Step by Step – How to make Rum – DIY Instructions

You already know that rum is a spirit that comes in almost every color from clear to dark brown or even black. It can be flavored, spiced or even rich, dark and smooth. However, what many people don’t know is how it is actually made.  Here, we’re going to teach you how to make rum.

All you need to know about how to make Rum

Learning how to make a quality batch of rum requires care and attention to detail. So make sure to plan well and follow the steps carefully to make the best batch of possible for your alcoholic drinks or cocktails. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Choosing your ingredients to make Rum

The process of making rum can vary considerably based on the culture or region. Rum is mainly made from ingredients extracted from the sugarcane plant. In this article, we’ll use a combination of raw cane sugar and molasses.

Step 2: Preparing Sugar/Molasses Wash

What You Need

• Distilled water (6.5 gallons)
• Blackstrap molasses (1 gallon)
• Raw cane sugar (8 pounds)
• Turbo yeast
• Brew pot
• Long spoon
• Heat source
• Thermometer

Some optional Rum ingredients like brown sugar or cane juice.

Procedure

1. Put the brew pot on the heat and add 5.5 gal of water.
2. Heat until the temperature reaches 125 degrees fahrenheit past the point of boiling water.
3. Add the molasses (1 gallon) and raw sugar cane (8 pounds) while stirring until both dissolves completely.
4. Add one gal of water to reduce the temperature.
5. Stir the wash for around 30 seconds after every five minutes to drop the temperature to around 80 degrees. (Keep in mind that this process can take some hours to complete).
6. Once the temperature has dropped to 80 degrees, put turbo yeast.
7. Pour the wash from one container to another for about five minutes to ensure it’s well aerated.
8. Put wash into a fermentation bucket.
9. Close the fermentation bucket and keep in a dark place at approximately 75 degrees.

Step 3: Fermentation and Straining

What You Need

• Citric acid
• pH meter
• Cheese cloth

Fermentation

A wash with just raw cane sugar takes 3 to 7 days to ferment.

A wash that is made from molasses takes around 12 to 14 days to ferment fully.

If there’s no gas coming out, the fermentation process is complete.

Straining

When the fermentation process is complete, you will need to get rid of any sediment. For the straining process, you can use your cheese cloth to ensure there are no solid materials remaining.

Check the PH of your wash. It should be 4.5 to 5.0. Use calcium carbonate to raise the pH and citric acid to bring it down.

Step 4: Rum Distillation Process

What You Need

• Fermented rum wash
• Siphon
• Still burner
• Pot still
• Cleaning products
• Hydrometer

Rum Making Procedure

1. Put a collection container under the wash distillate valve to hold your rum. Make sure that all connections are properly sealed from carbon dioxide.
2. Attach a water source to condenser. The water source is meant to cool the rum vapor. As the vapor condenses, it becomes liquid ethanol and drips into the collection container.
3. Next, siphon your mash solution into still. Make sure to siphon the solution carefully to avoid drawing in the bottom.
4. Start gradually bringing the mash to a boil. For the best rum, go for a slow boil. You don’t have to crack it up. Start running cooling water immediately the temperature reaches around 130 degrees. The distillation process will begin when clear liquid starts coming out of the spout and finally dripping into the collection container. So keep an eye on that!
5. Throw away the first 100 ml. This is known as the heads and is usually disposed off as a safety precaution. It contains methanol and other volatile substances, which can be dangerous if consumed.
6. Collect the next 30% of your rum distillate (called hearts). Immediately stop collecting when the temperature reaches around 200 degrees. Don’t collect the remaining “tails” since you don’t want them in your rum as well.
7. Turn off the water and the heat source.

Step 5: Aging Your Rum

1. The aging process should be done in toasted oak or oak barrels or oak casks or charred barrels to enhance color and flavor. This process takes at least 10 years. If you don’t have the patience to wait for 10 years, you can simply soak the final product in toasted oak chips for around three weeks to enhance the taste.
2. Use a cheese cloth to filter the rum.
3. Use distilled water to dilute your rum to desired alcohol content.
4. Use a suitable dilution calculator to reduce the alcohol content to around 45 percent for the best tasting rum.

That’s it you are now a pro on how to make rum! Now it’s time to enjoy your homemade, distilled alcoholic rum responsibly! Cheers!