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I am looking really hard and getting a new flute still. It will be a 4" and 4 plate with bubble plates. I haven't made a real great run in the past with my pot still. Im wondering how many here use one for rum and how you run it. Im thinking i will strip a bunch of rum wash and use all the low wines in the flute, After i learn how to run it that is. Ive read some do just one run and that is the beauty of the flute but some say that rum is never good right off of the still so stripping and then a final spirit run in the flute will make it acceptable, may still need some time though.

I will give you how I ran my rum. 2 Sieve plates with a vapor speed of 20fps, so 5500w on a 4”, head temp 185 which translates to a abv around 135.

To start I would heat up to boil at full power, then back down power by 30% to keep from puking. Hold for 30 min to stabilize. Head temp would drop to around 165 (188 ish proof at 6200 ft). Open valve 20-25% and pull off fores/heads. I would pull about 10%-15% of the run, head temp might climb to 168. Then I would go up in power and reduce reflux, letting the temp climb to 185 deg which would be an abv drop if using a parrot. Once I hit 185 I would increase reflux as needed to hold 185 deg. Once I got down to 10% valve open or really high reflux which was a really slow takeoff rate, I would reduce power input 5% at a time until I was down to 65% of what I ran during the middle of the run and then shut off. I learned that was deep enough into the tails that I would not yield usable alcohol by running more.

For a drinkable white rum, I would run the same method, but 3 plates and hold 172 deg or about 165 proof. Also mostly cane sugar for white with only a little molasses. Closer to 50/50 for barrel aged. I also added 1/2 oz of carmalized sugar per 5 gal of spirit and let it dissolve prior to putting it in a bottle.

i rn similar to bluefish in my methods but strip at 140 on two plates and then do a spirit run and take aging rum up to 156-165.

i use raw cane sugar and about 5% moleasses and still get a ton of flavour through with this process.

i'm in that camp that think all rum needs age, if i were to make a white i'd carbon filter barrel aged rum back to white...but that would just ruin a nice quality dark rum, so it ain't gonna happen.

also get lots of caramel from my barrelling, so have not back sweetened yet, can't say i see a reason not to though if you like a sweeter sippin' rum.

new make rum = firewater, imho.

Molearse, wAter, yeast and a lil pinch epsom salt. Run trough 5 platesat 2-2.5 l per hour. Make nice white rum out the spout

850stealth wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 1:03 pm Im thinking i will strip a bunch of rum wash and use all the low wines in the flute

Three or four strips, gives me enough alcohol for a proper spirit run
I think the cuts are easier and the rum is better.

Five 4" bubble cap plates run kinda hard

For my taste there is nothing wrong with one and done rum through 4 plates as long as you age it for a good amount of time and don't dirty it up by adding back heads and tails. No point in taking them out if your going to add them back again. Anywhere from 50% to 70% wash and the rest low wines works for me , take it off at 2 to 2.5 L an hour at 90-92% abv. Lot of people skinning this cat different ways.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic.
I'm pretty new to rum distillation but have a few runs of each described below under my belt all done differently so take it for that (rum inexperienced).
I've tried two plates (bubble) in flute setup. Run 1 as one and done. Run 2 pot stripped than spirit run with 2 plates. 4" on a keg boiler.
I found cuts much easier on run 2 but lost a bit of flavor which makes some sense. I can probably introduce more molasses taste back by adding a quart or so of molasses directly to boiler to overcome this.

I've also ran same ferment stock in a pot still mode. Run 1 with one retort (thumper) and run 2 with 2 retorts (or double thumper). For these I stripped enough for low wines, ran them to get high wines for retort charges, respectfully. Same exact low wines as used in flute run 2.

I know that's not a lot to base anything off of but I found in general the double thumper/retort run to taste best, then 2 plate flute run from low wines, then single thumper followed by one and done flute run. Sort of a mix between the two depending on the use of low/high wines. These runs were all done from about 70-80 gallons of the same ferment pulled equally from two 44 gallons brutes.

I realize there are tons of variables at play but has anyone compared flute to thumper/retort runs and had similar or opposite experiences on taste or produced spirit? I'm interested most in best produced spirit, second on efficiency (within reason).

Again sorry if off topic but thought it might be interesting data points if nothing else.

I would like to make a light rum and age some on oak and hopefully have something that's good right off the still as well.

850stealth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:21 pm I would like to make a light rum and age some on oak and hopefully have something that's good right off the still as well.

Easily done. Our white rum was drinkable right away. Just added a tiny bit of carmalized sugar and bottled. IMHO the trick is to bring it off the still at a higher proof. 165 proof was my target. For a pot still that probably means a minimum of two runs maybe 3. Also mostly sugar and very little molasses. 10-12:1 sugar to molasses by weight.

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 2:28 pm

850stealth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:21 pm I would like to make a light rum and age some on oak and hopefully have something that's good right off the still as well.

