SBB's Solera Rum Barrel Setup

[Saltbush Bill]

Here are some photos of my Rum Solera set up, its rough but here it is...function wins over beauty for me every time.

Definition
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years.
Links below for a better explanation for those who want one.
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/Solera_Aging
https://flaviar.com/blog/solera-rum-aging-process

I started off aging my Rum this way with just 3 barrels ,1x25 L from Roll Out The barrel and 2x 5.5 L barrels found at garage / yard sales.
As time has gone by Ive added more barrels including the 9 gal stainless beer keg that I use for pre-oaking. I pre-oak because all of my barrels have done a lot of work at at this time in their life and can probably do with a little help before they start the job.
There are many ways ...this is just how I choose to do it.
First off the new make Rum / Whitedog goes into a 9 gal beer keg, for ease of use the keg has been fitted with a 4 inch fill port and a stainless tap. I try to keep this barrel about 3/4 full so that it has a bit of head space .....once in a while I take the filler cap off for 20 mins or so.

In this barrel is a mix of toasted Oaks , From left to right they are some fancy A.P Johns Med toast American Oak pieces meant for small barrels once they have been used a few times, Thanks for those CHR :handgestures-thumbupleft: Next are some Med Toast French oak from AP Johns ....the ones that got nicknamed the "fence palins" elsewhere....thanks MT :handgestures-thumbupleft: Then we have some Med toast American Oak Dominos from Still Dragon. What is in the photos are not the actual amounts used ...just examples of what is currently in the stainless keg.

From there the rum goes into a 25L barrel from ROTB.... this is a standard toasted American Oak barrel. Its the one on the right in the photo.

From this barrel the rum goes into the first of four 5.5L oak barrels ....I have no idea if these are charred , toasted or any thing else.....as time and space permit the rum moves its way down the line through these barrels.

Once its gets to the forth barrel small quantities are drawn off for drinking. It comes out at this ABV and looks like this

[Saltbush Bill]

last photo wouldn't work ? is there a limit on photo numbers in a post here ?
anyway.............
Usually I just draw off what I want from the forth small barrel........750ml at a time usually ....diluting that back to 42ish % gives me about 1L of drinking stock which ends up looking like this

Each time I take some from the last barrel in the line it is replaced with rum from the 3rd small barrel which is filled again from the second small barrel......and so forth all the way back to the stainless pre-aging Keg.
To much mucking around for some maybe ....but it doesn't take much time to maintain the system and I like the results ....which in the end is what matters.
Edit
The small barrels are not leaking , they are just wet from when I wiped the dust off of them before taking the photos.

[jog666]

Very cool setup!!

I like the results ....which in the end is what matters.

[Yummyrum]

Thanks for posting this Salty . Very relevant to recent topics .

Yeah there is a six pic limit per post ..... kinda annoying when you are on a roll .... but it is what it is .Guess it was set up that way for a reason .

[8Ball]

Nice. Thanks.

[Expat]

Very nice SBB!

Curious to know, how long are you holding the rum at each barrel stage, and what is the effective age of the final blend?

Are you shooting for a specific age, or going by pure taste perhaps.

TY for sharing!

[NeckStiller]

Awesome post SBB! Thanks for sharing! That color though....tasty

[HDNB]

sweet set up, looks like you get an awesome finished product!

[Saltbush Bill]

Curious to know, how long are you holding the rum at each barrel stage, and what is the effective age of the final blend?

Expat the rum stays in each barrel until some of it is needed to top up the next barrel in line. Its hard to give a definite age on the final product, the last barrel in the line up would contain small traces of rum that is 5 years old right through many ages to newer stuff that is 7-8 months old.

Are you shooting for a specific age, or going by pure taste perhaps.

I'm not going for any particular age, the rum in the last barrel has got better and better as time goes on imo, I see no need to set any sort of ageing / oaking time limit while it continues to improve.

[DetroitDIY]

Thanks Saltbush, just catching up to your post.

Do you go back and compare tastes to the earlier in queue barrels? Can you taste the spirit getting better in each one?
And do you typically do the same rum recipe (and if the answer here is yes... please do tell), or do you mix it up and just see what comes of it all?

Rum is my #1 and I've been intrigued by solera for some time but thought I needed a crap ton. You've made it look easy!

Cheers!
DetroitDIY

[Saltbush Bill]

Do you go back and compare tastes to the earlier in queue barrels? Can you taste the spirit getting better in each one?

You can taste it getting better, the difference is quite noticeable the more barrels that you jump. Example the 1st small barrel and the last small barrel or the 25L to the 2nd or 3rd small barrel. Differences in smell and taste are noticeable but more subtle going from one barrel to the next.

