"Okay, here's my rum recipe. It's easy, it's cheap and it makes a pretty darn good rum.

1 gallon feed grade black strap molasses
4 gallons water
7 pounds sugar
Distillers yeast
Yeast nutrient

Mix the 1 gallon of molasses with 1 gallon of water and all of the sugar in a big pot. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat and stir until all of the sugar is mixed in well.

Let this cool (add the rest of your water - helps to cool it) and then pitch some distillers yeast and yeast nutrient (I follow the package instructions for both).

Let it ferment for about two weeks, or until it done - I let it set another week or so to settle and then distill and run through carbon.

After running the final wash through my Brewhaus Essential Extractor PSII High Capacity column still - single pass, full reflux - and then through carbon I've got some pretty darn good rum (cut it to about 50%). I let some sit on medium toasted oak, with my special spice blend for a couple of weeks and holy cow I've got some spice rum that makes the old Captain look like a cabin boy!

My next 18 gallons are going to get double distilled - first a stripping run with my still set up as a pot still and then back through at full reflux. This will get rid of the need for two trips through the carbon filter setup that I built (really cool six foot length of 1 1/2 inch PVC with two elbows and a ultra fine screen at the bottom - can't post pictures yet).

But really, right now my ""Admiral"" and Pepsi's blow the Captains dingy right out of the water!"

"borrowed from homedistiller a good spice mix i'm mixing into my next rum run:

1/4-tsp ground cloves
1/4-tsp (generous) powdered cinnamon
1/4-tsp (generous) powdered ginger
1-tsp-Crosby's Cooking Molasses (Blackstrap will do !)
1-Tbsp-Toasted White Oak Chips"

I believe that recipe was for 750ml, comes out pretty heavy on the clove and was hit or miss with my rum drinkers.

I have now switched to a extract method with the spices... I don't have the recipe handy, its very similar just make an extract by soaking in high proof then filtering out the sediment. You then make simple caramel by heating sugar and lemon juice till it gets just brown (nor burnt)..

Mix extract and caramel to desired flavor. I also now add a 1/4tsp or more of molasses per taste. The extract method allows me to fine to the mix with 40 or 50% much easier (and then have extract left over for other batches.)

I reckon you might be able to use the store bought "rum extract" and have similiar results.

The addition of molasses and the caramelized sugar gives it the darker color and sweet taste, everyone has loved it so far.

When I am in my brew area again, i'll put out the recipe book and try to recall the additions for ya.

Either way the basic elements to rum are the spices mentioned above, additions of vanilla (syrup or extract) and molasses in small amounts will get you a real nice dark rum. I can't keep it stock these days.

EDIT: When you were asking for a gallon, keep in mind this is a spice mix for the FINISHED product. I was using a small amount of molasses and brown sugar wash (due to the availability of molasses and pricing)

"Yes, filtered water.. i dont usually use distilled. Tap water turns it white sumtimes due to lime content, but i've narrowed this down to fusels in the spirit, a clean distill you can use tap (depending on how hard/gross your water is).

You have never cut your spirit to drinking proof? You should do this (some say before) to oak, flavor, and mix in general. I also oak at full strength certain spirits, but it gets a dark interesting flavor, i then cut down and oak at 60%average.

Granted i have my fair share of 190, but in general we'll cut it back to 60/70% and leave it on oak for a bit, then flavor it up.

Buy an alchometer or whatever, their like 3-5 bux. Measure if you need. I can mix down by eyeball and bubble size when you shake it (lots of tiny bubbles=low, few bubbles that dissapate quick=high!)

btw; Ethanol is a water soluble spirit, you do realise you are seperating the alcohol from water, in order to get 180 proof, that last 20 is water still present. Since you have pretty much pure alky, you'd now want to water back down to a drinkable spirit (you do want to share your stuff without the poor souls burning their insides and running for the hills aye?)
-

Best of luck to ya."

"I normally make a simplae sugar syrup, or caramalize sugar by heating a few cups with sum lemon juice (just nuff to wet all the sugar) .. then slowly heat it till it browns, this gives rum a bit more tint and gives u that sweetner..

but a simple heated water and sugar syrup works too...

just dont add straight sugars, u want to make them into syrups.. also good to try flavoring while on wood, continue to store on wood (or chips) - it helps the falvors meld together. I've tried honey and other stuff, i now just use caramalized sugar, molases, the spice mix.. and a bit of glycerin seems to bring it together.. too much and it gets sticky tho, try flavoring a bit higher proof (70-80ish+) and then water down to 40-50 or whatever ur going for, that helped me on the ""stickyness"" of the end product - dont forget to let those flavors merge for a few days to weeks tho! very important..

Let me know your results, i don't get to hear much from fellow 'stillers.."

"Your just running a brown sugar wash? It's not much thicker then a regular sugar wash.. I run bout 10-12lbs (usually 12) of brown sugar per 5 gallon ferment.. EC-118 with plenty of DAP and a bit of amalyze (which seemed to help conver tthe last bits of stuff)

I've never burnt batches like this.. I use a propane turkey fryer even..

I burn it off full column mode, I can't seem to get reliableoutput when running my extractor 2 in pot still mode.."

If after distilling, you run it through carbon, doesn't that also strip off the flavor?

whats the best kind of sugar to use? I made 2 batches using regular molasses and regular sugar, turbo yeast and water!!when i distill with a refulx still I heat the mash till it lowers down to a 65% content. I find when i drink it i get a mash taste and smell and it kinda turing me away from it. So i dont know if i should double distill or what?? Thanks Phil

I bought a 3 gallon homemade still, I bought of a website once it starts dripping i discard the first 50mls then I have a tester and keep checking it every 10 mins till it started to hit a lower alc% I just wasnt sure how low to go.
The turbo yeast i used called for 8kgs of sugar but i used 4kgs and 4kgs of molasses. I could try to use a different type of yeast (http://www.winemakeri.com/Turbo_Yeasts_s/118.htm) they have a rum yeast on this site. I might try that. thanks Phil


This is the still here

http://u.jimdo.com/www17/o/sac7...er-no-electric-model.jpg

Sounds good