Easily done. Our white rum was drinkable right away. Just added a tiny bit of carmalized sugar and bottled. IMHO the trick is to bring it off the still at a higher proof. 165 proof was my target. For a pot still that probably means a minimum of two runs maybe 3. Also mostly sugar and very little molasses. 10-12:1 sugar to molasses by weight.

I will give this a try. I will be getting a flute though, does this 10 to 1 sugar to molasses wash dyay the same for that?

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 2:28 pm

850stealth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:21 pm I would like to make a light rum and age some on oak and hopefully have something that's good right off the still as well.

Easily done. Our white rum was drinkable right away. Just added a tiny bit of carmalized sugar and bottled. IMHO the trick is to bring it off the still at a higher proof. 165 proof was my target. For a pot still that probably means a minimum of two runs maybe 3. Also mostly sugar and very little molasses. 10-12:1 sugar to molasses by weight.

Agreed
My better rums imho were taken off at about that proof
I like lighter rum

850stealth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:50 pm

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 2:28 pm

850stealth wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:21 pm I would like to make a light rum and age some on oak and hopefully have something that's good right off the still as well.

Easily done. Our white rum was drinkable right away. Just added a tiny bit of carmalized sugar and bottled. IMHO the trick is to bring it off the still at a higher proof. 165 proof was my target. For a pot still that probably means a minimum of two runs maybe 3. Also mostly sugar and very little molasses. 10-12:1 sugar to molasses by weight.

I will give this a try. I will be getting a flute though, does this 10 to 1 sugar to molasses wash dyay the same for that?

Yes, about 10:1 by weight sugar to molasses. On your flue hold 165 proof through the run by increasing reflux during the run. Add a small amount of caramelized sugar after cuts and let sit for a week or two then drink. Makes an excellent white rum.

Sounds good, I will try it once I have all the right gear. Thanks for the help.

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 1:46 pm I will give you how I ran my rum. 2 Sieve plates with a vapor speed of 20fps, so 5500w on a 4”, head temp 185 which translates to a abv around 135.

To start I would heat up to boil at full power, then back down power by 30% to keep from puking. Hold for 30 min to stabilize. Head temp would drop to around 165 (188 ish proof at 6200 ft). Open valve 20-25% and pull off fores/heads. I would pull about 10%-15% of the run, head temp might climb to 168. Then I would go up in power and reduce reflux, letting the temp climb to 185 deg which would be an abv drop if using a parrot. Once I hit 185 I would increase reflux as needed to hold 185 deg. Once I got down to 10% valve open or really high reflux which was a really slow takeoff rate, I would reduce power input 5% at a time until I was down to 65% of what I ran during the middle of the run and then shut off. I learned that was deep enough into the tails that I would not yield usable alcohol by running more.

For a drinkable white rum, I would run the same method, but 3 plates and hold 172 deg or about 165 proof. Also mostly cane sugar for white with only a little molasses. Closer to 50/50 for barrel aged. I also added 1/2 oz of carmalized sugar per 5 gal of spirit and let it dissolve prior to putting it in a bottle.

Will the lighter rum taken off at the higher proof not be any good in a barrel?

850stealth wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:20 pm

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 1:46 pm I will give you how I ran my rum. 2 Sieve plates with a vapor speed of 20fps, so 5500w on a 4”, head temp 185 which translates to a abv around 135.

To start I would heat up to boil at full power, then back down power by 30% to keep from puking. Hold for 30 min to stabilize. Head temp would drop to around 165 (188 ish proof at 6200 ft). Open valve 20-25% and pull off fores/heads. I would pull about 10%-15% of the run, head temp might climb to 168. Then I would go up in power and reduce reflux, letting the temp climb to 185 deg which would be an abv drop if using a parrot. Once I hit 185 I would increase reflux as needed to hold 185 deg. Once I got down to 10% valve open or really high reflux which was a really slow takeoff rate, I would reduce power input 5% at a time until I was down to 65% of what I ran during the middle of the run and then shut off. I learned that was deep enough into the tails that I would not yield usable alcohol by running more.

For a drinkable white rum, I would run the same method, but 3 plates and hold 172 deg or about 165 proof. Also mostly cane sugar for white with only a little molasses. Closer to 50/50 for barrel aged. I also added 1/2 oz of carmalized sugar per 5 gal of spirit and let it dissolve prior to putting it in a bottle.

Will the lighter rum taken off at the higher proof not be any good in a barrel?

The light rum would be fine in a barrel, just don’t age it very long. Since there is not as much flavor, you can’t add as much barrel flavor before that becomes the predominant flavor of the spirit.

The light rum would be fine in a barrel, just don’t age it very long. Since there is not as much flavor, you can’t add as much barrel flavor before that becomes the predominant flavor of the spirit.

That is why I use a wine thief for testing all my aging processes.

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2020 8:15 am

850stealth wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:20 pm

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 1:46 pm I will give you how I ran my rum. 2 Sieve plates with a vapor speed of 20fps, so 5500w on a 4”, head temp 185 which translates to a abv around 135.