And do you typically do the same rum recipe (and if the answer here is yes... please do tell), or do you mix it up and just see what comes of it all?

I experimented with most of the better known recipes on both this forum and others before settling on my own recipe which is here. viewtopic.php?f=14&t=71293
I cant say mines any better or worse, I like mine because its all Molasses and uses a simple method and ingredients that are easy to get in my part of the world.
I think what ever Recipe you choose to use should turn out well after its been aged using this method.

Rum is my #1 and I've been intrigued by solera for some time but thought I needed a crap ton. You've made it look easy!

Youve just got to make a start on it , fill the biggest barrel you think you will want to start it off ...then add barrels as time goes on from that barrel.
You can be drinking from the first barrel as soon as you want ......just keep adding more barrels as time goes by. I found all of my smaller ones second hand at yard sales so it need not cost a fortune to do.
Let us know how yours turns out if / when you get one going.

[DetroitDIY]

Right on, thanks Saltbush! I'm not a good yard saler, but I have a buddy who is... I'll get him to looking for barrels for me. He knows I like woodworking tools, so I keep coming into my office (he and I work in the same place) and finding hand planes on my desk. Maybe those will become barrels in the future.

I just filled a 15 gallon barrel with rum this summer, but it would be nice to add 2-4 smaller barrels onto that for a solera. If all goes well, I'll post up a picture of my results next year.

[Saltbush Bill]

Bit of coincidence there, I find my barrels while looking for old tools, mostly woodworking
Ive made a bit of pocket money for many years from buying and selling old and antique tools at swap meets.

[Max_Vino]

Here is my Solera system. Note the 5 gallon barrels fit nicely under my workbench. They are used Rye barrels. I have a carboy of new make rum I draw upon for the first barrel. This system allows me to draw off 2-3 gallons of aged rum for myself, family and friends around this time of year from the final barrel. I use a transfer pump to top off all barrels after withdrawing product.

Max

[Saltbush Bill]

Nice setup Max , there should be some good rum coming out of that end barrel
What recipe are you using for your Rum?

[cayars]

DSC00913.jpeg

Hmm, wonder which barrel should be swiped during the great barrel heist of 2019? I'd wager the barrel to the right.

That's a nice setup with good size/volumes for a hobby distiller.

I'm working on something similar for the new year (after the holidays) and I'm envious.

I was thinking of doing 3 levels but now you have me wondering if 4 levels would be better. How much difference do you see between the 3rd and 4th barrel?

Are the sheets on each barrel used to track additions and age of spirit additions in the barrel?

[Max_Vino]

Nice setup Max , there should be some good rum coming out of that end barrel
What recipe are you using for your Rum?

My process is simple, mostly molasses pitched with rum yeast.

My distillation process is a little different, first I do a stripping run in a low watt density boiler, single step pot still. I don’t clear the wash but run it as it comes from the fermentor. This brings across the flavor of the molasses and when making scotch you can really taste the Barley with this method.

The spirit run however, is a little different than what most people do… I begin the run with a tall 30 step fractionating column and with that I take off the high ends, acetone etc. after a quart or so of that I swap out columns to a pot still column and finish the distillation. This method gives me a flavorful run but without the bite.

I think it’s pretty safe for me to say I have given up artificial aging, carboy aging with oak staves and just about everything else in favor of just putting it in a 5 gallon barrel and letting it sit. The end result of these two steps delivers a simple rum, one which is sippable but also one which you would identify as a mid-level rum you might buy at the store.

From there blending is where the magic happens.

Max

[Max_Vino]

DSC00913.jpeg

I was thinking of doing 3 levels but now you have me wondering if 4 levels would be better. How much difference do you see between the 3rd and 4th barrel?
Are the sheets on each barrel used to track additions and age of spirit additions in the barrel?

I don’t think there is much to be gained with more barrels…it really depends on how young you are..some of us don’t buy green bananas ;>). There is a difference in the taste between barrels. The sheets are there because you forget (after a year or so) what exactly you have, I record how many gallons I have (dipstick method) in case one of the barrels has too much evaporation, proof, aspects of manufacture etc.

[Saltbush Bill]

Drained the last 25L from my 50L UJSM barrel ......It is now filled with Rum to become the first barrel in my Rum Solera.
The Rum Solera now consists of 6 wooden barrels , plus one stainless keg that new make rum goes into, that keg has a mix of American oak adjuncts in it that serve to pre oak the spirit a little before it enters the first wooden barrel in the system.

