I Made A Historic Pirate Rum At Home

Pirates and rum. Rum and pirates. They just go together . . . . . right?
This video sets out to decide if that was actually a real thing. Perhaps it's just a Hollywood trope? If it IS real, what would a real pirate rum have tasted like? What would it have been made from? How would a pirate rum have been distilled?
Let's make a historic pirate rum!
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[@jasonlambert6244]

I'm a rum distiller in the Caribbean. Very good video, and I love how you added the backset and let it over ferment a bit. Doing a dunder pit over multiple ferments might give you a more authentic flavor, but given the circumstances you have, pretty spot on. There is so much we don't know, and so many ways they made rum, and it's great that you discussed all those possible variables.

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

Fresh cane juice is abundant where I'm from. I'm fermenting some right now to be distilled into rum. Is the juice enough on its own? Or should I add sugar/molasses to it?

[@4kays160]

@@1SmokedTurkey1 your making australian rum, bundaberg rum to be precise.. idk about the molasses steps though ive never made it

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

@@4kays160 well I did make it. Made 2 batches one with molasses the other with pomegranate molasses. The former tasted like ass but the latter was phenomenal. Specially, after being aged for a little bit.

[@gilian1749]

@A J is that relevant?

[@levistinefeld1809]

@A J No, it really doesn’t. The dude could work there, could have been born from a Caucasian family there.

[@wrex509]

As a historian I felt your approach was more than fair. Set definitions and techniques are more of a modern invention, and so when exploring historic techniques there is often plenty of room on top of the fact that we just dont know some details. Full marks on the historic presentation and appropriate caveats.

[@Ja_Mes]

Lmfao what do you mean set definitions and techniques are a modern invention mfs was just WINGING it making sea faring boats for 7 thousand years?

[@TheRabadish]

@@Ja_Mes yes.

[@gavinriley5232]

@@TheRabadish Yeah pretty much. You usually cut things to fit, at angles that looked about right. Almost everything was a one off project, you built it to work for the exact purpose it was meant for and likely never built one the same again.

[@benmac940]

@@Ja_Mes at that time the timber available had a large impact on how boats were built, ie they made the boat fit the timber not the timber fit the boat as is the case now.

[@ZAVB3R3R]

As a student of archaeology I'm so glad there are so many people that get this here lol. Throughout history people couldnt be super picky about a lot of raw materials, unlike today where you can get materials the are damn near perfectly made compared to much of our past.

[@ClintonLomayma-ic8ji]

Rum is such an underrated drink that just gets bastardized by The Captain

[@jesusplaystheforest9506]

great tintin reference

[@davidemelia6296]

It's not for nothing that 'talking to The Captain' has become synonymous with 'projectile vomiting'. The stuff is horrible.

[@johnpietros9439]

Nothing wrong with captian Morgan. Ive drank many brands of rum and its just fine. It all comes down to what you like and captian morgan sells a lot of rum.

[@TheWhytnyte]

I have been making rum from black strap molasses for 3 years now. It makes a wonderful Rum, especially after a nice oak period. One thing I have learned is that yeast absolutely loves molasses. To make a great wash all you need is water, molasses and your preferred yeast, and it just takes off. I save the last 20 liters of dunder for the next batch(200 liters) For those trying to "cheap out" and use animal feed grade molasses, be warned, most feed grade molasses contains sulfur as a preservative, and it will kill the yeast. I buy mine at a grocery wholesaler in 5Kg jugs. Still on guys.

[@charlesdeshler202]

I really want to try this. Regarding saving backset... Do you think 10% is a good number? Id like to see more about these funky "pits" we hear about....

[@tmiller1079]

When researching for a molasses rum a while ago, I discovered that molasses is what they use to grow yeast for baking. So your typical bread yeast is pretty much perfect for such rums.

[@Francois_Dupont]

i am trying to make brown looking rhum like from the store. how do they do it? do i just need to put a little bit of the sludge left over from the distillation back in?

[@bodazephyr6629]

​@@Francois_Dupontthe brown comes from the barrel wood, doesn't it?

[@Francois_Dupont]

@@bodazephyr6629 i think yes, they must also put a bit of spice extract in there.

[@bigscigeek83]

You need to do crossover with Max Miller Tasting History

[@AshiwiZuni]

I agree completely!!!

[@fariskkraft6042]

And Tom Miler who tastes various alcohols

[@ffwast]

And Townsends!

[@sunnycharacter]

@@ffwast And John would add Nutmeg!

[@dougtheincredible]

Oh hell yeah

[@itatane]

The pictures of farmers chewing on grass is based upon the fact that certain grasses (Perennial Rye, Quack Grass, Crab Grass, Timothy) all have a very sweet taste, and acted sort of like a chewing gum. Supposedly, Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) also acts to settle the stomach. Crab Grass (Digitaria sanguinalis), which is mostly seen as an invasive weed now, was actually introduced as a garden grain by Slavic emigrant farmers. Crab Grass produces seed heads continuously, as opposed to one and done, (like wheat) and was the source of a porridge (it is also very nutritious, which makes one wonder why people spray the living dog snot out of it rather than making use of it.). The rhizomes of Quack Grass (Elymus repens) could also be used as flour or boiled down and fermented... I wonder what Crab grass whiskey would taste like...

[@cooper10182]

As a man that grew up on a family farm in the northeast US, we would chew Timothy grass just cause of boardem when checking fences or waiting for a rain shower to pass. It was a sweetish vegetable flavor similar to baby spinach or young spring greens.

[@kytziaf]

I am more of a rice or corn guy. Good to know though

[@cthulhu9136]

Now I'm curious

[@Kelnx]

I tried looking it up, but the internet is so choked with ways to kill crabgrass that I couldn't easily find anything about turning it into anything useful other than a few survival sites. Nothing about whiskey. I think someone needs to try it out.

