What was rum first made out of

The lightest of these, the 'low wines' those with a low boiling point will be given off first and many of these most volatile compounds are harmful. Ethanol alcohol and other desirable compounds are less volatile slightly heavier and so follow the low wines. Often described as the 'cut', it this proportion of the run which will be used to make the finished rum. The heaviest compounds, the 'high wines' those with a high boiling point come off the still last.

Some of these heavier congeners are oily and are referred to as fusel oils. As touched upon earlier, particularly when discussing the difference between light and heavy rums, there are basically two types of still used in rum production: pot alembic stills and column Coffey stills.

The way the distiller can influence the type of distillate produced varies according to which of these two types of still are used. In general, heavily-bodied rums are those with more congeners and they tend to be made in pot alembic stills. Pot stills are the simplest and the original type of still. Extensively they are glorified copper kettles - indeed in some countries such as the Netherlands even call them 'kettles' rather than stills.

These are the kind of stills used in Scotland to make malt whisky and France to make cognac. The still is charged with the wash and then heat is applied to bring to the boil.

The volatile 'high wines' or 'heads' will be given off first and set aside. These are undesirable compounds, partly due to being tainted as these first vapours effectively clean the still from the previous distillation. Next follows the desirable part of the run, 'the cut', as the alcohol level of the distillate collected starts to fall, and the 'low wines' or 'tails' arrive and are set aside.

A mentioned above the distiller must judge when to make the cuts during distillation so controlling what congeners are retained and discarded. Some stills are very simple, while others have devices which allow the distiller more control. In rum making one of the common additions to pot stills are retorts. The hot vapour causes the liquid in the 'low wine retort' to boil and so concentrate the strength of the vapour which then moves on the second retort.

This is filled with high wines from the previous distillation, again diluted with water but to a higher strength. As in the first retort, the vapour causes the liquid to boil and the alcohol strength of the vapour is boosted a second time. It is common for stills with retorts to have tanks under each retort where the low wines and the high wines are sent in preparation for charging the retorts above for the following distillation.

The liquids placed in the retorts will have a dramatic affect on the finished distillate. For example the first retort may contain low wines mixed with fermented wash, dunder and even some high wines.

Some distillers use chilled heads on their retorts which condense the vapours as they rise up causing them to fall back into the chamber. This is called reflux and it can also be achieved by the way the head on the pot still is shaped. Reflux increases copper contact and effectively raises the boiling point so producing a lighter distillate. Column stills are also known as 'continuous stills' because, as their name suggests, they can be run continuously without the need to stop and start between batches as in pot stills.

This, coupled with the higher concentration of alcohol in the final distillate, makes column stills much more economical to operate than pot stills. They also allow the production of lighter, cleaner rums. Simple column stills like that designed by Aeneas Coffey consist of two tall columns, one called an 'analyzer column' and the other the 'rectifying column'. Perforated copper trays or 'plates' sit horizontally in each, like the floors in an skyscraper.

Put simply steam is introduced at the bottom of the still and the wash mid way up. The hot steam rises through the still with each floor or plate acting to distil the wash with heavier compounds unable to rise to the next floor so falling while lighter compounds vaporise and ascend the still.

The two columns are linked, the second further purifying the vapours from the first while at the same time heating the wash that will charge the first analyzer colum. The taller the stills, the more plates they contain and so the purer the alcohol lighter rum produced.

More modern three and four column stills allow for more efficient rectification. Cooling jackets can be used to increase reflux and there is also a move to use vacuums in column stills which reduce the boiling points and so the temperature the still runs at.

Modern column still technology allows light and extra-light rums to be produced efficiently and cheaply. Thus each island and country where rum is produced tends to have its own style, favoured by the native population who have grown-up drinking that style of rum.

Thus Trinidadian rums taste very different to Jamaican rums or Martinique rums. Like all distillates, regardless of whether they are distilled in pot or column stills, all rums are clear when they condense after distillation. Colour in rum is the result of ageing in oak casks and also the possible addition of caramel colour.

