The first and main association with rum is, of course, pirates. In all films and books, corsairs always drank rum and ate it with corned beef.

So it was in fact - pirates and slave traders loved a strong drink made from sugar cane molasses, because it was the best alcohol in the Caribbean and a profitable commodity.

In Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rica and other islands, they made rum according to their own recipes and did not share secrets. The subtleties of the recipe are still kept secret and this is the first of the reasons why moonshine rum can only be imitation remotely reminiscent of the true taste and aroma.

Main raw material - sugarcane- people have been cultivating since ancient times. "Honey reed" has been cultivated since prehistoric times in China and India, and 300 years before the new era it was brought to Europe by Macedonian warriors.

Europeans have not yet learned how to make sugar, so they quickly appreciated the sweet plant, they began to grow it on the Mediterranean coast and islands. Only after that sugar cane came to America and it turned out that on the tropical islands the plant grows up to five meters in a year and the local population enthusiastically began to cultivate it.

The idea to turn sweet cane molasses into alcohol came to someone's bright mind only in the 17th century, this fateful event took place on the island of Barbados, therefore rum was first called barbados water- Barbados water.

In a nutshell, the manufacturing technology can be described as follows: molasses (a by-product of sugar production) is mixed with water, special yeast is added, fermented and distilled.

Rum alcohol is diluted with water to approximately 55% vol. and aged in barrels for at least five years. Complex reactions of fermentation products with oxygen, aromatic and tannins give rise to a burning drink with a specific and bright aroma.

A favorable climate and active colonization contributed to the spread of sugar cane in the New World, and with it the rum. For a couple of hundred years, Europeans changed America - sugar plantations appeared here and people learned how to drive good, the British, Spaniards, French and Portuguese improved the recipe.

Before the start of the Revolutionary War, every American, including women and children, accounted for more than 13 liters of rum per year, alcohol was traded with other countries. To produce such volumes and satisfy the demand for sugar in Europe, slaves from Africa were brought to the Caribbean plantations.

Trade and a continuous flow of labor connected the three continents. It can be said that the American Revolution was provoked by the "sugar" law of 1764, adopted by the Parliament of England and breaking off profitable trade relations.

On long voyages, instead of quickly rotting fresh water, sailors took rum, wine and beer with them. Pirates were also interested in a hot commodity, so rum was never transferred on ships and brought excellent income.

Strong alcohol was first drunk in its pure form, and from the middle of the XIII century. began to dilute it with water and lemon juice to keep the team alive. Until 1970, this drink was part of the daily ration on the ships of the Royal Navy of Great Britain.

Classic technology:

1. Machetes cut sugar cane.
2. Sugar is made from the upper part, and the lower part is crushed, the juice is squeezed out under pressure, filtered and sweet molasses is obtained.
3. Treacle is filled oak barrels, add yeast.
4. After fermentation, it is distilled and a strong aromatic distillate is obtained.

Rum alcohol in the future, each brings to the condition according to own recipe. The taste of the finished drink depends on the material from which the container is made, additives and exposure time. The best varieties last 5 to 7 years, when aged from one to two years, alcohol is considered old, and young is prepared for 6‒18 months. Often rum is blended, water is brought to a fortress of about 42% vol. and bottled.

The best moonshine rum recipes at home

If you like rum and decide to reproduce it at home, you will be disappointed - it is unlikely that you will be able to repeat the taste and aroma without cane molasses.

Homemade alcohol resembles pirate joy very conditionally, it can be called fantasies on the topic.

You can replace cane molasses with beetroot, and burnt sugar and cane juice, if you get it, also do a good job.

The second main ingredient is yeast, you will also need clean water and charcoal for purification, and double-distilled sugar distillate.

It makes no sense to buy expensive cane sugar - this will not affect the result in any way. Repetition classical technology manufacturing without raw materials also does not work.

The only way to get closer to the taste - use of essences, burnt sugar and oak chips, or infusion in an oak barrel.

How to make "lazy" rum with essence?

The easiest way to make homemade alcohol is by adding rum essence, caramel for coloring, and flavorings to pure moonshine.

