saltbush Bill]

Your not supposed to be eating it .......ferment it.

[Yummyrum]

Surely you can taste a sweetness in there too .

Blackstrap works for me . Don’t get any bitter tart come over to the spirit . Sure , the molasses comes over but that transitions into a nice Rum taste when Oaked for a while .

Keeping your tails cut out of it will have more impact on the outcome than the Molasses .

[Saltbush Bill]

Keeping your tails cut out of it will have more impact on the outcome than the Molasses .

Couldn't agree more , good Rum doesn't need heads or tails in it for flavour.
Let the hearts speak for them selves after a year or two on oak.

[SaltyStaves]

So I have bought Blackstrap Rum

You've bought a bottle of rum that you don't like? I'm confused.

[Tabucowboy]

This is the crap I tried years ago, it tastes like some one filtered it through the streets of Cuba.
Just want to make sure I don't get that taste in the rum I make.

And you guys answered my question, thank you.
I will start brewing tomorrow.
~Tabu

[NZChris]

If you make decent rum, you don't have to hide your mistakes with spices.

[SaltyStaves]

Tabucowboy, you've confused excessive E150a caramel colourant with molasses. Its burnt caramel and the more you use, the more bitter the end result will be and you need a lot of it to make a 40% ABV spirit look black.

'Blackstrap rum' isn't a rum a category. There is rum made from blackstrap molasses, but anything marketed as blackstrap in the rum world is effectively a load of colorant with some alcohol in it.

[Yummyrum]

If you make decent rum, you don't have to hide your mistakes with spices.

Spiced Rum is crap in my opinion . Some folk do like it though .

[CageMaster]

semi related rum question, running my first batch tomorrow, if i want to keep some backset for adding color and flavour during the aging is it best to store refrigerated?

[Saltbush Bill]

if i want to keep some backset for adding color and flavour during the aging

Sorry but I just dont see the sense in that .
You've just spent time distilling your Rum , putting it into jars so that you can make cuts. When you make the final blend for the barrel you will leave out 99% of those taily cuts jars, then your possibly going to add back dunder which stinks worse than any tails that you just removed?

[CageMaster]

if i want to keep some backset for adding color and flavour during the aging

Sorry but I just dont see the sense in that .
You've just spent time distilling your Rum , putting it into jars so that you can make cuts. When you make the final blend for the barrel you will leave out 99% of those taily cuts jars, then your possibly going to add back dunder which stinks worse than any tails that you just removed?

from the tried and true recipe section bucaneer bob uses fresh dunder to mix with hearts cuts to create a dark rum essence......i don't want to do this right off the hop, but want to save some backset to experiment and try down the road possibly, just wonder how best to store its so it stays "fresh"

[NZChris]

from the tried and true recipe section bucaneer bob uses fresh dunder to mix with hearts cuts to create a dark rum essence......i don't want to do this right off the hop, but want to save some backset to experiment and try down the road possibly, just wonder how best to store its so it stays "fresh"

I did a strip to 24% ABV in the collection vessel to strip a lot of the fusels out of the dunder, then freeze jacked it to concentrate it, freezing 1000ml, thawing 400ml, then added high proof rum to 25% ABV to preserve it. Mine is nearly eight years old now. Even though it's clear, it makes the rum go cloudy. I hardly ever use it.

[Yummyrum]

semi related rum question, running my first batch tomorrow, if i want to keep some backset for adding color and flavour during the aging is it best to store refrigerated?

I’m gonna say yes . Keep a bit in the refrigerator.
Dunder( Rum backset) has a habit of growing mold very quickly at room temp with Oxygen .

On a side note , I tried Bucc Bobs Dunder essence thing but it wasn’t a hit for me . Some like it though .

[Dougmatt]

Someone on this forum suggested what I do. I can my dunder in mason jars off while still warm right out of the still. Have personally kept some well over a year with no issues and no refrigeration so it seems to work for me.

On the dunder essence, seems to me that if you just make a great rum, you shouldn’t need to put anything in it…. Spiced rums aren’t my thing, but my wife and kids like ‘em so I use sugar cane, vanilla and few other things depending on the mood to make theirs, but seems sacrilegious to me.

Edit: Iread back through the thread and want to add, use the dunder I’ve stored to kick off my latest rounds of rum making in fermentation, nothing else…. I wouldn’t add it to a finished spirit as others here have noted. I have made fresh caramel, and even added a small little bit of simple syrup for “ladies rum” which is pretty good, but I can’t see adding dunder…..

[LordL]

With rum clocking in on between 5g/l up to 40g/l of sugar, I'm thinking weeare going to experiment a bit with dark muscovado.

Run it, put it in a used burboun cask, back sweeten some to try out.

Any suggestions on a specific sugar level?

[Sugarshane]

If you make decent rum, you don't have to hide your mistakes with spices.

This is gold

[DetroitDIY]

I've never added dunder back to my collected spirit. I concur with those who ask 'why would you?'

I ferment a mixture of blackstrap and panela sugar and it makes lovely rum.

I save my dunder in 5 gallon buckets outside in the shop for years. It'll grow a think cap of funky mold. I'll add it to new ferments when I want a funkier, more estery rum (think Jamaican rum). Mason jars and refrigeration sounds too tedious, and is counter to my desire for the funk.

Cheers!