This is the first batch of rum you should make! My tried and true all-molasses rum recipe!

[@d28picker]

You remind me so much of one of my aunts back in North Carolina. Thanks to my grandpa and uncles, that lady could make a run of some of the best liquor in those mountains, always very sought after! Thank you for carrying on the art! Great job!!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thanks so much!!

[@StillnTheClear]

3:45 Uh oh😔 I used straight feed stock molasses from the feed store for my last rum.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

How did it turn out with the feedstock molasses? Have you tried using baking grade?

[@ddmplynx]

As someone who has recently taken to reading about rum and listening to podcasts to it etc. with some very minimal homebrewing (and zero distilling) experience, I'm loving this channel. So informative! Thanks for sharing this stuff.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thanks so much! I'm happy to hear you find it informative!!

[@davidstephens5046]

Thanks!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thank you!!

[@StillFunBrewing]

Loving the content. I’m finishing a rum right now with my Muk and on a whim added some blueberry mountain brandy Dunder mid fermentation. I may have it finished up in a couple weeks.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

I can’t wait to hear how that turns out! I bet it’s going to be really interesting!!

[@cardinalverigo]

just ordered a gallon of golden barrel baking molasses on ebay, gonna order a rum yeast too , thansk for the inspiration robin..will be my first time ...

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Amazing! I've used Golden Barrel and you should get ~11% ABV wash. It's tasty! Good luck!! Let me know how it turns out!

[@cardinalverigo]

@@RobynSmithPhD Came out exactly as you said...11% abv on 18 litres. Took 3 days to ferment on angel yeast, managed to make 1.8 litres of 40% abv spirit on a double pot which I turned into an all spice and then oaked it ... thanks for the inspiration Robyn...!!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

@@cardinalverigo Amazing!!

[@Succumbed2Rum]

Nice starter recipe! I have a panela wash I'm going to run this week. The wash smells great (chocolate , caramel, apples) and fermented dry in 4 days. Have you ever tried panela?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

That sounds great! It’s been a handful of years since I’ve done a panela wash! I’d love to do a side-by-side tasting of distillate made the same exact way on the same still just with varying sugars… that’ll be a fun experiment to run one day!

[@the_nothing]

You convinced me over on Patreon, but I went and made this today (and now I'm seeing this video). I had some M02 yeast that needed to be used, so I made a good yeast bomb with that, and then topped off with some regular ol' instant yeast. M02 should give some fruity esters since it's a cider yeast.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Amazing!! I'm excited to hear how it turns out!

[@glleon80517]

Thanks for the recipe! Rum was my first recipe and I was too ignorant to use yeast nutrient. Why do you wait 2 days before adding nutrient? Very clear presentation of an easy to use recipe, thanks!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

I wait until the yeast is well in its growth phase, but honestly, I don’t see why you couldn’t add it sooner. I’ve also done some batches where I waited until fermentation starts to slow/stall and then added the nutrients. I wouldn’t recommend that though, but adding nutrients helped fermentation speed back up!

[@lawrencestanley8989]

Wow, I've been doing basically the same recipe you've presented here for years, and I've been making my hearts cut between about 80% - 60% ABV on a single distillation.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thats amazing! What type of still do you have?

[@lawrencestanley8989]

@@RobynSmithPhD I use the 5-gallon copper kit from Clawhammer Supply. It's about as basic as you can get, but it works fantastic. I pack the column with glass marbles and direct a small fan onto it to help with reflux. I love flavors in my rum, and with the wash recipe you're using, the hearts cut I take is heavy in molasses flavor, and just a hint of fake fruity.

[@stephenclifford3971]

That recipe sounds about right. I did a safety net with dark brown sugar to not detract too much from the molasses notes. Would love to hear about your thoughts on yeast strains that might help bring some funk into the rum!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

I think the best way to add the most funk is to do spontaneous fermentation... unfortunately for small-batch distillers, that means veryyyy low yield. I'm hoping to do some experimentation soon with various yeast strains to see how I can add more funky flavors without sacrificing yield, but in the meantime, I'd say look into various brewing strains that are known for producing high amounts of esters! Here are some examples: Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale - This strain produces high levels of fruity esters like pear and apple without significant phenolic character. WLP645 Brettanomyces Claussenii (White Labs) - A Brettanomyces strain that produces subtle fruity esters without the barnyard character associated with other Brett strains. Fermentis Safale K-97 - Known for producing clean and fruity esters, making it a good choice for emphasizing fruity notes in rum without phenolic overtones. Lalvin 71B-1122 - This strain was isolated and selected for its ability to produce a high level of esters (isoamyl acetate). Lalvin QA23 - It produces aromatic esters and thiols, enhancing fruity and floral notes without significant phenolic characteristics. Lalvin ICV D47 - Produces esters and higher alcohols that contribute to complex and fruity aromas.

[@stephenclifford3971]

@@RobynSmithPhD 71B is a fun one with mead. It loves to completely disregard its alcohol tolerances. QA23 is great with the acerglyns(maple syrup/honey mead.) it passes on the terpenes from the maple syrup and does a nice fun job accenting it. D47 in a blueberry mead gives it a fresh baked blueberry muffin note. The first couple I have not tried so I will definitely have to give them a go around. I will try them in a mead and then I will see what fun characteristic will come about in a mead and then concoct a wash that will be a fun rum to do! Thats for the yeast suggestions!