[@ShinKyuubi]

When I walk to check the mail I'll grab a pine needle from a nearby evergreen (there are lots near my home) and chew on it a bit. Get a little vitamin C in the system from it and it taste pretty okay..then again..the one I pluck from grows rather close to a small wild muscadine tree..don't know if that has anything to do with it.

[@andymacdonald30]

Just because i drink rum at 9 in the morning does not mean I am an alcoholic . It means I am a Pirate !

[@capnchip]

AARRHHH! You be so very correctly right!

[@blisterj]

Arrr I agree

[@jacobmachin6517]

Would be interested to see how it tastes making traditional grog with it -- that is, just cut to about `10% with water. Add some lime juice to it as well after to give that a try since eventually that was done with grog as well. Standard rations for sailors was grog (to help keep the water from spoiling), and I can imagine it was fairly standard for pirates as well.

[@666mrdoctor]

Grog was a navy thing, but spirits were traditionally drunk with water so maybe they had sometimes similar to grog.

[@gourdguru]

@@666mrdoctor caribbean pirates had more access to spices and fruits, and also spent shorter times at sea so they had less concern for the water going bad or for scurvy, and so made the party version of grog, called Bumbo/Bomboo/Bambu. take the recipe for grog, but use dark rum, add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. whatever spices your pirate crew stole last basically. I make a batch every year for when me and the gang hit up the renaissance faire in full pirate regalia. american politicians during the colonial era used to give the stuff out at campaign rallies. George washington was known for being very friendly with his rum stock, noted he doled out 160 gallons of bumbo to 391 voters during campaigning for the Virginia House of Burgesses in July 1758. NATURAL PIRATE.

[@dave_s_vids]

The lime juice was probably to try and help keep the scurvy at bay!

[@phillipdavis9515]

I’m in my garage distilling rum watching Jesse distilling rum. Which now has me humming “we are the pirates who don’t do anything”. I seriously need to work on the whole pirate vibe…

[@feartherain]

I’ve never been to Boston in the fall!

[@brada1997]

@D Hill I didn't know there was a different version. I only the veg version! Lol

[@facubeitches1144]

Even back in the Golden Age of Piracy, the authorities kind of looked down on the whole "rape and pillage" thing. Pretty sure they're even less in favor of it nowadays.

[@Lordpeyre]

But what if I ask you to do anything?

[@treymurrell6489]

Dude you got that dang song stuck in my head now. Aaaaaah!

[@andyleighton6969]

Being old enough to have actually tasted Pusser's Rum, as it came out of the earthenware jugs, it was very dark and insanely strong - almost undrinkable neat. This was actually with the Army, I didn't even know it was on issue, the RQMS obviously kept that quiet! We'd been out on exercise in atrocious weather for days and were suffering exposure casualties, so Endex was called and the rum was served to the troops as a morale booster in "gunshot".

[@markc532]

Sad how Rum is only associated with the navy and pirates. It was an important tipple for the army for many years.

[@bjorndelight8093]

Have you tried the modern stuff they sell in the shops? is it comparable?

[@burningpentagram666]

@@bjorndelight8093 I have. Both are quite pallatable , but the old one has waayy more flavor. New one seems to be a bit flat in taste.

[@mikewalrus4763]

@@bjorndelight8093 If you get the right stuff it is! But as there are hundreds of different rums out there you have to be careful . . . . . . just to show my credentials I actually drew my tot in the Royal Navy for some three years until it was stopped in July of 1970 - the next day, the first of August 1970 became known as "Black Tot Day!" Thus ending over 300 years of tradition! The closest you can get these days is sold as Pussers Gunpowder Proof Rum - 54.5% proof. If you get it outside of the UK.

[@mikewalrus4763]

Called "Gunfire" I believe by the army and only issued at certain times by them. It should be noted that in the RN the Senior Rates were issued neat rum, whilst the Junior Rating were issued Grog - i.e. mixed with water, 2 parts water 1 part rum to prevent the rum being hoarded - too much of the stuff could kill! In the RN is was also used as a money system to be used as payment for various "favours". Incidentally when the army were carried onboard ship the Other Ranks (non commisioned) were issued the same amount of rum as the Navy Ratings were - i.e. 1/2 a gill a day. Before 1825 it was issued as a gill a day, 1/2 a gill at a time midday and in the evening! It had one added advantage, after having your issue you eat anything put in front of you no matter how bad the cooks were!

[@tomsbrewing1]

Fascinating take on old "pirate" rum. I was completely intrigued. As a brewer of beers, not spirits, I can't speak to the authenticity of your attempt, but as a history teacher and amateur historian, I think your attempt is pretty darn close. Well done! Thanks for a great video.

[@Erik_Swiger]

I got the idea in my head that I wanted to taste rum the way it would have been made 300 years ago, meaning, ideally, that it would not contain flavorings, spices, colorings, whatever. With some searching, and the availability in my area, I got a bottle of Pusser's British Admiralty Rum. Now, I don't know how closely it resembles the original rums, but it's a world apart from the cheaper and highly-spiced rums I've had. All this to say, I really want to do what you've done in this video. My home cooking is better than anything I can get from the store, and I'm willing to bet a homemade rum would be better than most rums I could buy.

[@Robb1977]

Try Rhum Barbancourt. priced near or a little above pussers, but actually a distillery with a record dating back to the 1860s... its a different experience. pussers is great, i love it... but its also from the 70s and youre taking on faith that their story is true.