Ingredients:

• liter strong moonshine double distillation;
• about five drops of liquid rum essence;
• a glass of purified water;
• 250 grams of sugar;
• flavor essence can be chosen according to taste, pineapple, mango, almond, cinnamon, etc.

Cooking:

1. Burn a spoonful of sugar to paint over the moonshine.
2. Mix the rest of the sugar with water and cook a thick syrup.
3. Dissolve the essence in the cooled syrup, add burnt sugar. Essences should be no more than 30 grams.
4. Mix syrup with moonshine.

You can bring the taste by insisting on bark or pine nuts. After 5-7 days, moonshine will be colored and acquire woody notes.

Homemade pineapple rum

Ingredients:

• One pineapple.
• Two liters of moonshine.
• About 100 g of burnt sugar.

Cooking:

1. Cut off the rind from the pineapple, chop the pulp.
2. Mix pineapple with moonshine and leave for at least 14 days.
3. Filter alcohol, add sugar, mix and leave for a day.

Making rum from grapefruit on moonshine

Andingredients:

• Three liters of strong moonshine.
• Half a medium sized grapefruit.
• 100 grams of white raisins.

Cooking:

1. Remove the peel from the grapefruit, peel the slices from the white film.
2. Fill the pulp with grains with moonshine, add raisins and leave for 14-15 days.
3. Filter and bottle.

The taste of alcohol will be pleasant, with fruity notes.

Pirate drink with prunes and herbs

More complicated recipe requiring some skills. Alcohol will turn out delicious if you take your time and follow the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Half a liter of strong moonshine double distillation.
• 1-2 pieces of dried or dried prunes.
• A tablespoon of chopped dry apple twigs along with leaves.
• A few oak chips (about 25 g), it is undesirable to use the bark.
• 12 pine nuts.
• 20-25 grams of oak chips (bark is not recommended).
• 10-15 milliliters of caramel syrup.
• 12 pieces of pine nuts.
• A teaspoon of dried flowers or chicory herb.
• A teaspoon of dry St. John's wort, sweet clover, sage, yarrow.
• A pinch of cardamom, clover and bison.

Cooking:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in glass jar and fill with moonshine.
2. Close the jar with a tight lid and send for two weeks in a cool room. Shake every day.
3. Strain, remove oak chips and prunes, and leave the rest for another week.
4. Filter through several layers of cheesecloth. Add sugar if needed.
5. Dip a few oak chips in alcohol and leave for another month. Shake periodically.
6. Strain the alcohol through a filter, bottle and refrigerate for a couple of days to stabilize the color and flavor.

Moonshine captain's rum recipe

This drink tastes close to the original, its color is reminiscent of rum.

Ingredients:

• Liter of 50-degree purified moonshine.
• 10 ml caramel syrup.
• 100 g sugar.
• A teaspoon of oak bark.
• A pinch of ground nutmeg and cinnamon (at the tip of a knife).
• By teaspoon ground coffee and melissa.
• Two large prunes.
• 2-3 cloves.

Cooking:

1. Pour prunes, coffee, oak bark and caramel into moonshine in a glass jar and leave for a week. Shake every day to color the alcohol evenly.
2. After 7 days, filter, add spices and lemon balm and leave for another 10-12 days. Shake the jar periodically.
3. cook sugar syrup, cool and pour into a jar of alcohol. Stir and let it brew for 7-8 days.
4. Filter through cotton and cheesecloth, bottle and refrigerate for a couple of days to stabilize.

None of the recipes will achieve an alcohol equal to rum without cane molasses, special bacteria and complex distillation. Manufacturers are in no hurry to share secrets, but their knowledge would still not replace raw materials that are inaccessible in our latitudes.

