UK Rum newbie

[Guyd 0]

Hello from the UK

 

Im an engineer by education, now 'do' property - and rather like a spiced rum, so thought I'd have a go. No previous experience, but im quite analytical.

 

attempt #1 was a bloody disaster.....but Ill start a Rum thread not discuss my uselessness here ;)

 

[JORDAN 0]

Hello nice to meet you 

 

[Hammer Spring 2]

Is this "the rum thread" or is it happening somewhere else?  Hammer Spring is 2+ years in with potato vodka, and a tremendously successful gin and just a few months away from cracking our first bourbon barrel we started a while back.  Last summer I did a one-off batch of rum, and the silver version wasn't very good (in my opinion), but after a while in a 15-gal re-purposed whiskey barrel it turned out alright. We sold all 75 bottles in a few weeks.  Now I've done another rum that I'm going to experiment with a re-charred barrel (of my own doing, boy that was fun!!), just for kicks.  But I'm going to have about 10 gallons of silver rum left after I fill the barrel and I'd like to try a dark, like a black-strap rum, and maybe a spiced versions.  What the heck goes into a dark rum?  Do you just add molasses, or other stuff?  I've heard nightmarish stories about "dunder" and other atrocities that supposedly go into it that seem more fit for a Jules Verne story... any advice, or links?
Cheers!

JP