2019 NZ Master’s Thesis on Rum - seen before?

[JustinNZ]

https://orapp.aut.ac.nz/bitstream/handl ... sAllowed=y

This is really interesting reading for rum fans. I couldn’t find it on this site and I tested the link - but apologies if I stuffed-up both.

[LordL]

Thanks! Really interesting read!

One interesting thing was that they concluded that production of isoamyl alcohol did not depend on Leucine content. So there goes that theory!

Another note, wich feels like a flaw: they did the hefty cuts during first distillation. So after the second distillation they didn't find as much congeners, even the wanted ones..

I believe that if we want to make any cuts during the stripping run, they have to be very small to make sense in a flavoured spirit.

[JustinNZ]

I didn’t realise the cuts were made on the stripping run - weird/fascinating. Couldn’t spot the cuts being defined on the spirit run. Can’t have been much in the pot for that. I wish they’d put more details in regarding the method. The science was cool. What I also found interesting was the ‘no methanol in rum’ result. Will quote that.

[NZChris]

Before you try to take too much out of this, it's written by someone who has never made a decent batch of rum and doesn't know how to, distilled in an SS boiler with copper only in the alembic head and Leibig, cleared with Turbo clear, an overly large amount of the early distillate taken off at the start of the strip, then stopping the strip very early with 55% Low Wines. The results would not be representative of any T&T method you would find on the forum, or of any method used by distillers in the industry.

[Saltbush Bill]

I had a quick read through parts of it yesterday Chris, I got bored with it quickly, I'm of the same opinion that you are.