Home Distiller

I am living in Bulgaria where home distillation is the norm and even the villages have a communal still which is great fun. Very few people buy their spirits and certainly the only spirits they drink, usually a brandy called rakia, becomes a talking point at all the parties.
I want to make a rum but the availability of cane molasses in Bulgaria is zilch so I was wondering if anyone has a method of making a home-made molasses that would be suitable for rum making. My thoughts were that a strong solution of white cane sugar with a lil citric acid, heated to invert the sugar and form a dilute caramel may surfice. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for any suggestions or comments.
Greg

Do you have any brown sugar available? Or raw cane sugar? That would make a nice light rum.

Yeah some brown sugar is available here but only in very small quantities and would be cheaper to fly to Carribean than buy the quantities that I need. I can buy white refined sugar in bulk. I hear the beet molasses is not suitable for rum making so trying to manufacture some from the refined white cane sugar.
Thanks anyway.
Cheers.
Greg

iv read some where that rum flavoring is made like caramelized sugar but is almost burnt.
this mite be somthing to play with.

The problem with 'trying' to manufacture molasses with white refined sugar, is that about 30% (or more) of molasses is off by products. Tiny fragments of cane, unfermentable sugars, and other stuff (and a LOT of flavors). By the refining process, all of that is removed.

Thus, taking that refined end product, and trying to make molasses will likely be a losing proposition. However, it may be that burnt/caramelized sugar may produce a distilled product that is close enough to rum. You might give it a try. The worst you will get is a lightish rum type neutral product.

H.

I'm in the same no-cane-molasses boat here. Molasses is scarce, and if you find it, it's purple/black beet sugar molasses, used as a fish lure. I used raw demerara cane sugar and pot stilled it twice (fast strip runs, medium /slow spirit run). It makes a nice drink if you sweeten it a bit with brown sugar, but I wouldn't call it a rum, it's more like cachaça when tasted unsweetened. Perhaps more flavor will carry over in successive generations. This was the first. The backset tastes a bit salty, and I've heard cane molasses is a bit salty too, so I have hopes that some rum flavor may come up in later generations.

Has anyone tried beet sugar molasses and if yes, did you get a rum flavor?

Thanks,

Mike

Weestiller..
hey Mike
All the recipies I have seen for making rum say that the beet sugar molassis should not be used but no one gives a reason, but what the hell I guess if its no good then I will put it thru the charcoal and then make a liqueur out of it. I will give that a try as in Bulgaria they grow some sugar beet so hopefully can get some molassis from that. I will try the fermentation of the dilute caramel too and then put it in the cask with some maple syrup/caramel to flavour and age it.
Its worth a try eh!
Incidently I tired the Cointreau recipe from the "Home distillation"website and that turned out really excellent. Could not tell it from the real Cointreau except a slight cloudiness when chilled, probably the orange oil coming out of solution due to a lower Ksp.
Cheers

Greg

beet molasses wont make the cut.

WeeStiller wrote: I've heard cane molasses is a bit salty too

I have been growing sugar cane and making syrup for 20 years, have never been told that it is salty.

Clarkee142,

I bet you could get decent molasses from Spain or Portugal since they still have a fair amount of trade with Carribean. I'm sure you could get it shipped to you or it might may a nice little vacation.

DocDave

Mud,

I bet you could get a pretty business going just supplying cane juice for us folks. If you want to sell it in bulk, I'm getting a truck and taking a Southern vacation.

DocDave

docdave wrote:Mud,

I bet you could get a pretty business going just supplying cane juice for us folks. If you want to sell it in bulk, I'm getting a truck and taking a Southern vacation.

DocDave

I can definately supply you some, just PM me around halloween of this year. It will spoil quickly if the weather is warm, you'll have to get it fermenting quickly

Dnderhead wrote:beet molasses wont make the cut.

I have looked and never found a "why" as to beet molasses won't make the cut.
There are lots of fermentable sugars in beet molasses, should be able to make something tasty.

Axle

I don't either .Ive got a recipe from old book on making beet likker

from: ministry of rum
Sugar beets are a species of beet with a very high concentration of sucrose, which allows farmers to process them to get sugar. During the processing, molasses is produced, which COULD be used for the creation of rum, however it's not recommended.

The reason it isn't recommended is that the beats, unlike the cane, are incredibly high in alkalies (salts). The molasses, in turn, is similarly high in salt and possesses an absolutely foul taste. Most of the molasses generated in sugar production from beets is mixed with alfalfa and turned into feed for cattle and other livestock.

__________________
posably a neutral could be made from it?

looking further,,besides "vodka" there is one made from sugar beets .it is "tuzemak" but from what I can fiend out it is made from beet syrup not the molasses.

Tater wrote:I don't either .Ive got a recipe from old book on making beet likker

I would like to see that recipe, just for the knowledge.

Dnderhead wrote:from: ministry of rum
Sugar beets are a species of beet with a very high concentration of sucrose, which allows farmers to process them to get sugar. During the processing, molasses is produced, which COULD be used for the creation of rum, however it's not recommended.
The reason it isn't recommended is that the beats, unlike the cane, are incredibly high in alkalies (salts). The molasses, in turn, is similarly high in salt and possesses an absolutely foul taste. Most of the molasses generated in sugar production from beets is mixed with alfalfa and turned into feed for cattle and other livestock.
_________________
posably a neutral could be made from it?

The feed molasses that I get is made from cane but Alberta is the largest grower of sugar beets in Canada and it's an interesting thought. No one sells beet molasses around here but it isn't too far to where they make it.

Axle

Surely if the salts do not interfere with the yeast activity then during distillation they will remain in the still anyway and won't pass over with the spirit. Just a thought and worth a try.