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Has anyone had a go at red gum filtering yet? Apart from Bundy rum of course. I've often wondered about using Australian hardwoods.

blanik

Are they toxic?????

A gum does sound sappy to me. I would not be sure if this would be a good idea or not. Sounds to me like not, but we do not have that type tree where I am.

H.

I always assumed that they would be toxic. Was very surprised to see it. Maybe a marketing thing??

blanik

I believe Bundi Red uses red-gum charcoal. Now charcoal is carbonized wood, the residual flavour in charcoal will be more a marketing gimmick than actual flavour! Not a bad drop anyway.

I use Manuka charcoal to filter here in NZ, which is pretty much the same species as 'tea tree' in oz, but it grows harder wood here in the colder temps. The flavors it imparts are great I grind it up with a pestle and mortar, then fill a funnel + coffee filter with it. I'm going to be trying this method on some rum very soon.

The flavor I get from using charcoal like this is NOT a gimmick - from the same (oaked) DWWG+malt input, I kept one litre as it was, the had a liter each of single, double, and triple charcoal filtered. the triple was too much, the original graininess had gone, but the double and single were great... they're both gone now anyway, too good to last. will probably filter the unfiltered stuff now.

KS

It is indeed a nice drop, ayay. The only rum I ever buy which isn't very often these days but nice to compare. I'll have a go at using some red gum charcoal as you do the Manuka KS.

blanik

I'm going to have to find a new pot to wreck before making more charcoal, I burned through the bottom of the aluminum billy I was making it in oops...

Bundy now make a rum filtered with red gum, and down in Tassie I drank a nice drop called Black Swan which was filtered through redgum. I think thats whrer Bundy pinched the idea. The swan was a nice drop, quite refreshing. If you want to get an idea of the taste put a drop of eucalyptus oil in your rum. It was nice, but I only bought it cos I didnt want Bundy. I wasnt rushing home to taost a heap of redgum.

I spent a bit of time last month working in Bundy and happened to get to the distillery mor than once I also sampled some Bundy red (the red gum filtered one)

During one of their tours I asked old mate about the red gum thing.

Where do they get the red gum charcoal do they make it themselves?

His response was from a large charcoal supply company he wouldnt tell me who.

I said so it's not really red gum just bulk bought charcoal ?

he said well it says it is on the bottle

With the size of the redgum forests in Australia and the amount handled in sawmills it is more than just likely that the charcoal company makes red gum charcoal, as a special order or even as their main or only type of charcoal.

I wouldnt have thought red gum was poisonous If you used older dried wood,you would not have a sap issue either