[@kevinbaxter2578]

Good show mate. To answer one of your questions. I think you made rum basically like they would have made it. Made with what you had available using basically the same practice in principle of how they would have made it. I'm wondering if adding in some of the fruits they had available would have added more of a regional impact. Like Papaya, banana, and guava. Those would have been available in abundance and I could see them being added in to the fermentation. Who knows. Anyway great video as always.

[@saint-cetacean]

Easy source of extra fermentable sugars, especially if they were potentially going to rot etc.

[@johnbeauvais3159]

Ah but remember that the bananas available back then compared to now are different. In my opinion, based off the known works of the pirate William Dampier things such as cocoa, vanilla, peppers, and mango as well as some other traditionally tropical fruits would be appropriate

[@webtoedman]

It's entirely possible, sometimes even the "Bagasse", or crushed and discarded cane stalks were soaked to make a wash and added to the general mix.

[@HaraldBergTechTv]

@@johnbeauvais3159 Your point in regards to Bananas are spot on, unless you live in a tropical country. I lived in Jamaica for 11 years and had the opportunity to taste various types of bananas.

[@kingfishjoel]

Can you get your hands on guava nectar? Guava brandy is another Caribbean treat. As you're pulling jars, go deep into the tails, you'll pull some guava-ee sugary flavors that will knock your socks off.

[@antkneecampy]

This was great. My favorite part is the actual frustration of having too many modern luxuries to feel you’re being as accurate as you could. The simple fact of having free flowing potable water is so easy to take for granted. That’s why I love this kind of stuff. You’re forced to think completely differently to get into the mindset of past peoples. I would love to taste your pirate rum sir. I salute you!

[@dynamotightstar3472]

I was fully into Pirates from a young boy when I started playing Pirates on the Amiga 500..one of the greatest games of all time. It came with a physical map in the box and had me captivated. "Grog" was a large part of pirate motivation. You run out of rum and you got a mutiny on your hands.

[@TheSquirreless]

Napster - Dalnet on IRC. Golden age of Piracy. Great vid Jessie

[@fufumfrmfr32]

Much more monetary value was lost to The Pirate Bay.

[@GogiRegion]

@@fufumfrmfr32 I really wonder how much money “lost” from piracy would have just not been spent if piracy wasn’t an option. I mean, how often is it that you pirate something that you just wouldn’t have spent money on or didn’t have enough money so if you didn’t pirate it you never would have gotten it at all?

[@pouncepounce7417]

@@GogiRegion my estimate is between 90% given most people use it to test things and then even buy the legit version, or quite often buy the legit, then get the pirate one without the stupid DMA that serves only to punish honest customers.

[@iamatt]

Pulled that one out from the attic lol

[@mikewilson9315]

There are any number of books and academic papers on how historic rum was made. Trade rum or the cheapest, crudest form was made from diluted blackstrap molassess, skimming (the foam skimmed off the top of boiling cane juice), dunder and some raw cane sugar. Then fermented in open air vats for a week or so before being distilled and barreled.

[@MrAdrammelch]

I like your personal comments and sense of humor during these videos. Thank you for making this content!

[@dahveed284]

Nice! I'm thinking pirates drank what they could get their hands on. I know the British Navy had a rum ration for each sailor each day. Given the location where rum was made and that daily rum ration, rum is forever linked to sailors (both pirates and seaman alike).

[@BeardedBored]

I think the only mistake you made was not using some of those rings to secure your beard😜 Great video dude! I'm really glad you're poop-shy.

[@pjoter2243]

😂😂😂

[@jeffb4612]

Dumbledore had alot of rings.

[@JohnClarkGaming]

Indeed

[@NGNetwork1]

and the shit, don't forget the shit. :p

[@bb5242]

A couple burning rifle matches would add to the authenticity.

[@forcrz6]

So for it to be the "Navy Strength" it should be at least 54.5% ABV. A document from 1866 states "The Issuing Strength of Rum was laid down at 4.5 under proof (unchanged today). The strength of normal spirits sold in the IK is 30 under proof. Then when you put in the sloshing of the rum in the casks, this would give the ageing effect as it has been shown as more of the spirt contacts the wood due to the sloshing around in the cask due to the roll of the ship.

[@MrTrilbe]

It also it might not have been a barrel used prior for alcohol, it could have been a barrel full of brine cured meats or flour or pickled vegetables or a corpse

[@aceventura999]

16:49 Best defenition of a GOOD RUM.

[@paulmurphy7126]

I just made my first batch of rumm with good results, 1 gal of blackstrap ,added 2 cups white sugar and two cups organic brown sugar , pitched turbo yeast for rum .done fermenting it 48 hours or less. Very good yield . One pint turned into spiced with Jamaican vanilla bean. 1 cinnamon stick, 1 anise star and 10 or so cloves. Like it so far

[@Clintotron]

I once watched a KZbin video where a guy made some “1800’s recipe Coca Cola”. He basically had nothing they needed to make it and wasted bandwidth. You didn’t do this. You put out the effort and got what you could (not what was just laying around). I applaud you. Can’t wait to get back in my house and get some stuff cookin…

[@beyamoth]

Try using muscovado. They sell it at Gilmours in New Zealand and it is reasonably cheap. The most unrefined form of cane sugar you can buy

[@j.g.3293]

Good to know!

[@humanonearth1]

9:54 Ya I think open ferment is going to take off. My hypothesis is it's really good in the early phases of ferm. Some breweries only do it this way for their beer. An interesting point is that proponents of it claim that b/c it's open, the yeast feel no back pressure from the fermentation container / airlock, which would presumably inhibit their metabolism. Which is to say, they are less stressed during their lifecycle.

[@defradavis3005]

This was awesome. I'm in a Craft Brewery and Distillery course. Your videos seem to help simplify it all. THANK YOU!