[@JethroCramp]

Hello, Why do you wait two days before adding the nutrients?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Awesome question! I like to wait until the yeast are very active to help give them a nutrient boost, but I don't see why you couldn't add them at the beginning of fermentation.

[@JethroCramp]

@RobynSmithPhD - I enjoy your videos - thanks for making them. I'm based in Thailand. We have a small craft distillery where we are developing some molasses based white rums. We put our nutrients in at the beginning as within 72 hours the alcohol producing stage is all but over. Now I need to find a way to buy one of your bottles and get it to Asia!

[@RobynSmithPhD]

@@JethroCramp That's so great! What is your distillery called? It makes sense that you would add your nutrients right away with that fast of a fermentation. I wish I was able to ship outside of California, but the best way to get bottles to Asia is to fly to LA and pick-up bottles 😄

[@JethroCramp]

@@RobynSmithPhD haha. When I have enough air miles I'll think about flying over to collect a bottle. Sending alcohol internationally is such a pain. At least as a producer we can do it, but it's a ton of paperwork and taxes every time. The distillery is called Kilo Spirits. Website is pretty basic atm and will get an upgrade with the rum on it later this year.

[@ThailandThomas]

Thanks I will give it a try. Sounds great. Couple of question, do you like to hold your fermentation to a set temperature. Are you using a standard pot still or a retort pot still?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Awesome! Let me know how it turns out!

[@rickmaldoo4205]

Cool hobby😊

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thanks!! It is!

[@johnford2884]

double pot stilled. Do you do a stripping run? then add the distillate back into the wash and run again?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Yup! I do a stripping run and a spirit run, where just the low wines go into the still for the spirit run.

[@johnford2884]

@@RobynSmithPhD With the wash that is in the pot from the stripping run? Or do you temp down to 80 proof and run it?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

@@johnford2884 I don't add any water to proof it down. First, I put the wash in the pot for a stripping run. What comes off the still is my low wines and I keep running the still until my low wines are at around 35% ABV (sometimes I'll go even lower). Then I empty the still, add in the low wines, and do a spirit run. The spirit I collect is at about 75% ABV. Does that clear things up?

[@johnford2884]

Do you adjust the ph?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

@@johnford2884 Nope! I haven't needed to!

[@terrybaldwin1182]

Very close to my recipe and technique, I buy 2 Gal of Unsulfered molasses, make 3 washes from it... 8 lbs per 6 gal wash, difference in mine is, That I add Dark brown sugar, To raise my SG to 1.090... And GFS is my go to supplier for Molasses... Keep up the great Rum content...

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thanks so much! I haven't ordered from GFS before. What grade is their molasses?

[@terrybaldwin1182]

@@RobynSmithPhD Robyn, GFS ( Gordon's Food Service ) Sells Grandma's & Nature's Select brands amongst a few others, I use the Natures Select, It is packaged under the Barkman Products name... Pure Unsulfered Cane sugar.. Could not find a grade on it... Thank's for all you do....

[@johnford2884]

Do you add any enzymes to this wash?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Nope! Just molasses, water, yeast, and a little bit of nutrients.

[@theghostofsw6276]

Could you possibly use EC-1118 (champagne) yeast?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Yeah, absolutely! I’d be interested in what flavors would come forward!

[@GnikWoc]

Hi! What's your yield on 5 gallons of wash?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

That'll depend on the strength of the wash, the efficiency of the still, and the cuts I make. For my 5-gal batches, I typically collect a little over 1/2 gallon (~0.6 gal) of spirit at 70% ABV.

[@richardhenderson9127]

So where would a person find your rum or is it even available?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

It is available! You can check out my website for more info and order from Dead of Night's website... keep in mind we can only ship to California addresses! www.rumetaliae.com/ www.deadofnightdistillery.com/store

[@richardhenderson9127]

@@RobynSmithPhD I'm in Arkansas so it's a no go. Lol

[@ebjamville]

No dunder?

[@RobynSmithPhD]

For a straightforward, foolproof recipe, I'd say no dunder. It can vary a lot from distiller to distiller and adds a potential layer of difficulty. Plus, the dunder needs to come from somewhere! This recipe makes good dunder!

[@l0tus4life]

👍👍👍

[@tomsubsailor7314]

Interesting, but how do you, me, or anyone else get past the not being able to distill spirits at home legally? I would love to try but everything I see says I can't in the US.

[@joshuagoodsell9330]

Don't sell, don't tell 👌 the government doesn't have the resources to bust every guy who's making a little tipple for himself and his buddies.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Home distilling is legal in some states, however, it's illegal at the federal level. I'd suggest starting with home brewing! It's a fun hobby that's adjacent to distilling and it's legal... it's funny how many differences there actually are between brewers and distillers though. Distillers are a lot less clean (haha), but I think there are a lot of great skills that you can learn home brewing!

[@tipsandknowledge-wz7rd]

Awesome, your videos are very nice, and very informative videos but the videos are not reaching your target audience, if you want, I can share some tips to grow your KZbin channel.

[@RobynSmithPhD]

Thanks so much!

[@tipsandknowledge-wz7rd]

@@RobynSmithPhDif want you, We can talk about it