[Broken Jug]

I want to thank you for sharing your aging system you use.
Today was the first time in seen this thread, and I’m very impressed.

I have a 4 gallon used whiskey barrel that I filled on 4/29/20 last year, and it’s been very hard not to take a sample now and then, which I haven’t, this is/was the first time I aged anything that long. I’m excited to try it on its one year old birthday.

After seeing this thread, I plan on filling a used 5 gallon Rye whiskey barrel, then refill the 4 gallon barrel. I’ll add more barrels as I go. I’m excited about this.

As for my 1-year old barrel aged rum, I may bottle half of it for drinking, and use the other half mixed with new to start my first “Solera Rum Barrel Setup.”
Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thank again for sharing!

[The Baker]

Hi, broken jug,
I would not take half out of the barrel, I would take a couple of bottles at a time.
And replace just them from the newer barrel (if you have one yet).
And top up the newer barrel....

Geoff

[Broken Jug]

Hi, broken jug,
I would not take half out of the barrel, I would take a couple of bottles at a time.
And replace just them from the newer barrel (if you have one yet).
And top up the newer barrel....

Geoff

I was afraid someone was going to say that!

I thought waiting a year was tough, now I need to wait longer! That sucks, but I’m excited to give it a try.

I’ll do just as you suggested. It hopefully won’t take to long to fill the other barrel, I just got done making 40 gallons of SBB’s Rum recipe.
When it’s done, I’ll let it set a until two weekends from now to let it settle before I run it. I’ll see if I can take some time off work to run it. I only have a 13 gallon still, it’ll take me 4-straight stripping runs.

Away, thank you again for the great info

[Broken Jug]

I’m closer than I thought about having more barrels.
I just found a new 3-gallon barrel that I forgot about!

Not sure if a 3-gallon barrel will be to small or not, I’m going to use/try it anyway.

[Saltbush Bill]

I agree that The Bakers way of doing it is one way, take a bottle for drinking from your existing barrel , top it up with new make Rum , then as time goes by repeat, repeat, repeat.
Having said that , if you want to keep some of your 1 year old aged rum for drinking as it is, without blending it with another recipe, then keeping half a barrel to one side for drinking wont hurt.
Most Solera systems start with biggest barrel first get smaller as they go. You could put the half left in you aged barrel into the smallest barrel, top that off with new make, then fill the biggest barrel with the rest of the new make Rum. That barrel doesn't have to be full , you can add to it as you make more Rum.
Probably other ways of skinning that cat but those are two options.

[Broken Jug]

Well, I opened my 4 gallon one year old rum, and was/I am disappointed. The color looks like someone pissed in the jar, I was expecting it to be much darker. The flavor is ok, but not what I was expecting ether. I was expecting some Carmel and vanilla flavors, but it has none.

When I bought the barrel, it was listed as a “used 5 gallon barrel from a craft distillery with lots of life left in it.” I feel it was DOA when I got it, plus it was a 4 gallon not a 5 gallon

Will it darken and flavor change with more time?

I’m thinking ether to put it in the new used actual 5 gallon barrel that had rye in it and top it off with some of the rum I have fermenting now to start my first time Solera system, or put it in my new unused 3 gallon barrel and see what happens. Or just give it more time in the barrel that it’s in?

Any suggestions?

[howie]

(nearly) started my mini solero.
got 1 x 5L off gumtree (still leaking) and 1 x 6L new oak barrel.
looking for a 15L barrel at the moment.
anyway, the new 6L barrel was filled with a combination of 65% rum from january & february.
this has been aging in glass jars on 10-20gms of dominoes at 65%.
i intend to draw off enough for 2 bottles (1.5L) occasionally and replenish.
looking forward to seeing if barrel aging improves it, not overly impressed at the moment (but it is comparatively young)
i can feel the need for regular testing.

[Saltbush Bill]

How long have you been trying to stop the 5L leaking?

[Bushman]

I use the same method for aging but yours is more detailed as I use a three barrel rotation after my newest batch sits until time to rotate in a 4 gallon mason jar with wood sticks.

[howie]

How long have you been trying to stop the 5L leaking?

just 3 days.
leaked like a sieve, but 2 fills with hot tap water sorted everything apart from weeping around the spigot.
i have asked for advice in a new thread on the spigot, but if you have any ideas, i'm all ears.
the new barrel sealed perfectly in 1 hour.

[Saltbush Bill]

i have asked for advice in a new thread on the spigot, but if you have any ideas, i'm all ears.

Wooden spigot or threaded stainless / brass Tap ?