[@alanstiles650]

The suggestion from a trip to Antigua in 2019 was that the British would put rum into whatever barrels they had available, which were frequently ones that has previously held lead shot and/or gunpowder on the trip out there. Really add some sulfur tang to your rum that way!

[@MostlyInteresting]

The bottom molasses already has a ton of sulfur in it...

[@cartoonjunky9913]

This is awesome, and pirates totally loved rum. Clean drinking water wasnt always present and on demand, especially onboard ships in the ocean, so sometimes rum was literally all they had to drink. Its absolutely wild to think about.

[@ivanbluetarski9071]

the royal navy still issues sailors with a rum ration to day another fact is it was added to the ships drinking water back in the days of sail and that was what they called grog . two purposes of that was 1. keep the water some what more clean and sterile ish 2. it kept the sailors subdued and a little merry on their long voyage with out them getting rowdy if they just drank rum or beer as that was the safest thing to drink at the time i believe the cut may have been 25% rum give or take a bit

[@umbra1085]

@@ivanbluetarski9071 yeah people don't know that small but important fact, that it was used to keep water sterile.

[@mariemacfhionghuin11]

@@ivanbluetarski9071 If you were a pirate your grog was about one-third rum, in the navy it was more like one-tenth, just enough to do its job.

[@plaguepandemic5651]

Fun fact, the term "proof" comes from these days, British sailors who received rum rations often did not trust the quartermaster, whom they thought would water down the rum in order to set some extra aside for himself. So, they would put gunpowder in the rum, and if it still ignited, it meant it was undiluted and was considered "100 proof"

[@lemons1559]

​@@mariemacfhionghuin11 as a pirate it really depends on who you work for, what is available, who you are, when you are. Some captains might let you drink all you want, some might frown on any. Pirates weren't very organized, it was just an umbrella for people who maraud the seas.

[@Kghost0311]

Very nice. I have always drank sailor Jerry's spiced naval rum, learned about it during my time in the Marine corps. I will definitely be trying to make this !

[@andrewsenecal6686]

Sailor Jerry's has always been a favorite of mine.

[@Stan_L]

Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@CaptHappy-xe3yg]

Love your videos. Probably not authentic "Pirate Rhumb", but brown sugar with golden molasses, made for human consumption, 8 lbs, and a quart of Mo in 5 gallons of water, using regular red star yeast... Single run. Delicious, more caramel, no clouds. With stock molasses, use an amylase or a cup of drool to help break out flavors. As far as copper in a still, the boiling surface is also important. I'd suggest throwing in a dozen copper fittings in your pot as boiling chips. Also attaching a bubbler, or a basket filled with different fruits, vanilla, etc , can add very nice flavors. I've found that cuts deeper into the run, when left to sit, start to hint of tequila. Cheers.

[@tbjtbj4786]

I am glad you brought up skimming. My family came to fl. About 1650 with the Spanish. And some of them still grow cain and make cain syurp every year. Its been told down through the years about using the skimming to make what would be called moonshine now. But I always thought it was closer to rum. I know florida has always had rum.

[@robdog02]

moonshine broadly refers to any homemade spirit, the term comes from prohibition bootlegging days when illegal alcohol was smuggled by the light of the moon, rum can be moonshine

[@nenavguy1974]

Love these videos. Recently found your channel, but the content is amazing!!!

[@spanosspanos]

Nice work mixing in the history... very interesting and entertaining!

[@BoyDrinksWorld]

You should visit a place like Mexico where distilling with open flame is still very common place. It was eye opening and many of the things I thought I knew about distilling were turned on their heads.

[@rbales7958]

I’m 5 days into fermenting a rum myself for the first time !! Hope it turns out as good as yours. Your channel along with Barley and Hops and Bearded and Bored are all I watch to figure this stuff out !! Awesome video

[@ADRIAN-zh4ti]

How did your rum turn out?

[@hypnokev1345]

This is the first video of yours I've seen, I can't wait to see more. You are awesome, Keep it up :D

[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Love your work. Thank you for the fun conversation! Cheers!

[@jaredkornelson1864]

This ignites my want to try Rum again. I had the most terrible experience with it because I could not source bulk molasses. So I cheaped out and used livestock grade... I thought it was the bomb because of the sugar content and being pure cane molasses. However, turns out they watered it down with Canola oil... ask me how well that all went.... managed to get it into the still and that was a disaster lol

[@calebdrake3544]

oh no!

[@bobyaface3874]

I remember my first "rum" from livestock grade molasses, fermented in an open bucket with just a towel over the top. Zipped through an air still, discarding a shot glass of the first liquid to appear out the nozzle Aged for about 3 hours and then handed around to every family member present, pretty sure it was a pirate rum because everyone present told me variations of X Marks the spot and that I should take a long boat ride Thankfully I've managed to make plenty of good rums since, awesome vid, did enjoy it!

[@aquasitaday3269]

I have watched this video many times and all I can say is thank you for making this effort!!!

[@Greedman456]

Excellent video. Just discovered the channel, great stuff! Have to binge the content since I'm into discovering distilling as well

[@BEAVERDIY]

super video Jesse, awesome history lesson as well thanks. Found black strap to be a bit harsh so I normally go with one third black and the rest standard molasses. With the puke I found if you bring the still up to temp and then turn it off for 20min and back on again my still doesn't puke. Cheers love the camera work

[@GeorgeBobeck]

Was the molasses used for the rum in this video unsulphured or sulphured? Also, since 17th century molasses had a much higher sugar content, maybe using a sweet unsulphered Barbados (or light) molasses would be more authentic.

