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Giving Rum a Shot...

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  • Not to say there is anything wrong with the fresh rum coming out of Jamaica, sometimes you just need the funk.

  • Most cacacha that is aged is aged on brazillian woods, Amburana, Jequetibia, grapia and incienso. Each give a distinct taste.

  • @DonMateo said: Most cacacha that is aged is aged on brazillian woods, Amburana, Jequetibia, grapia and incienso. Each give a distinct taste.

    +1

    Some of the cachaca coming over here to the states is being put into oak as some of the Brazilian marketing has the impression that Americans prefer the oak. And perhaps Americans do default to the oak out of habit? But for me, the (American) masses could stand to expand their horizons.

    There was even talk amongst the Brazilian co op to change the name from cachaca to Brazilian Rum just to help the American market get their collective heads around the "what the hell is cachaca?" question.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited May 2018

    The ad campaigns around Leblon and Novo Fogo have been somewhat sizable, and I suspect not a ton of traction outside of folks who think it's somewhat exotic to have a Caipirinha with a girl from Ipanema.

    Case in point, I now have two bottles of Novo Fogo silver, someone gave me a barely used bottle they bought, not really knowing, and not really caring for it.

    Cachaca is a tough sell in the mainstream US market, it's so far from the norm, and we have absolutely zero history of it in the culture. Right there with Pisco, Arak, etc etc.

  • Those cachacas are not the best representations unfortunately.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • edited May 2018

    Got two new toys yesterday for a price I could not refuse.... almost two for the price of one.

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  • @grim said: You get a crystal clear nearly water white rum with all the positive characteristics of an aged rum, but without the unappealing pale-yellow coloration.

    Same reason about the vast majority of dark rums have caramel color added, out of the barrel they are not dark enough to be visually appealing.

    Don't discount the visual aspect of it, especially in a lineup of peers.

    Our bartenders love it, because you get a smoother, more complex flavor, without having to resort to using a colored spirit, which can sometimes negatively impact the color of a cocktail. The fact that it's smoother means that they can mix less-sweet drinks without having to compensate for harshness.

    Most of the better white rums out of the Caribbean are aged in ex-bourbon and decolorized in the same way.

    OK, cool. If it added something flavorwise, (or removed something not desired) I get it. I guess I get the visual part too. Whenever I drink rum now, 90% of the time it is on the rocks or neat. The color adds to the experience but that it not to say that I wouldn't drink a smooth, white rum that way. Just haven't come across one yet.

    Isn't Bacardi one of the de-colorized ones? Not that I would consider it a "better white rum".

  • The PR rums go 2 years on spent oak, filtered for color, then 2 years on glass. Rounds it out very nicely.

    Try Don Q. Leave the Bat in the bottle.

    StillDragon North America - Your StillDragon® Distributor for North America

  • I think Barcardi has the patent for hanging wood staves in a stainless tank or something like that...

  • edited May 2018

    I don't know why the hobby scene has vilified "processing" and "filtering" as wrong or evil. I put that right up there with the scene's broad criminalization of plastics.

    It's a tool, a step in the process, the end result being better drink.

    I suspect, because it's a challenge to do it at small scale, and it's expensive, that it's easier to just justify it as unnecessary or bad, and just eliminate it entirely.

    So kudos to you guys who've gone out and invested money in the ability to filter. Spirits filtered at .22 micron are visually (and I think flavor) far superior to unfiltered spirits. Sure I'll be slayed for bucking the trend.

    Currently working on the ability to chill filter at scale.

  • @grim, you convinced me to go out and buy a 10" cartridge filter housing and good filters and I am glad you did. The end product is so much more attractive to the eye. Crystal clear. Colored spirit or not.

  • Four of our products are white, gin, vodka, poitin and grappa, so clear the bottles sparkle in sunlight, in our particular case unfiltered (no value judgement there). I still love the rich red-amber of the triple potstilled single malt Irish(ish), which matches its rich (but impure from a dissolved solids standpoint) flavor.

    A matter of personal taste, I imagine.

    Zymurgy Bob, a simple potstiller

    my book, Making Fine Spirits

  • @Grim Now that you brought the subject up its ok to stir. I was going to comment on you picture re stillin Mead and dropping the strip into a plastic cube but i let it go. I totally appreciate near all you posts so thought you must know what your doing. It just made me think about my use of plastic and even silicon hose for finished product. I know "anal retentive".

    As for filtering i am all for it - well at least charcoal . I might look into those .22 micron filters but was avoiding the plastic. Ha.

  • The hose was PTFE, the tote was HDPE.

    I don't really like silicone unless it's platinum cured US-made pharmaceutical.

  • I watched the SD video again this morning .... SD's trip to Columbia with Jason and @sugardaddy ?? where they were making Panela sugar.

    In any case, I again really enjoyed it in its raw simplicity. But it got me thinking......

    1. What would the mix of panela sugar be per 100L water for fermentation (or per litre)
    2. What brix level would be the ideal for dilution and fermentation start / mix
    3. What is the desired PH level for this fermentation .... I have seen 7.5 bandied about.
    4. What yeast levels / additions would you do per litre
    5. What ideal fermentation temperature would you look at considering this is of tropical origin
  • edited August 2018
    1. Not sure what the moisture content would be, but a good starting point perhaps .25kg per liter, targeting roughly 20 brix, 1.083. You may push from here.
    2. Roughly 20 Brix is a good starting point for your first fermentations.
    3. 5.0-5.4, probably closer to 5.0-5.2. 7.5 would likely stall, as this pH is going to favor bacterial production of acids, stressing out the yeast and crashing the pH.
    4. 0.5 grams per liter. Do not forget about nutrient, which would similarly be around 0.5g/l of inorganic nitrogen, plus whatever additional nutrient sources you are using.
    5. 27-29c depending on your yeast strain.
  • Brilliant thanks

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