Who is rum made

The speed at which yeast gobbles up the sugar is also affected by certain minerals. Slowing the process allows for congeners to develop.

Congeners are flavorful substances that consist of esters and aldehydes. This results in a thicker, more acidic wash which in turn makes the rum richer in taste. Once the airlock has finished bubbling, allow the mash to sit for days.

You can test if the mash is ready using a hydrometer. Hydrometers are used to measure the ratio of a density of a liquid to the density of water. Starting on the day when you expect the mash to be finished, measure it once a day. When you get the same reading for 3 consecutive days, that means your wash is ready to distill.

Pot stills produce a more flavored distillate, hence they are most commonly used for producing rum Agricole. Column stills, on the other hand, are the choice for producing neutral spirits like white rum. The copper pot is the original type of still. The vapor will then rise through a long tube in the ambix which cools and condenses it back into a liquid.

The use of a copper pot is in theory one of the easiest methods of distillation, but in reality, it requires a certain skill level to perform, especially if you want to produce good rum. The process gives the master distiller more control, but only a small portion of the distillate is safe for consumption. A column still consists of two towering columns. The first column called the analyzer has steam rising and wash descending through several levels.

The second column known as the rectifier carries the alcohol from the wash, where it circulates until it can condense at the proper power level. Below are the basic steps on how rum is distilled using a column still:. Sugar cane wash is fed into the analyzer and then heated into steam. Strong alcohol will rise to the top and condense inside the analyzer as the temperature is lower at the bottom of the column. As the impurities come into contact with plates at different heights, they will naturally reflux and condense.

The condensed vapors are redistilled and thrown back into a vapor state. The process repeats continuously and causes a reaction that separates heavier compounds from the lighter compounds. This increases the purity of the spirit.

The spirit will make its way through the column until it reaches a point where the distiller is ready to collect off from the still.

Just like with most distilled spirits, the flavor largely depends on the rum aging process. You can either use stainless steel vats or oak barrels to store rum for aging. Some people also choose used whiskey and bourbon barrels to age their rum. The time rum spends in aging is decided based on several factors and does not only depend on the type of rum made. Dark rum is aged longer than white rum.

The alcohols in the rum interact with the wood to create distinct flavors, extract color, and develop a smooth quality that highly enhances aged rums. Humidity and climate play important roles in rum aging. Higher humidity leads to faster alcohol losses, while rum aged in hotter climates leads to water loss. The size of the barrel makes a difference, too. Small barrels provide a higher wood-to-spirit ratio and tend to mature faster. Lastly, make sure to filter your rum through a cheesecloth or clean cotton shirt to catch any of the wood particles.

Blending is the last process where a distiller can still make changes to the rum's character. Different types of rum are the products of blending light and dark rum with varying distillation processes. Additives can be used to boost a rum's flavor and pass it off as legit, making it harder for everyone else to know for sure if a certain brand indeed originated from the Caribbean, Haiti, or Jamaica. Then there are the age statements.

On the fermentation side of things, distilleries can then choose from a couple of different paths. If they go with natural fermentation, the sugar product will sit in open vats, letting the natural yeasts in the air do their thing and turn sugar into alcohol. Another option — and one most larger companies use — is to introduce pre-determined strains of yeast themselves and from there control the fermentation from beginning to end. Once fermentation has completed, distillers are left with a low-alcohol product sometimes called the low wines.

After that comes aging or the lack thereof. Distillation happens in stills, which are made of copper or steel or typically come in two varieties: continuous or pot. There are other kinds of stills — and variations within each — but those are the two main kinds. Distillers can opt to use one type or the other, or some mixture of both. Depending on the type of rum, it may go through the distillation process a second time, raising the alcohol even higher.

As with every other element of the distillation process, the choices here will affect the final taste of the rum. After distillation comes aging or the lack thereof. Distillers can choose to put out an unaged product or they can pump it into barrels for a length of time sometimes as little as a few weeks and sometimes as much as twenty or thirty years.

That leads us to the next section: the different kinds of rum. You know this one from a mojito, swizzles , or most drinks that are served with an umbrella.

White — also known as light or silver — rums are the lightest in flavor and are typically aged three to six months in tropical climates, or up to one year in colder climates. Interaction with the wood is accelerated and the ageing process takes less time than a colder climate - whisky in Scotland for example. Almost all rums are blended with other batches made at the same distillery to create unique flavours. In the most simple terms, rum is made from sugar cane.

Rum as a category offers huge variety and differences in the production processes have a profound impact on the flavour and colour of the finished product. Find out more about our extensive range in our brochure. Click here to download. I'm Matthew Clark's resident content creator, looking after our social media, website and customer communications.

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By entering this site you agree to: Terms and conditions Privacy and cookie policy. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter this site. If you believe you're seeing this in error, please clear your cache. Home Blog What is Rum made from? What is Rum made from?

Rum Explained First things first, put simply rum is made from sugar cane. Rum production always starts with sugar cane… How Rum is made Mature sugar cane is harvested by hand, typically using a machete in various parts of the world.