[@DareTrue]

The comment about Sulphur is mute, they have been using Sulphur since the Egyptian times to keep all sorts of things. Plus all yeasts (especially wild yeast) when making alcohol give off and add Sulphur.

[@MrGoatflakes]

I'm pretty sure unless you have an allergy to sulphur dioxide, I don't think sulphured/unsulphured is much of an issue honestly. I think the idea comes from people imagining some harm to the fermenting organism because of a shaky grasp of chemistry and the processes involved. Same as people swear black and blue that iodine in salt will make it so your pickles won't come out.. Which is to put it mildly complete bullshit. It _does_ come out which you can prove by doing it yourself. I think the person that came up with it probably imagined that "iodine" is an antiseptic, and therefore would kill the lactobacillus used to make pickles. Except 1. that's elemental iodine and not the iodide salt added to salt as a mineral supplement and 2. it's added at literally trace amounts. In the same way, claiming "sulphured molasses" will do your rum wash harm is in my view probably a myth based on misunderstanding the process. It's using sulphur dioxide to disinfect the cane itself so it doesn't go rotten before it's pressed and boiled. Sure this could a problem if you were relying on the yeasts present on the cane to ferment it. I'm sure that was or is a thing with a rhum agricole or cachaça, but that point is moot once you actually boil the cane juice to make molasses anyway. As most of the antiseptic effect is gone soon after the process is complete and it sits for any length of time, and entirely gone once you crush it and boil the bejesus out of it, as well as the boiling killing anything anyway. And it will do no more harm to the flavour than using metabisulphite to sterilise the fermentation vessels. Because the sterilisation is from the exact same chemical, sulphur dioxide released from the metabisulphite solution. All that being said, even traces of sulphur dioxide can cause anaphalactic shock in those sensitive to it. Also this is all my own opinion and reasoning, I haven't tested it. Though I have tried making pickles from iodised salt, saurkraut to be precise, and it works just fine ;)

[@MrGoatflakes]

The sulphur dioxide is a gas, so somewhat evanescent. I can detect it in dried fruit occasionally, but I have a stupidly sensitive sense of smell. Which is not a super power you should pick by there way... There's more sulphur in the cysteine, etc., in the (probably minimal) proteins in the molasses, and that's where most of the hydrogen sulphide comes from I'll bet. And in any case most of it is removed when you distil it, especially in copper. If you use stainless you'll probably catch a slight hair salon whiff even with a sugar wash, but it's not too bad if you don't boil the crap out of it. Or at least that's what I've found. But someone should definitely run the sulphured vs. unsulphured rum experiment and report back to evil genius HQ :D

[@pter7531]

@@DareTrue Mute? Jeez.

[@Ketannabis]

@@DareTrue You mean moot?

[@StephenBrown88]

This is the first of your videosI have watched and I thought you did a greta job. Keep it up!

[@B-Reel929]

These are awesome man. Found your vids a few days ago and now I've bought my first still :D

[@I_am_ENSanity]

I've gone from exclusively whiskey, then vodka, then flavored vodka, and have settled on rum for the past few years. Personally sticking with Coral Reef Golden Rum for most of my drinks and Kaniche Reserve Rum when I want to treat myself.

[@Dust_Wolf]

I may never make any of this stuff, but I cant stop watching these videos.

[@thisolddog2259]

I did a batch years ago using black strap and used ec118 yeast. After cooklng it down i ended up making a spiced rum that turned out pretty good. I did add some brown sugar if i remember correctly. I actually heard that grog was given to the sailors which was watered-down rum while the uncut stuff was reserved for officers.

[@darksky05]

I’m so glad I found your Chan. I am just just getting into brewing mead and I want to expand onto other things! Possibly distillation.

[@rubenproost2552]

I think they just used yeast from the previous batch. If you're already using leftover water from the still, why not add it to the slurry left behind after fermentation.

[@calebfrance1044]

I checked out the sponsors site and man do they have some wicked stuff!! Love the channel dude youve had me hooked from the first video I watched!

[@michag4337]

When you make rum, you make a batch how you did, save all the junk you don't distil, let it ferment for a few months and add it to the next batch you make. It makes every batch after your first taste 100x better, Tech ingredients has a whole video about this idea in their "how to make rum" set.

[@Smeltervillain420]

Thank you so much for this one buddy!!! I’m DEFINITELY doing some of this TODAY!!! I’m feeling all underdog/outlaw of sorts, so this one is a REAL BANGAHHHH!!! 🤩

[@lesliefranklin1870]

In Brazil, they make a similar liquor called cachaça (pronounced kah-shah-sah) out of sugar cane. You might look into that for some ideas.

[@baymuscle97]

I just stumbled on this video and was intrigued. You seem to be a cool dude who, like me, has a fascination with the origins of spirits. The rum you made seemed accurate based on my knowledge on the subject. I subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching more videos! Also, I am enticed with the jewelry website that you recommended. Want to get myself and my lady matching rings for our upcoming wedding and the rings shown reflect our style.

[@MercxryVEVO]

Glad I stumbled across your video. Good one

[@brianmeattey4151]

I subscribed .I love the fact that you tell history and give a good example of what it taste like and what to look for in taste as well as how to make it . So till next vid godbless and stay safe

[@webbey6479]

Wow dude I think i subscribed when you were under 1k subs and havent checked in for a while and you are at 183k awesome work and I originally joined the channel to learn about Rum making! Good work!

[@donaldbibey6097]

I’d like to see how different it would be with regular molasses.

[@jasonlambert6244]

Grade A molasses creates a much more grassy, sweet, gentler rum. Not as much caramelization. If you can get your hands on an agricole rum (made with sugar cane juice), i would highly recommend it.