What famous drink is made from this plant? How else is this plant used? The history of the drink and got the best answer

Answer from Ekaterina Kaloshina (Lapitskaya)[guru]
In former times, rum was the favorite drink of pirates, robbers and slave traders. The birthplace of the drink is located in the Caribbean Sea Greater and Lesser Antilles - Jamaica, Matinique, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In addition to sugar, rum is the most important export commodity for these states. Produced on different islands, it differs in flavor and aroma. The secrets and subtleties of making the drink are kept in the strictest confidence, although it is known that the main raw material for fermentation is sticky molasses, which is a residual product of sugar production from sugar cane.
Mankind has been cultivating sugar cane since ancient times. The Persians of Darius called him "reed that gives honey." It was cultivated in ancient India and ancient China. The soldiers of Alexander the Great brought it to Europe 300 BC. e. Here, sugar cane was appreciated, as it was an alternative to the only sweet at that time - honey. Cane began to be cultivated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The Spaniards and the Portuguese established his plantations on canary islands, Madeira Islands, Cape Verde. And only then, having been mastered in Europe, sugarcane made a journey to the new world, being, thus, one of the few plants that came from Europe to America.
The Antilles have become a real paradise for sugar cane: a year after planting, it reaches a height of 4-5 meters here. Having found the best conditions for itself on these islands, sugar cane spread to all tropical countries within one or two centuries.
The first mention of rum comes from the missionary Father Tertre. After returning to France in 1657, he wrote a book, A General History of the Antilles Settled by the French, in which he described a new alcoholic drink.
Rum was first produced at the beginning of the 17th century on the island of Barbados. It is no coincidence that rum was at first called Barbados water, that is, "Barbados water". As for the name "rum", it comes from the word rumbullion, which in one of the dialects of the English language means noise, excitement.
Rum is a strong and very peculiar drink. It is made from molasses (black or light molasses)obtained during the production of sugar from sugar cane. Molasses is diluted with water, then fermented with a special race of yeast, after which the mash is distilled and rum alcohol is obtained. Alcohol is diluted to 50-55%, poured into oak barrels and kept for at least 5 years at a temperature of 18-22 °C.
At this time, complex biochemical processes take place in the rum. They involve not only by-products of cane molasses fermentation and alcohol aromatics, but also the tannins of the oak from which the barrel is made, and necessarily the oxygen of the air. sugarcane juice. The strength of the drink is 39-40 degrees.
In Brazil, cachaça is considered the national drink and there is a clear distinction between hacienda cachaca and factory-made cachaca. The factory one is more often exported, but it is the kasha from the hacienda that is valued higher.
Cachaca, by the way, is rightly considered the progenitor of rum, even called Brazilian rum, because the distillation of sugar cane juice in Brazil began much earlier than in the Caribbean they began to subject cane molasses to the same process. The Jews who brought the distillation technology to Brazil fled the Inquisition in the Caribbean, where the alcohol made from sugar cane began to be called rum.
In Brazil, sugar cane is used to make gasoline.

Answer from ravchik[guru]
rum

Answer from [email protected] [guru]
It's still sugar cane (I thought bamboo). And sugar cane "participate" in the production of rum. Rum is a strong and very peculiar drink. It is made from molasses (black or light molasses)obtained during the production of sugar from sugar cane.
The technology for the production of rum was probably discovered on the island of Barbados in the 17th century. Cane plantation slaves discovered that molasses could be fermented into a must and then distilled into a strong alcoholic drink.
No one knows exactly where the word "rum" came from. According to the popular version, it comes from the English rumbullion - turmoil, commotion. It is also possible that this is an abbreviated version of the word rummers - this was the name of the glasses used by the Dutch sailors. Nowadays, the name of the drink is spelled differently depending on the place of its release. In English-speaking countries it is rum, in Spanish-speaking countries it is ron, and in French-speaking countries it is rhum.
Today, the main production of rum is concentrated in the Caribbean. This strong alcoholic drink is also produced in North and South America, Australia, India, Europe and other places.
Of course, sugar is also made from sugar cane.

It is made from polyethylene.
An alcoholic drink Cachaca is made from cane, (cachaca) - nothing more than a distillate of sugar cane mash; caperinha - not a "variety local vodka", and the analogue of daiquiri is a cocktail of cachaca with lime, sugar and ice; and batida is a cocktail of fruit juices with cachaca.
Cachaca, like rum, is made both in constant cycle columns and in traditional pot stills. Just like rum, it is made from molasses and pure sugar cane juice or from a mixture of juice and molasses. And just as with rum, pot still-distilled 100% cane juice products are much smaller (and more expensive) than column-distilled molasses cachaças. True, unlike rum, cachaca is not subjected to aging, going on sale absolutely "fresh".
Cachaça is one of the world's best-selling alcoholic beverages. The multi-million population of Brazil itself drinks a lot. In addition, in recent years, the export of cachaça has grown a lot (probably thanks to tourists who evoke memories of fantastic Brazil) - in Europe this drink is not difficult to find in shops and bars. There is only one cachaca brand in the duty free network so far - Pitu.

