Making Rum

[Warren]

Hi,I am interested in home brewing and such,But really not much interest in making beer(I love rum!).I am a big fan of rum and would like to make my own.

Problem is I have not much knowledge of the process/equipment,ect.

So any books,videos,websites,ect on the subject of making rum would be greaty appreciated.

Also any websites that sell equipment needed to making rum would be great too.

Thanks,Also I apologize if this is the wrong forum,I wasn't to sure where to put this.

-Warren-

[Jason Perlow]

Well, a field of sugarcane that you can set on fire would be a good start.

[Ed Hamilton]

There is an excellent home distillers newsgroup that can be very useful for anyone interested in home distilling but there is also a lot of information that is useful to anyone who wants to know more about the alcohol we love to drink.

Distillers Newsgroup

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Well, a field of sugarcane that you can set on fire would be a good start.

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I'm not that far from th' source. Was thinking that Louisiana Cane Syrup or Molasses would make a reasonable substitute, though.

Edited April 21, 2005 by Bolivar Petit Corona (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

Well, a field of sugarcane that you can set on fire would be a good start.

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I'm not that far from th' source. Was thinking that Louisiana Cane Syrup or Molasses would make a reasonable substitute, though.

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As someone who, umm, knows someone who has made a fair amount of rum-Louisiana Molasses works great and is easy to work with. The downside of fully processed syrup, while making a very tasty product, is that it is very expensive to buy in bulk. Molasses can be had for a song, although I don't know how hard it is to get outside of Louisiana.

Home distilling can be a lot of fun, though. Although I can promise you that you won't remember what you did the first time, so write everything down in careful detail. Even Carrie Nation couldn't resist fresh rum coming right out of the worm. I think that it's much more fun than hombrewing. Or, that's what my friend says anyway.

Edited to say that when you are sourcing molasses you are looking for "fancy grade". Many of the industrial grades do not have enough residual sugar to make the fermented concentrate that you will need.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

couldn't you just add enough Dixie Crystals to bring the residual sugar content up?

[Mayhaw Man]

You can do that, but the problem comes into the level of unfermentable material in low grade molasses, kind of like dirt dirt. This is kind of what you will end up with caked up all over the inside of the still and being transferred through the process. The stuff tends to foam badly and that makes it very hard to work with.

You can actually use Turbinado Sugar (think "sugar in the raw") by inverting it and the fermenting. It works great. Turbinado can be had cheap in bulk, if you can find a supplier. It is also refferred to as "turbs" in the sugar industry. This is the stage where it is, more or less, just granulized molasses.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

don' like da foam, must've been what NO Rum was using, @ first...if you have detailed instructions on how your friend distills his rum, please post them here...

...I can't get to this website: Distillers Newsgroup bc of firewall...

in return I've got a friend who buys Cuban rum

[WHT]

So how does one get around the BATF and a still license? I was under the impression that home distilling is not legal from information on the BATF website. The only thing that even comes close is a permit for schools to make alcohol for use as fuel.

[Mayhaw Man]

So how does one get around the BATF and a still license? I was under the impression that home distilling is not legal from information on the BATF website.  The only thing that even comes close is a permit for schools to make alcohol for use as fuel.

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My friend is a brazen scofflaw. A well known ne'er-do-well and a lover of good fun.

I, on the other hand, am a law abiding taxpayer. We ARE talking about my friend here.

But, to address the point you just made, the major objection, historically, to home distilling has been resale as no excise tax gets collected by the feds (this tax, in fact, has been the source of trouble for a couple of hundred years)- . Believe me, a few otherwise law abiding home distillers are not going to get the BATF too wound up. My friend actually called the BATF and they told him as much (and this was pre 9/11-when they actually had some time for these things). You can feel pretty safe with a 10 gallon still in your garage.

It's pretty funny though, when my friend was building his still he had the parts made at several different metal shops, thinking that would be a good way to keep from getting any attention, without fail everyone of them asked about it when my friend went to pick it up. One guy actually ended up not charging him in exchange for a little taste of the final product.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

ATF gives the impression that lots of things are illegal, which are only against their policy letters.

Besides, my friend who's thinkin' of doin' this ain' in th' u.S.

[WHT]

The main reason I brought up the subject is distillation is far from an odor free process. In thinking of things post 9/11, your crank next door calls the authorities because of funny smells and…

Granted most home stills are going to be small and not produce more than a couple of gallons of product but the way the code reads leaves a lot of room for creative interpretation. Funny they will let you make lots of beer and wine without any red tape but try and convert it to whiskey or brandy and things change. In the USA I know it is a tax issue, other parts of the world I could not even guess. More from the point of before you spend lots of money and time on the set-up, know what risks are involved.

Model rocketry is a hobby that has been radically changed by recent events. What may have been a neat after school activity is now regarded with severe scrutiny. One mans science project can be another mans weapon system. The regulations varied greatly by state from just being of an age to having to have a pyrotechnical license. Now the way they define the differences between model rockets and munitions are blurred.

Have fun, experiment you may be pleased with the results. It is not that hard to make rum and can be quite fun.

[Ed Hamilton]

Rum is actually any spirit that is made from sugar cane juice, syrup or molasses. But as anyone who has tasted a raw spirit distilled from fermented molasses will tell you that it needs to be aged before it is very good. But it sure is a lot of fun to make, carbon filtering helps and even a few months in a small barrel will do wonders for the taste.

[jayt90]

Apparently some illegal Eau de Vie is made in the fruit growing areas of southwestern Ontario. Raspberries, cherries, and blueberries, but strawberries, plums and other fruits can be found distilled, or imbued into a brandy, usually by families who arrived from Europe 20-40 years ago. The LCBO claims to be ever vigilant to keep these bottles away from us.

[mbanu]

Rum is actually any spirit that is made from sugar cane juice, syrup or molasses. But as anyone who has tasted a raw spirit distilled from fermented molasses will tell you that it needs to be aged before it is very good. But it sure is a lot of fun to make, carbon filtering helps and even a few months in a small barrel will do wonders for the taste.

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Problem is that making an all-molasses beer that tastes good is a lot trickier than it sounds. And if you distill a less-than-tasty mash, you get a less-than-tasty raw spirit.

[WHT]

Small strips of oak that have been charred can be used in the right type of plastic container for aging.