Rum: A Great Place to Begin Your Hobby of Distilling

Rum is one of the easiest spirits to produce for a new hobby distiller. Molasses, sugar cane syrup, or sugar cane juice are traditionally used to make the Caribbean spirit. This recipe utilizes the molasses content contained in dark brown sugar, which can easily be found at your local grocery store.

What you will need

Use the following ingredients to make your Rum:

• 10 lbs of pure cane dark brown sugar - make sure it is cane sugar and not beet sugar.
• 5 gallons of water
• 1 packet of Rum Yeast

You could substitute pure molasses for the dark brown sugar to make a more traditional rum. If you do, use three 12 oz jars of pure molasses per gallon of water. Any higher ratios can cause issues with your fermentation.

How to make your Rum wash

Follow these steps to prepare your Rum wash:

1. Heat 2 to 3 gallons of the water to boiling in a large stock pot then reduce heat. 
2. Dissolve the brown sugar in the water. 
3. Hold the temperature above 165F for 10 minutes to eliminate unwanted bacteria. 
4. Pour the sugar water into your fermentation vessel. 
5. Top off with cool water to a total volume of 5 gallons. 
6. Let cool to 80 F. Adding yeast at higher temperatures can kill of the yeast before it even does its work.
7. Sprinkle the yeast across surface and allow to stand for 15-20 minutes, to activate the yeast.
8. Gently mix in the yeast. 
9. Ferment for 5 to 7 days until the fermentation stops. When there is no more activity, your ferment is done.

Distill your wash

Siphon your wash into your still boiler keeping as much of the yeast sediment from entering the still as possible. Distill the wash per instructions provided with your still. 

Age your homemade Rum

Add distilled strength spirit in a mason jar. If you want to make a dark rum, add some toasted oak chips to the jar. Age for 30 days, or until desired taste, shaking once a day. 

Dilute with aerated distilled water to 80 proof. Enjoy your homemade rum!

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