In short: Don't mix alcoholic drinks: this unnecessarily burdens the body's purification systems and significantly worsens the morning hangover. However, if the drinks are made from the same raw materials: for example, only from grain alcohol or only from grape alcohol, then the consequences of mixing will be less dangerous.

Which alcoholic drinks can be mixed and which can't

As the famous film said, "don't mix vodka with port." The point is those minor impurities that are almost always present in drinks: different raw materials give different impurities, which increases the versatility of the load on the systems. body detoxification.

The following are the main types of alcohols: try to avoid mixing, for example, grape wine and tequila derived from agave. Conversely, connoisseurs say that grape wine and cognac can be mixed. Another thing is that, alas, low-quality cognac is diluted with rectified grain alcohol: it is almost impossible to distinguish it in taste, but it hits your health very hard in the morning.

Also, read the separate article Alcoholic cocktails from the point of view of modern medicine”, to find out what else is not recommended to mix alcohol with, and which cocktails, on the contrary, will help you feel more cheerful the next morning.

What are alcohols by type and origin

Today a large number of ethyl alcohol is obtained by hydration of ethylene, hydrolysis of plant materials and from acetylene. The crude alcohol obtained as a result of fermentation after distillation is called rectified, it contains 95.5%. Absolute alcohol (100%) is obtained by removing water from the rectified product with sodium metal, hydride, calcium oxide or azeotropic distillation with benzene.

Depending on the raw material, alcohol is divided into food and technical. The type of alcohol depends on the raw materials used in its production, as well as on the degree of purification (rectification).

Edible alcohol is made only from food raw materials, mainly from cereals, sugar beet, sugar molasses, fruits, berries and potatoes. The latter is the cheapest type of raw material.

Technical alcohol is obtained from wood or petroleum products subjected to acid hydrolysis. Technical alcohol contains an increased amount harmful impurities, it is prohibited to use it for food purposes.

The components of high-quality alcohol are raw materials, production technology, rectification. Rectification is a process in which harmful impurities are removed from alcohol at the final stage of its production. The degree of purification of rectified alcohol determines its commercial grade, and the main feature of rectified alcohol is the content of impurities in different grades.

The higher the grade of ethyl alcohol, the less impurities it contains, the higher its strength. Potable ethyl alcohol is obtained by diluting rectified alcohol of the highest purity with softened water to a strength of 95%.

Please note that in this article we rely only on scientific data. Beware of advice on other sites, if you are not sure that they are given by a scientist, a specialist. Do not trust your body to charlatans, because only science produces verifiable and reliable results. On the Internet, anyone can write anything on any topic, but we remain the only site in our niche that does not save energy on searching and checking information, and orders articles from real experts.

Grain alcohols

Vodka has always been considered a grain drink. However, now that it is produced in almost all countries, almost all of it is made from molasses, obtained from sugar beets. In the post-Soviet space, the most good vodkas called " bread wine", were made from various cereals, such as rye and wheat.

In addition to vodka and whiskey, there are many grain distillates in the world: German corn schnapps, Japanese shochu vodka, rice vodka Vietnamese, Lithuanian semana, Ukrainian vodka.

Standards for the production of vodka allow five types of rectified alcohol: "Super", "Alpha", "Extra", "Lux" and "Higher Purity". "Super" and "Alpha" - alcohols of the High Quality are used for the production of premium class vodkas. Alcohols "Super", "Alpha" and "Lux" can only be prepared from grain, and alcohols "Extra" and "Highest Purification" - also from molasses, potatoes and beet sugar.

Grape spirits

Grape spirits are made from guilt and from squeezes.

