i just finished my first batch of rum. ive never made anything besides neutrals before so im just trying to stay afloat here...
i have about 1.5L of hearts. it is clear, is this what is called "white dog"? so what is the best way to finish this? the tried and true recipies dont realy go into much detail in this area.
are you supposed to oak it?
ive heard things about adding caramelized sugar...
just bit confused, this potstilling thing is a whole different ball game then im used too
that kinda depends what your after. Id cover jar with a coffee filter or napkin for a few days to air out while I decided.rum is probably one of the most varied brew there is as far as recipes as how to flavor it in 3 gallons of 100 proof that Ive aired and had aged a few months with a small amount of charred oak for just a hint of taste I add about a cup of caramelized sugar vanilla about 3 tbs full 1/4 cup of honey. for spiced I add a cider spice kit that ya get here at supermarket .
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =appletons
There are some opinions here.
I have a couple of well used 5 gal. wine barrels that gave all they could to the wine so they are perfect for rum now. Oak is good but don't over do it or your Rum will start to remind you of bourbon.
I have a cheater syrup that makes a gold rum quickly. Clarify some fancy molasses by putting equal parts molasses and your silver rum in a jar, shake and then refridgerate. It should settle out and you can add the top to your rum. The carmelized sugar works also. I also like to add a little sherry. You can make a spice concentrate by putting pumpkin pie type spices in a jar with your silver rum, let it set for a week and pour through a coffee filter. Add a few drops as desired.
There is tons of stuff you can put in rum like: cloves, raisins, vanilla pods, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, pineapple, etc.. Ive colored with syrup and with toasted oak cubes and would take the latter over the former any day of the week.
I personally like the flavor of charred Oak in my rum.
Letting it "breathe" a week or two will definatly help.
I only add caramalised sugar to it if I intend in drinking it neat, theres already enough sugar in soda.
what Rumbull said, less oak for longer, makes for a much smoother flavor than too much oak for a short time, you can't rush the magic.
take that with a grain of salt though. if you have a nice light rum, and you want some colour and a little flavor from the oak, a stick or two will do nicely.
a heavy flavorfullk rum, may benifit more from a little more Oak.
all in all taste and see, start with a little, and if its not enough, add some more. you can always add more, its hard to remove too much oak.
still getting into the whole flavoring side of things here...
so is something like bacardi superior straight from the still and bacardi gold has been put on charred oak and captain morgans oaked and macerated with spices?
I visited Bacardi last year. All of their rums, by law have to be aged two years. They carbon filter all of their rum prior to ageing. I don't know if the silver is aged in stainless tanks or if they just filter it a second time to remove the color gained from the barrels. The tour guides could only answer very basic questions.
Captain Morgans is made from Puerto Rican rum so must also be two years old. My guess is that they are buying bulk rum and adding a spice syrup.
