Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

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wallstreet4386
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Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by wallstreet4386 »

Hey all.

Just completed my sacrificial run on my 5 gal chinese pot still. I took 2 gals of my 4 gal sugar wash (tomato paste + sugar wash) plus an extra gallon of water and ran it through a stripping run. Came off the still at around 45% ABV and ran down to just under 20% ABV. Collected just over 2 qts of liquid. This will be used as weed killer around the yard.

My next step is to take the other 2 gals of the TPW plus 4 gals of a brown sugar rum wash (FG .0990) and run those through in 2 stripping runs and then a spirit run. I hope to have about 1 gal of spirit at the end as I have a 1 gal oak barrel I want to age the rum in.

One question I have - when I do the spirit run I am under the assumption that I want to proof the low wines down to 20%ABV. However I am reading on here that it may be a bad idea. So, to proof down or use just what came out of the stripping runs?

Thanks all.
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I'd suggest stripping down to an average of 25-30% abv in your low wines collection vessel instead of proofing the low wines. You'll capture more flavor that way.

Brown sugar doesn't have much flavor so it'll be very light as far as rum goes. You should use some or all molasses next time for a rum depending on how much flavor you want - I recommend experimenting with the molasses:sugar ratios after you spend some time sticking to a few Tried and True recipes..

Cheers,
j
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NZChris
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by NZChris »

20% is too low.

For a simple rum for aging, I strip until the total collection is below 27% ABV.
wallstreet4386
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by wallstreet4386 »

jonnys_spirit wrote: Fri Jun 02, 2023 6:12 pm Brown sugar doesn't have much flavor so it'll be very light as far as rum goes. You should use some or all molasses next time for a rum depending on how much flavor you want - I recommend experimenting with the molasses:sugar ratios after you spend some time sticking to a few Tried and True recipes..
After stripping the two washes I have I might make another molasses recipe, strip that, then combine the three into one spirit run.

Noted on the nothing below 27% for the stripping run.
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NZChris
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by NZChris »

wallstreet4386 wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2023 7:53 am Noted on the nothing below 27% for the stripping run.
I go below 27%. That's my upper limit for rum.
wallstreet4386
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by wallstreet4386 »

I'm going to use a scaled down version of Hook Rum recipe:

2.75 lbs raw sugar
1/2 gal molasses
1.3 gal dunder (uninfected)
1.32 oz distillers yeast
1/2 lees from my last run
water to 4 gals
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NZChris
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by NZChris »

That would be ok for the first ferment when you don't have dunder and need to make some, but a small still needs regular feeding if you want to build up a good amount of product for aging. I aim to ferment at least three still charges worth of wash at a time for my 8.5 gallon pot, then spend most of a weekend distilling it.
JustinNZ
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by JustinNZ »

Hey man. I make SBB’s All Molasses Rum and it’s delicious, just quietly. Anyway, with the low wines total collection % abv thing, bear in mind it can take a fair while sometimes to get down to 30% let alone lower, depending on your setup. Getting from 40% to 30% can drag out the session. If you’ve got the time and patience then it’s all good and worth the effort but as long as your low wines (incl. any feints in the future) stay under 40% abv overall you’re safe to do your spirit run and get cutting. We’ve all got different lifestyles. Sometimes I hit 30% and sometimes I just give up and go to bed. It all turns out great in the end!
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NZChris
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by NZChris »

JustinNZ wrote: Sun Jun 04, 2023 12:55 am Sometimes I hit 30% and sometimes I just give up and go to bed. It all turns out great in the end!
That was why I built a preheater over thirty years ago. Sometimes there is a lot more ethanol coming from the preheater than is coming from the strip when I'm running deep and scavenging flavor, plus the heatup time and cost between strips is minimal. The preheater eliminates the urge to ignore good advice and shut down strips too early.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by Yummyrum »

Well I am a self confessed Slack C$&@ at times but I have never bothered to check my total collected low wines ABV . :oops: …. So I can’t really say what it is .

I am in the same camp as justinNZ . Sometimes I’ve just had enough
, or it’s dinner time . Sometimes I do have excess time .

I do though, on a stripping run take occasional AVB readings towards the end , and on a Rum strip down until whats coming off the spout is 10% ABV or less . On a Neutral , I’ll call it at 20%

But like justin , I don’t find that much of a noticeable difference at the end of the day .
Certainly when it comes to Rums , I’m not that interested in the arse end where the tails are . And as for Rum Oils …. Well … jury’s still out on that one I’m afraid

Anyway , my point is , it’s your first Rum . Don’t get all stressed and hung up on protocols . There will be many more . Just enjoy your first Rum run , how ever it turns out .
wallstreet4386
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by wallstreet4386 »

Got in two stripping runs yesterday. I collected until I reached 13% ABV with low wines ending at 30% ABV. It wasn't until after this point that I checked the accuracy of my refractometer and found it reading about 10% low. Second run I also ran down to 13% now more confident of the ABV.

Took about an hour for the first run and about an hour and a half for the second run. I collected 2 gals of low wines from 6 gals of wash.
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by jonnys_spirit »

wallstreet4386 wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:58 am Got in two stripping runs yesterday. I collected until I reached 13% ABV with low wines ending at 30% ABV. It wasn't until after this point that I checked the accuracy of my refractometer and found it reading about 10% low. Second run I also ran down to 13% now more confident of the ABV.

Took about an hour for the first run and about an hour and a half for the second run. I collected 2 gals of low wines from 6 gals of wash.


Recommend using a proof and tralle hydrometer instead of a refractometer to measure spirits. They're cheap enough to get two or three for when it ends up getting dropped :) They're cheap. Also recommend getting a glass cylinder for this (not plastic).

Cheers!
-j
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Chucker
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by Chucker »

If you have one hydrometer, it will assure breakage. If you have two, they’ll last forever with reasonable care. Same goes for the little glass test cylinders. Must be a subsection in Murphy’s law.
wallstreet4386
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by wallstreet4386 »

Just finished my 3rd stipping run today, this time with the Hook Rum recipe. I used a hydrometer as recommended by jonnys_spirit and it worked much more accurately than my refractometer. I worry that the low wines from my previous runs will be over 40% ABV. Should I cut those down with some water or not worry that they may be 45% or so?

Anyways, ready to do my first spirit run tomorrow for the "holiday".
JustinNZ
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by JustinNZ »

Do the 40% thing. It’s what Captain Sensible would do. He earned that rank and we should respect it.
JustinNZ
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Re: Just finished my sacrificial run - rum wash is next

Post by JustinNZ »

And good luck! Rum’s fun. I didn’t even know I liked it till I started making it - and now I can’t stop. What freaked me out the most has been the difference between six months aged with oak and twelve months. Mellower but richer. And more flavour to match the nose. I now hide 4 and 5 litre jars from myself in awkwardly inconvenient places.
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