Brandy is produced from grape spirits. Brandy is a distillate of mash made from fruits or berries, with their own taste and aroma and without extraneous aromatic and flavoring additives. Brandy is a large group of strong alcoholic drinks.

French brandies are the most famous in the world. Among them, distillates from grape wine are distinguished - cognac, armagnac and "French brandy", as well as marc - a distillate from grape pomace.

Grape brandy is produced wherever grapes grow: in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, Australia.

Fruit spirits

It's fruit brandy. This category includes spirits made not only from fruits, but also from berries. Raw materials for this type of alcohol are divided into three categories:

• apples and pears;
• fruits and berries with large seeds (apricots, peaches, cherries, plums, sweet cherries);
• berries without large seeds (strawberries, raspberries, currants).

The production technology is simple and depends on the type of raw material. Braga is made from large fruits and berries, which is fermented with the help of natural yeast. Fruits and berries with large stones are not subjected to mechanical pressing, so that the hydrocyanic acid contained in them does not turn into mash. Seedless berries, as a rule, insist on alcohol for a month, the resulting mash is distilled.

In the manufacture of fruit brandies, traditional double distillation in copper stills is used with a small strength - 50-60%, which allows you to save a maximum of aromas. Young alcohol is kept in closed bottles or barrels for about a year.

Fruit brandy is produced in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy.

Alcohols from sugar cane

Sugar cane is used to make a significant part of strong alcohol. Black molasses is a by-product of sugar production, and it is used to make rectified alcohol, on the basis of which many varieties of strong alcoholic beverages are produced.

Rum and cachaca are traditionally made from sugar cane.

Today, rum is produced in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Russia, Australia, Egypt, India, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and many other countries. Rum is an alcohol distilled from sugarcane juice or products made from it, mainly molasses. A ton of sugar cane produces 100 liters of rum.

Sweet juice is squeezed out of the cane, which is then evaporated in a vacuum, due to which the sugar crystallizes. The remaining mass is pumped into a centrifuge, where the sugar crystals are separated. This is repeated several times until black molasses remains. Molasses is diluted with an equal amount of water, specially cultivated yeast is added, and it is fermented.

Rum from natural juice are made in the traditional way - by double sublimation in copper stills, and rum from molasses - in distillation columns. From pure cane juice, the most odorous and rich rums are obtained.

Cachaca, like rum, is made from molasses and pure sugar cane juice or from a mixture of juice and molasses. However, cachaca is not aged, so it goes on sale completely “fresh”.

Agave spirits

From the juice of the core of the blue agave, by fermentation and distillation, they make tequila and the little-known sotol drink. Mezcal is made from agave and related plants. By the way, not all tequila varieties are made only from agave, so check if you are drinking a "mixed" drink in advance: usually, if the tequila is 100% agave alcohol, then this is emphasized on the label.

Flavored spirits

Flavored spirits are made on the basis of any alcohol base (black molasses, grain, grape spirits) and are flavored with any vegetable raw materials. In the production of these drinks, food alcohol is insisted on vegetable raw materials, and then partially or completely re-distilled, as a result of which the final product comes out colorless, with the smell of used aromatic components. Based on flavored spirits, gin, absinthe and aquavit are made.

A good gin is made from 96% unaged pure, neutral alcohol, which is secondary distilled with the addition of vegetable flavors. The strength of alcohol is lowered, vegetable flavors are added again, and this mixture is subjected to a secondary distillation.

Absinthe is a strong alcoholic drink, which includes plant extracts and anise. It differs from other drinks in the content of wormwood.

Modern aquavit is made mainly from potatoes, less often grains. Diluted to a strength of 38 - 50% pure distillate insist from several weeks to several years on spices: dill grains, cumin, coriander, St. John's wort. It is produced in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

There are drinks that are so complex in composition that the hangover from them will be as severe as from mixing different alcoholic drinks. This is whiskey, cognac, tequila, moonshine. Read the article where we compare effects on the body of vodka and whiskey- and you will learn why delicious impurities in alcohol harm our body, which types of whiskey are the least harmful and how to drink whiskey without serious consequences.

The article was last updated: 07.10.2019

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