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Sugar cane syrup vs. molasses


AndrosGold

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Hi all, 

 

Is anyone out there making rum with cane syrup instead of molasses? If so, any plus/minus to the cane syrup? I'm aware of shelf stability and all that in regards to molasses, but are there any other significant kickers to cane syrup vs. molasses? Much appreciated!

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I had the pleasure of working with cane syrup some years ago. The distillate it yields is DELICIOUS! I'm not well versed in rum, but I found it less petrol-y if that makes any sense. The sweetness really carries over nicely. I think it is prohibitively expensive when compared to molasses, though. Really made an unforgettable spirit. 

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Yes @bluestar, I'm not looking to do Rhum agricole primarily. I may do a small batch to create a seperate product, but I'm mostly going to be pressing the cane juice, then creating a syrup from the juice with big kettles/cookers. I'm aware that it may not be a necessary step, seeing as I will already have fresh cane juice and could easily make rhum agricole at that point, but it's the approach that I'm looking for in regards to profile from the distillate. 

 

There's plenty out there in the way of describing rhum agricole vs. rum from molasses, but i'm mostly interested in rum from molasses vs rum from cane syrup.

 

Any additional thoughts? 

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8 hours ago, AndrosGold said:

Yes @bluestar, I'm not looking to do Rhum agricole primarily. I may do a small batch to create a seperate product, but I'm mostly going to be pressing the cane juice, then creating a syrup from the juice with big kettles/cookers. I'm aware that it may not be a necessary step, seeing as I will already have fresh cane juice and could easily make rhum agricole at that point, but it's the approach that I'm looking for in regards to profile from the distillate. 

There's plenty out there in the way of describing rhum agricole vs. rum from molasses, but i'm mostly interested in rum from molasses vs rum from cane syrup.

Any additional thoughts? 

Yes, of course. I actually like some of the rhum agricole, with their herbaceousness. I haven't liked most of the syrup-produced rums I have tried. Some of the Guatemalan rums are produced that way. None of the craft rums of that type have impressed me, but admittedly, 1) I haven't tried many, and 2) I am a fan of rums with strong molasses-derived flavors, like Jamaican and Barbados.

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  • 1 year later...
On 2/29/2020 at 7:15 AM, AndrosGold said:

I will already have fresh cane juice and could easily make rhum agricole.

I know this doesn't address your question but having access to fresh cane juice is not that common in the US so I would definitely explore that as an options for its relative uniqueness and as it would reduce your time and expense of processing the cane juice into syrup.

It is possible you will not like the spirit profile your cane and environment creates but as you may know not all agricole has a pronounced herbaceous character like the French rums from Martinique etc. there are some coming out of Mexico that have a very rich, fruity profile with a strong flavor or fresh cane.

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Consider blending sugar sources to dial in your rum flavor profile.

There is no rule that rum needs to be made from a single sugar type.  Think of it like building a grain mash bill.

Keep on mind that as sugar technology has improved, the quality of molasses has declined.  Older molasses would have had a far higher fermentable sugar content, less ash.  Something to be said for replicating a profile that gets you closer to evaporated cane syrup.

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