Sorghum Rum

Anything to do with rum

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Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

NZChris wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2023 10:04 pm My smelling notes off the still don't usually match up with my comments when choosing the jars for the heart cut.

That said, there are many threads about using 'sweet water' jars from beyond the first cardboard jar. Many of the posters noting it are shutting their strips down at a way higher ABV than I do, so that might explain why I've never noticed it. I might shut a strip down at 37% in the receiver for neutral, but never for a flavored product as there is still quite a bit more flavor and yield to be had. The ABVs I'm going down to are borrowed from old commercial distilleries that are making products that I like.
Thanks, I actually don’t even start “looking” for true tails until 40-35% on my meter. I think what I’m finding is a quirk with this 8 gallon speakeasy still. It has a barf box, gin basket setup. I’m noticing when I’m doing long runs and drain it when I find large flavor changes or I’m concerned it’s filled itself up I’ll get a false tails several ounces later on. This is by far the biggest wash I’ve done through this setup so I had time to experiment and hunt for the oddity. I collect all the way down to 10% even on a spirit run and put it in my faints tank. Even if it tastes like poop it will still burn in my lantern and camp stove after I run through the reflux head.
Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

Mrs and I love blackberry mojitos so I took a sort of tails tainted jar from the end of the run, added in some of the 80% stuff to bring it to 50%. Then I added in 1 cup of frozen blackberries from last years harvest and 1oz of lime juice. After two weeks (violently shaking daily) I’ll add allot of sugar until I start getting it to a rot your teeth level. The plan is to use the blackberry lime like flavored simple syrup.

My brain says I can
add 1oz white rum
1oz blackberry syrup
a lime wedge
Chocolate mint leaves
Muddle
Add ice, soda water and fresh blackberries
Shake that baby and serve

Depending on the end result of the home made syrup I may just use 2 oz of it, but that’s the fun of this hobby.
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Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

All this mojito talk made me thirsty.
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Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

Finally done playing mad scientist.
Big badmo is a medium toast no char that got all the ok at 50%
Little badmo is a light toast no char that got all the good at 60%
I’ve got 1.7 liters of blended cuts to make something damn good
The dark jar is my blackberry lime mojito syrup at 50% (before I started adding other things)
The last jar came off the still at 40% and had a hint of vanilla I liked so I whisked it for a few minutes and let it sit for another day. The hint of vanilla was still there so I decided to toss a vanilla bean at it and see what happened.

Now we play the waiting game for a year to see what happens; “DAMN YOU DELAYED GRATIFICATION!!”
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Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

OH M F-ing G!!

If you like mojitos this sorghum rum is the way to go. It’s only two weeks old so there is a slight new make after taste in the 40% white (I agitated with a whisk once a day to get things moving faster), but you need to be picky to notice. 70% chocolate mint with 20% sweet mint and a half leaf of spearmint is the sweet spot. That brings out the “freshness” of the sorghum I do 1.5oz of the “syrup” .5oz of the white and muddle in a shaker with the mint. Add a lime wedge and shake. Let sit for minimum of 3minutes before topping up with soda H2O (about 3 OZ is where the wives are happy) and pouring over ice. Garnish with a few fresh blackberries and your preferred cultivar of mint after crushing it between your palms and serve. It’s 95 F here today and these are going down way too good.
The acidity of the raw blackberry and the lime juice are an upfront “I’ll have another one please” refreshing slap in the face. The smell of the mint clams the nerves after a long day of child wrangling and farming. The chocolate mint pops with the earthy freshness of the rum to let you lay back and enjoy the sunset after a day of bailing hay. We HIGHLY recommend after a long summer day on the farm.
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NZChris
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by NZChris »

Excellent news that you got a nice result from this experiment :thumbup:

Your thread inspired me to give it a try, but I haven't managed find viable seed in NZ yet. :(
Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

NZChris wrote: Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:00 pm Excellent news that you got a nice result from this experiment :thumbup:

Your thread inspired me to give it a try, but I haven't managed find viable seed in NZ yet. :(
Germination rate on sorghum seed sucks. The problem is made worse by allot of what’s being sold is better used to make a sorghum whiskey than try to plant. Try the wet paper towel in a ziplock trick like you would for super old or difficult to sprout seeds. Not sure where to source it from in your neck-o-da-woods, but prepped cane stock is the way to go. I put off my sorghum field plans for a couple years in favor of a new pond and orchard expansion, but I’ve gathered allot of info about growing it. Shot me a pm if you want a knowledge dump about it.
Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

700ml of 50% on a split vanilla bean for 7 days tasted funky, but 14 days was way worse. I course ground 1/4 cup worth of espresso beans and smashed 2 coco beans with the flat of the cleaver, tossed that in the jar and gave it a violent shake for several minutes. I popped it in the fridge last night and poured it through a coffee filter this evening while playing with a turnip wash (not flipping worth it) and a discarded tomato wash (worth it, 1 hour mash time 1.086 initial gravity.) before I back sweetened with about a 1/4 cup of honey.
This is absolutely the best coffee liqueur I’ve had and it hasn’t even mellowed yet. I was even more impressed when the Mrs tried some warm and straight and still said it was good because she’s the gal that won’t drink an espresso martini unless they have Vicario. I’m not a coffee snob like her so I’ll get down with a bottle of Kailua, but I think this stuff just ruined that for me. Is it still considered an espresso martini if all it has in it is rum that can’t legally be called rum and a dash of cream? Either way, it’s a good thing Muddy Pond is just up the road from me because this sorghum rum is becoming my new favorite thing to play with. Whiskey is fun and all, but you’re waiting like 5+ years before you know how it turns out.
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Ifounditlikethat
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Ifounditlikethat »

I also highly recommend a 2000ml graduated batter bowel like in the picture for all the home distilling things. Spend the money on a nice one or it will make a mess while pouring.
Wildcats
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Re: Sorghum Rum

Post by Wildcats »

I just read this all the way thru. Let me say that I like your style sir. Thank you for sharing this. Have fun and stay safe.
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