White rum can simply be a sugar cane distillate watered down and bottled. The fact that ageing in oak barrels improves the raw rum was discovered when ships carried rum on the long passage to Europe, it arrived darker in colour and with an improved flavour.

Due to their plentiful supply, rum is most commonly aged in American oak casks which have previously been used to age American whisky bourbon. This is due to the rules of bourbon dictating that the whiskey must be aged in new white oak casks so once used they are useless to the bourbon industry, other than as a commodity to be sold to other distillers around the world. The inside of these casks are charred at the cooperage when first made.

This caramelises natural sugars on the wood's surface increasing the vanillins. Some distillers increase the surface area of wood in the cask by inserting oak or charred oak chips. This reduces the ageing period required to gain a similar effect and is viewed by many including me as being something of a shortcut, as although it imparts a lot of flavours from the oak, the effects of extended oxidisation and evaporation are not replicated.

Whether a cask is a 'first re-fill', meaning the cask was previously used to age another spirit and this is its first time it has been used to age rum. Or it is a second or third re-fill will make a huge difference to the effect the cask has on the maturing spirit. I was a cocktail bartender for while before joining but I now spend most of my time on the other side of the bar. Are you of the legal drinking age in the country from where you are accessing this website? 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.

There are three possible next steps that can be taken using sugar cane juice: The sugar cane juice is fermented and distilled. This is the process carried out in the French West Indies and is the most direct approach that will create the most natural rum.

Another option is to cook down and concentrate the juice into a syrup, which can then be fermented and distilled. A few distilleries use this method as it allows them to distil all year round, not just during harvest season. The third, and final option, is to process the juice into crystallised sugar and molasses. The molasses are then sold on to distilleries to be made into rum, whereas the sugar is sold as a sweetening product.

The majority of rums are made from fermented molasses making this the most common option. This type of rum is distilled in the French Caribbean islands from freshly squeezed sugarcane juice instead of molasses. The liquor is distilled to about 70 proof.

A Brazilian sugarcane spirit and one of the most popular categories of spirits in the world. This type is the product of a wide range of flavors and spices infused into rum. Some of the common spices used are roots of ginger, seeds of vanilla and allspice, the bark of cinnamon or cassia, and buds of clove.

It is bottled at 92 proof. Knowing the colorful history and the broad spectrum of rum types around the world, it seems important to learn how rum is made.

Below is the step-by-step guide on the different stages of making rum. Sugarcane juice is to rum as grape juice is to wine. That means that the harvesting stage of rum-making is just as important as the rest of the process. As with most grass varieties, sugarcane is cut and then starts re-growing after harvest. Cutters use machetes to cut the cane close to the ground, right around the part of the stem which has the highest concentration of sugars. Then the leafy tops are also removed.

On an average day, a good harvest is around three tons of cane per day. Of course, a lot more can be collected using mechanized harvesting. That process of extracting sugar from cane juice produces a viscous product called molasses. This is basically what most rum is made from. Molasses will be fermented to be later on distilled to form rum. Another alternative is to boil molasses to remove the water content and turn it into cane syrup which could also be fermented to make rum.

Fermentation is when yeast converts sugars into alcohol. Boil around 20 liters of clean water in a boiler. Then, dissolve both the sugar and molasses in the water with just the right amount of heat. You can turn the burner off as soon as bubbles start to form. When the mixture begins to foam up, put in the rest of the wort. There must be the presence of heat for the yeast to keep converting sugar to alcohol.

Make sure to store the wash in a warm place. Better yet, keep the room artificially heated. The airlock on the pot should let the carbon dioxide escape without letting oxygen in.

The fermentation process can be as short as 24 hours or as long as 3 weeks, depending on the strain of yeast used and the style of rum being produced. Each strain of yeast works at different rates and may also result in varying flavors. Generally, when the fermentation is quick, it produces a lighter wash that tends to be favored in producing white rum. On the other hand, darker rum necessitates a slow and orderly fermentation where yeast is progressively added in intervals.

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.