[@svargr7982]

@@jasonlambert6244 This is my reply to both this comment and your other great one from the same time: I personally didn't dig the fancier grade of molasses, but I totally agree with your description. While in China, I struggled to find a reliable blackstrap supply n went with the A grade. By siphoning only the top 90% into the still, and doing a couple strips before the spirit run, I was able to eliminate some of the "plant" notes that I, and my clientele, didn't enjoy as much (I only used pot still systems in my nano distillery as I don't like using any additives nor flavorings, and thus wanted keep as much natural flavor as possible). Now living on a tropical island, I find getting the black right easy, and it sure is noticeably more to my liking. These days it's all hobby n private work, but that in itself sure is freeing. I let a dunder sit out (cheesecloth to keep the bugs out but nice n open to get the funk) and do all the fermentations open top (cheesecloth as well). Using Lalvin EC-1118 cuz shes a fine beast that handles these 28-32 degree days like a champ. Long slow over ferment is definitely a winner to me. Sure, less total volume over time, but quality trumps quantity every time, eh? Agricole, while being something I think everyone should try, just doesn't float my boat the way a dark "industriale" does. That's the beaut of it all though, to eat their own flavors ;)

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

@@jasonlambert6244 Fresh cane juice is abundant where I'm from. I'm fermenting some right now to be distilled into rum. Is the juice enough on its own? Or should I add sugar/molasses to it?

[@charleswyatt180]

Great video. Good information about rum and it origins. Thanks.

[@luisvalentin2752]

Thank you for all you doing for us

[@germansabio4745]

Great stuff. One day man, I will definitely try this....

[@Max_Flashheart]

That pirate rum was the shit. It was lit with fire and cuts were done with actual swords.

[@1014p]

Ok lol, fun joke

[@thetopshed]

😂😂😂

[@SuperFunkmachine]

But strong, the test was could you still burn gunpowder, if you could it was proof, 100 or 57% ABV+.

[@goblin9193]

Nice to see Clocks and colors stuff, and nice rum as well

[@anitarichmond8930]

Wow! I learn about rum,good job. I'm a bit of a social drinker my drink of choice these days is BUMB RUM Co & Coke with a slice of lime while listening to Calypso Rose ,The Andrew Sisters or sea shanty from the brim to the dregs, drink up boys🎵🏝🥥🍹

[@yanjuras9960]

I've learned that rum is a lot more complicated than I thought... I've added it to he (long) list of things I planning to make. Thanks for the video and I hope the family is all feeling better.

[@dire_prism]

Rum is such a nice spirit if it's good. I'm thinking I should get to know more about it because I've been disappointed when tasting (by my standards) fairly expensive rums. So many of them are sweetened too much and that definitely doesn't float my boat. I love the dry ones I've tried.

[@israelmurray8915]

Love your video! Rum has always been my favorite drink.

[@mant1fyreviews547]

This was a great video man keep it up

[@hornetscales8274]

"Did I make a historic type rum?" That's a fair question with all of the experts to consider it, but the REAL question is "Is what I did worth making more for myself and my friends?"

[@lanedagan5634]

Would be awesome to see you do a version on Bundaberg since there main ingredient is molasses too. Note: this factory double distills aswell 😉

[@eliasbram3710]

ferment and distill molasses to get rum, ferment an distill pure sugar cane juice, and you get cachaça. They are often confused with each other, but very different due to the previous sugar content and aldehydes concentration. Worth trying both if you have the opportunity

[@theshirehighlander7292]

This was so funny. You gained a Sub. Great work man.

[@jacobdeslattes3519]

Love these recipe type videos keep them coming. And start a muck pit for the next round. Lets get some Jamaican style going. If you really want to get into it look into making the ester salts with acid. HD has a good read up on it.

[@MrGoatflakes]

Williamson. Ether. Synthesis!

[@jacobdeslattes3519]

@@MrGoatflakes cousins process is what i was referring to. Don’t know if same thing or not. I have played around with it a little but never actually created the salts. I only added some sulfuric as a catalyst during spirit run with muck.

[@MrGoatflakes]

@@jacobdeslattes3519William ether synthesis is similar but uses a base. Don't know which is better...

[@jacobdeslattes3519]

@@MrGoatflakes pretty sure a base is used to get the salts to drop out of suspension at one point. Then the acid to get them back in and to bond.

[@MrGoatflakes]

@@jacobdeslattes3519 ah I see, we're talking about different things 😉

[@jesusperez3926]

I find it funny that here in Venezuela, a country with a strong Rum culture, there are zero brands with pirate themes, not even the cheaper plastic bottle stuff. Here pirates couldn't be farther away from the rum market.

[@GogiRegion]

America didn’t have a rum culture so they needed to add pirates to sell it.

[@-._MXN]

Cuba 🇨🇺 and 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico were Spanish colonies until 1898! How could he say the English kicked out the Spanish from the Caribbean?

[@nicksalve]

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to trying some rum soon.

[@ShaulRosenzweig]

I had an epiphany on rum some years ago. My wife got a bottle of pre-revolution Cuban produced dark Bacardi, it did not compute, we were in a hard situation, both emotionally and financially (covid lockdowns, there was a period of few months with 3 kids at home and zero income, it was hard), her birthday was coming up, and she got a bottle that looked disgusting, somebody old died, they were clearing the apartment, it was kind of a yard sale, bottle did not look like anything, label was all moldy, etc, in short, she got it for free. She opened it just before her birthday, we are depressed, no money, and only way to celebrate her birthday was this mouldy bottle of Bacardi. We expected it to either taste disgusting, or poison us, but what the hell... But it tasted amazing, on level of a very good whiskey. Top notch spirit. She took a picture and posted it on facebook, someone who knows his spirits answered "don't open it, you can sell it on ebay for USD 5000", but it was too late. it was already open. So we drank it slowly, enjoying every sip, over few weeks. We did not know where was our next meal coming from, and if we go outside we would be fined, etc, but we had this bottle of rum so good I did know it was possible. We survived that period, community activists were giving out food packages to help people in situation like ours, and I found a remote job, I can do from home. But religiously inclined would say, god sent us that bottle of rum to save our sanity during hardest lockdown times.