To start I would heat up to boil at full power, then back down power by 30% to keep from puking. Hold for 30 min to stabilize. Head temp would drop to around 165 (188 ish proof at 6200 ft). Open valve 20-25% and pull off fores/heads. I would pull about 10%-15% of the run, head temp might climb to 168. Then I would go up in power and reduce reflux, letting the temp climb to 185 deg which would be an abv drop if using a parrot. Once I hit 185 I would increase reflux as needed to hold 185 deg. Once I got down to 10% valve open or really high reflux which was a really slow takeoff rate, I would reduce power input 5% at a time until I was down to 65% of what I ran during the middle of the run and then shut off. I learned that was deep enough into the tails that I would not yield usable alcohol by running more.

For a drinkable white rum, I would run the same method, but 3 plates and hold 172 deg or about 165 proof. Also mostly cane sugar for white with only a little molasses. Closer to 50/50 for barrel aged. I also added 1/2 oz of carmalized sugar per 5 gal of spirit and let it dissolve prior to putting it in a bottle.

Will the lighter rum taken off at the higher proof not be any good in a barrel?

The light rum would be fine in a barrel, just don’t age it very long. Since there is not as much flavor, you can’t add as much barrel flavor before that becomes the predominant flavor of the spirit.

Thanks for the help. For my rum thats going in the barrel ill cut the white sugar back and use more fancy molasses to get a bit more flavor. Id like to try some demerara sugar too but have never tried it before and dont know if i still need molasses or just the demerara. Its pretty expensive where i live but if its good ill try it.

If you know you are going to barrel age, add more molasses either fancy or blackstrap. Run it at a lower proof to get more smearing and flavor. It won’t be drinkable right away, but will be better after aging. Rum is easy to ferment, so make different fermentations. Make one for white to drink now while the other ages.

Btw you can buy gallon jugs of molasses from webrestaurant store. Easier than trying to find it locally for me.

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2020 8:53 am If you know you are going to barrel age, add more molasses either fancy or blackstrap. Run it at a lower proof to get more smearing and flavor. It won’t be drinkable right away, but will be better after aging. Rum is easy to ferment, so make different fermentations. Make one for white to drink now while the other ages.

Btw you can buy gallon jugs of molasses from webrestaurant store. Easier than trying to find it locally for me.

Ill make few different ferments like you mentioned. I can get Crosby's fancy molasses here in Canada pretty cheap but i just checked demerara sugar and its 3.99 a KG CDN. Probably look around a bit more or just use the molasses. I was using your recommendation on a 10:1 white sugar to molasses on the lighter stuff, ill up the molasses and cut the sugar to make a more flavored rum for the barrel. I make 50 liter ferments at a time as i have a few large plastic containers i use.

Go 50/50 by weight rum/molasses or even more molasses for aging. Then taste every month or so during aging until you get the flavor you like.

bluefish_dist wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:48 am Go 50/50 by weight rum/molasses or even more molasses for aging. Then taste every month or so during aging until you get the flavor you like.

Ok ill try that out, any idea what that is molasses to sugar ratio per 50 liter fermenter. Im looking at a couple calculators but the sugar content of the molasses seems to be way off. From what im reading it looks like in 50 liters of water i need approx 4 kg of sugar and 4 KG of molasses but im not sure that gives me a high enough SG.

Without bogging you down, you could always use the calc from here: https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/htm/calc ... d14701.htm for a sugar wash.

For example, for a 50L wash 8 kg of sugar would get you 9.4%. Split the 8 kg up 50/50 as bluefish_dist mentioned.

The Molasses won't contain 100% fermented sugars (closer to half that) so you can aim for a higher ABV then you normally would knowing approximately 25% of sugars won't ferment. But the molasses flavor will come across strong. You won't finish anywhere near 1.0 either because of those non-fermentable sugars so be aware of that.

How much molasses you use will be personal. For me personally 50/50 is way to strong tasting but others love it!

I would start my rum around 1.10, end about 1.03. White would start 1.08 ish, end 1.01 ish. I used lallemand RM, but bread yeast is fine too. I would start with about 2 lbs/ gal, sorry I didn’t work in metric units. 50 l is 13.2 gal, so about 25lbs of sugar or 12kg total sugar. Since molasses is only 50% or so sugar, you would need about 16kg total, 8 kg sugar and 8kg molasses. I would do about 6l of molasses and 8kg sugar. Should get you close. Might be a bit high based on previous post, so wouldn’t hurt to back it off a little. Maybe 6kg sugar and 4 l of molasses. Rum is easy and tolerant of some pretty high sg to start.

For a white, 10kg sugar and 1l of blackstrap. Start there and see how you like it. Ferment around 90f.

Thanks for all the help, now i just need to make 5 or 6 gallons of rum to put in this barrel. Then do it all over again. If this barrel turns out good after however long it takes, i may get a larger barrel and work on filling it and let it rest for a few years. Something to look forward to.