[@TheOriginalJPRU]

I love pirates and rum. I'm a sucker for marketing, and good rum, pirate theme or not.

[@twistedwrench1]

I am just into my "second gen" rum, anticipation of how reusing some backset and yeastcake are starting to get to me. Also really, really glad you are "poop shy"! Great video, always excited when release a new one

[@emillluk]

Awesome video you make the craft enjoyable fun delightful!

[@Probableloss]

I am not a historian, nor a rum aficionado, but i do how ever know how the YT algorithm works so enjoy my comment, and take my like! enjoyed the video

[@JohnSmith-gu6hf]

These historical videos are your best. Like the stories, keep them coming.

[@jerrydobbs1732]

I have made Rum from Blackstrap Molasses and I added brown sugar to up the sugar content. I ran it in a traditional still with a thumper keg and copper coil. It ran off at around 150 proof then I cut it to about 80 proof after a few weeks of sitting with charred oak and spices. It turned out a lot like Capt. Morgan's rum which I was really happy with. I wouldn't think of drinking it straight, it is best when making mixed drinks. But from what I have read about the Royal Navy (where I believe most Pirates originated from or from merchant ships) the the issue of a ration of daily rum was for the most part considered medicinal to ward off tropical diseases and scurvy. Also that it was to be diluted with water before rationing out. Of course I doubt any Pirates held to the diluting part. Something to think about is in the series Black Sails on Starz, there was a part when John Silver was going ashore to resupply food and rum, Capt. Flint says to him," less food and more Rum", He wanted the Pirates worked up when he announced that Woodes Rodgers had taken over New Providence Island, he wanted them ready to fight. So I would venture to guess that a smart Pirate Capt. knew his brothers were most ready for a fight when they were a bit tipsy and therefore knew the true value of a barrel of Rum.

[@nathandubarry7207]

this guy is a distillation genius, the way he talks about the stuff shows his knowledge about it.

[@camillosteuss]

The best rum i have ever had was the Diplomatico Rum of 2013... that was such a marvelous rum when i first tried it in 2016 that i returned the same day and bought 2 bottles... i found 3 more bottles of the same vintage through out the years, but its getting rare... Its the nicest alcoholic beverage i have ever had, hands down... Nothing else compares with that fullness and royally rich flavour and aroma... And it really goes amazingly well with a good pipe or a cigar if you are a smoker, or even a great pack of cigarettes like those specialty tobacco blends and such...

[@midweststlllc]

Hey Jess, Just a few tips. The next time you do a rum wash try some evaporated cane juice with the molasses. Makes a big difference in the fermentation and the finish product. Also when doing a stripping run go ahead and pull a bit of for-shots just for fun. This makes the cuts a bit easier on the the finish run. I tend to go for just hearts on my final run with Rum and its worth it. Store in whatever container you want (I use stainless milk containers) and just add some American white oak toasted (French Style) with a # 3 char and let rest for 16 weeks min and up to as many years as you can wait for it. Trust me this is the best thing you can do for Rum. Enjoy

[@razorback0z]

I also added 2L of fresh pinapple juice to my 30L wash. Added a nice tropical edge and the yeast rollover method I was using enjoyed the higher acid environment.

[@vtbn53]

A) pretty sure he mentioned that he doesn't have access to cane juice (no sugar can in NZ), B) he also mentioned that historical rum wasn't aged C) you seem to have completely missed the point of the video - no offence meant, he has other rum videos where he goes through your processes.

[@casper14301]

@@vtbn53 yeah he completely missed the point of the video.

[@monto313]

interested to know what your yield was from that wash with just the molasses and no other sugars added?

[@SailingInfidels]

Good video! And I should know, I am a Sailing Infidel! As the name implies, I am somewhat pirate-ish. We live, sail, and make rum aboard our sailboat, here in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. We haven't made a video particularly about making our "Spirit of the Infidel", but I promise you there is one coming. Anyway, just wanted to chime in that we don't use Black Strap Molasses, we use only Fancy Molasses (when we can get it) or Piloncillo. Raw sugar cones, straight from the cane. Cheers!

[@rahullal5916]

Refreshing to hear that familiar accent. Great video bro! I'll be tuning in to the others

[@deathruddlesdeathruddles5438]

Nice vid dude. I've seen a lot of talk about hogo when looking at high end rums. Can you cover hogo, what it is and where it might come across in the distilling?

[@MrJhchrist]

I gotchu fam, hogo head here. Hogo is most associated with Jamaican rums and often comes across to a modern palette as "fruity funk". It's almost certainly entirely due to carboxylic acids and esters (an alcohol + a carboxylic acid = an ester). Other than acids produced in any fermentation they come 4 main sources 1. from dunder, like Jesse used here which concentrates and recycles acids from previous batches 2. "muck" which is dunder that has been infected by bacteria that produce acids like butyric or proprionic 3. Cane vinegar (acetic acid) was widely available and commonly used 4. Long, wild fermentations like Jesse sorta did by adding more days than necessary and not being sterile. Less likely and probably apocryphal would be stories of adding goat heads, rotten fruits, actual poop, etc. Some distilleries may use crude chemical means to concentrate and tailor acid supplementation say by mixing lime with dunder or muck to make salts which can then be stored and added to batches as desired (This is definitely feasible and known science but the extent to which any commercial distillery does it is unknown but probably rare/nonexistent) Anyway, ester chemistry always exists on a shifting continuum from pure acids and acohols to pure esters. You know acetic acid (vinegar), butyric is pukey, proprionic is sweaty, capric and capryllic are goat must etc. Basically any hint of a carboxyllic acid is some kind of rotten death funk. But the esters they can make are pure fruit bombs, pear, banana, pineapple, razzberry, even just "rum" or "brandy" etc and obviously a good rum will end up at equilibrium further to ester side of the continuum than the acid side. Distillery practices push the reaction one way, like all the reboiling in copper from recycling dunder and muck. Or the long boil times especially in copper double thumper stills, and the associated recycling of ethanol and fusel alcohol rich off cuts back to the thumpers. Several esters at high concentration shift from being fruity to solvent or glue like. In terms of where it comes across in a still, the fruity and solventy esters come over early from fores to hearts while creamy or waxy esters come over later. Raw acids come over mostly later, but also come with any pukes or entrained droplets throughout the run. But remember the reaction equilibrium can go both ways so you may easily distill esters early but have them later break down into the component acids and alcohols, or even react and mix n match with other esters (transesterification) so an over simplified model is only good for general discussion not definitive prediction. TL/DR; simply put Hogo comes from acids, esters and specific distillery practices and taste rummy and fruity (most often banana and pineapple) with hints of "funk" and fuel.

[@deathruddlesdeathruddles5438]

@@MrJhchrist bloody hell! What an answer mate! Haha. Fantastic information, you gave information I didn't even know I wanted to know. So hogo is a rotten fruit smell, a collection of esters (fruit) and rotten (acids)... one more question. What's your favorite hogo rum?

[@MrJhchrist]

@@deathruddlesdeathruddles5438 LOL, I love them all and could never pick a favorite! Rum fire? Doctor Bird? Hampden Estate's pure single? The smooth creamy day old banana of Wray overproof? TBH, my palette chronically exceeds my pocketbook so I'd probably choose one of my own. A mix of 25% "butter rum" recipe from the homedistiller forum and 75% of an all molasses with lots of rotten muck and a long ferment is mind blowing. As cheap as bacardi, yet not available anywhere at any price.

[@deathruddlesdeathruddles5438]

@@MrJhchrist Hi Dude, had a little look at different recommendations on Hogo Rums, possibly a bit safe, but I'm going to start with Plantation xaymaca special dry and see if I like that...

[@MrJhchrist]

@@deathruddlesdeathruddles5438 Very safe in terms of that is a very pleasant rum. It is pretty mild in hogo terms so keep that in mind, it's probably a quarter of "hogoness" of some others. Hogo does vary from distillery to distillery too, xaymaca is blended from Clarendon and Long Pond rums so for your next bottle you might shoot for something from worthy park or hampden. Cheers.

[@manicmedic6409]

The shape and set up of your still greatly affects the flavor of rum. I’ve made the same recipe and put it through different set ups and shapes of stills and the flavor keeps changing. The story goes Bacardi Rum when they get a new still has a team that hits it with hammers so each dent is replicated from the old still to the new one.

[@MrTommyholm]

The same story goes around for a Scotch distillery...cant recall which one though ;-)

[@pietsnot1958]

As far as I know Bacardi just uses massive stainless steel continuous stills. Nothing “craft” about that and definetely no hammers involved. In my opinion Bacardi can’t even be called rum..

[@xXCREEKSTARXx]

@@pietsnot1958 yeah bacardi isnt even good when its aged for years lol

[@kriegdeathrider7805]

Lol ya that's not true the shape of the still don't change anything ethier it's the placebo effect or your making some really inconsistent runs

[@RJB510]

I read an article on a Scottish still maker who builds them for major distilleries and they said that the rumours about denting them to be exactly the same as the last ones that are being replaced is absolutely false. With the money that these distilleries pay, there's no way that they'll purposefully damage them.

[@coleparker]

The best rum I had was on the Island of Roatan off the Honduras in the mid 70s. This was before it became the retirement community as it is today. Not only was it homemade, but the Island historically was a pirate island, with the remains of a fort being located on a small cay in the middle of the Lagoon in Port Royal as they called it.

[@keeponprayingdaron2368]

I am not a "drinker" per se, but now and again I want a shot of something, in summer "dog days" a beer is in order. Just seems to refresh. But it is 1 shot, one beer. An occasional glass or two of wine. Yet, I enjoy your show. For whatever reason. So, thank you!

[@adamw2785]

You HAVE to turn a bit of that into Grog, like just make a glass of it. Grog was invented to allow the crew to drink, but also stretch that rum out for the entire voyage.

[@xXCREEKSTARXx]

Also to kill unwanted bacteria in shitty old water 😄

[@davidkelly5459]

And the crew didn’t get as drunk as straight rum.

[@webtoedman]

When lemon or lime juice began to be issued as a preventive against scurvy, it was mixed in with the grog. Refuse lime juice = no grog.

[@beneehayah4401]

Book: Sugar Blues Great historical perspective on the sugar control syndicates and its structure. Have you tried Black Sugar? Cane Juice that has the water boiled off. What remains is a sugar that contains everything, molasses, vitamins, minerals and is as hard as a brick. A first press evaporated cane juice with nothing but water temoved. Mexicans call it piancillo. India and Thailand have there names for this sugar.

[@alexboehmer6888]

Rum has always been my favorite, my addiction to brown sugar and molasses makes me love it so so much, and with that I do agree it’s hard to find good rum that hits those notes and I’m happy to see how it’s made

[@stevelee5724]

Good one mate. Cheers from Cambridge up in the Waikato.