Making molehills out of mountains Dept: St. Nicholas Rums

[Capn Jimbo]

There are really only two basic classes of rums...


Cane juice and/or molasses based.


Although Luis Ayala (author "The Rum Experience") was probably the most thorough in terms of offering additional plausible subclassifications of rum, to wit:

• Method of distillation
  White (unaged)
  Black (based largely on color)
  Gold (young)
  Premium (well aged)
  Overproof
  Spiced and Flavored

Actually he adds many more sub-classifications, some of which we are already aware, for example method of distillation, type of yeast, cooperage, color, age, aging, blends and blending, ad infinitum. But all said - there remain the two basic categories we know so well.

Yet along with all the leading authors (Williams, etc), Luis agrees that there are really just two basic categories: cane juice based ("agricoles" for the French and snobs) and molasses based.


Not according to Tiara though

At her lovely looking site (A Mountain of Crushed Ice, linked) she states this about St. Nicholas Abbey rums:

"Interesting also with St Nicholas Abbey rums is that these are not molasses rums! but neither are they rhum agricoles – they are made from fermented sugar cane juice, called “sugarcane honey”. Rhum agricole is made from fresh sugar cane juice and tastes totally different.

The fermented sugar cane juice is thick, syrupy and very dark brown in color, almost black – it looks like molasses but it is not and it doesn`t taste very much like molasses either. It has a sort of funny smell, i cannot really describe it, it´s like a mix of earth, dirt, molasses, old sugarcane syrup, yeast and overripe purple plums."

This is a fail for a number of reasons. First she distinguishes the SNA rums as being made from "fermented sugar cane juice" while claiming that agricoles is "made from fresh sugar cane juice". Earth to Tiara: the wash for all distillation of all spirits is fermented in yes, fermentation tanks. St. Nicholas is made from cane juice, ergo it's a cane juice rum, aka an agricole for our French readers.

Next, we must consider just what is SGA's "honey"? It is actually just cane juice thickened by the removal of some water. Remember that water is added and removed repeatedly during the making of spirits, including the molasses-based rums and we do not change categories based on this. The removal of a bit of water does not change a rum's category.

This whole notion of agricoles are made exclusively with "fresh cane juice" was mostly promoted by the Preacher regarding his puny Martinique agricoles. This was long ago challenged when it was pointed out (yes, by moi) that St. James (a major Martiniquean "agricole") does in fact use cane juice "honey" from time to time.


Let's put this "honey" to bed now...

The reason some agricoles are made with "honey" (more correctly called a syrup): while fresh cane juice must be fermented soon after the cane is crushed, by removing some water to thicken the juice into a syrup, the juice will withstand some storage for delayed fermentation. This allows such agricole producers such as St. James (or here SGA) to better accomodate production schedules.

Even sillier, when they are ready to actually ferment the thickened cane juice, what do they do? Yup, they add the water back! It's still uh, cane juice - always was and still is, and thus remains a cane juice rum, aka an "agricole", despite Tiara's claim of a new category.


Compare to molasses-based rums

Just like cane juice "agricoles", water is removed and added during the making of molasses-based rums. And molasses-based rums can be made from different grades of molasses, from food grade (first boil) to black strap (last boil). And the difference between the rums made from very expensive food grade molasses is considerable.

Yet - regardless of which molasses was used - we do not change the "category", and all are considered "molasses-based".

Bottom line: while there are surely taste differences, the two basic categories remain. Tiara mean well, and I love her sweet honeyed site, but she needs to cut back on her sugar intake...



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http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com/?p ... ent-563189

[Dai]

I wonder what the new five year old is made from?
It certainly did not taste like an Agricole rum.

[da'rum]

But the process that produces "Sugar Honey", or to name it correctly Refiners Return Syrup or Golden Syrup, is a complex one....

Refiners return syrup, begins as a high brix, pale sucrose syrup made from white sugar and water designed to loosen the dried molasses found on raw sugar crystals. The sucrose saturated content of the initial "green" syrup impedes sugar crystals from dissolving during the process of washing. The purpose is to mix the green syrup with raw sugar crystals to form a "magma" of 8-10% moisture content at around 60-65 degrees C, that is then washed with water in a centrifuge. After the first washing (often termed affination) the "washed off" molasses combines with the sucrose syrup to generate refiners return syrup, which is generally re-used several times until deemed spent.[6][7] The spent refiners return syrup is sold off to manufacturers for golden syrup production or is sent to a recovery section of the refinery often called the remelt house or boil-out section. Here it is reheated to crystallize and recover the sucrose it contains and that is returned to the affination stage. The final spent syrup left after the recovery process is sold as treacle (often called refiners molasses in older texts)[8][9]
An equivalent golden syrup product may be made from beet sugar by processing the clarified, partially evaporated beet juice to break down (invert) most of the disaccharide sucrose into its constituents monosaccharides glucose and fructose. In this process, none of the sucrose is ever crystallized from the beet juice. Inversion may be done by acid hydrolysis or by adding an enzyme, invertase. This produces a free flowing (invert) syrup that will not crystallize. Typically in acid hydrolysis, the disaccharides are split by hydrochloric acid, resulting in a solution which is acidic; neutrality is restored by the addition of lye, which is sodium hydroxide. As a result, syrup made by this method contains some common salt, sodium chloride.
The free glucose and fructose present in golden syrups are more water-soluble than the original sucrose. As a result, golden syrups are less likely to crystallize than a pure sucrose syrup. The free fructose content gives the syrup a taste sweeter than that of an equivalent solution of white sugar; when substituting golden syrup for white sugar, about 25% less golden syrup is needed for the same level of sweetness.
The term invert comes from the method used for assessing sugar syrups. The plane of linear polarised light passed through a sample of pure sucrose solution is rotated to the right. As the solution is converted to a mixture of sucrose, fructose and glucose, the angle of rotation reduces, through zero and then increases in the opposite direction, thus the direction appears to have been inverted compared to light passed through the sucrose solution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_syrup


This is far from just removing some water. Also, if one re added water they would not get pressed cane juice.

So I think your skepticism may have led you astray here dear Captain. It is entirely possible that they could produce a 'Unique?' product from Golden syrup as opposed to cane juice and as this is actually a distinct product within the steps of sugar refining it could very well be a new class of rum.

I have some golden syrup in the pantry as I use it to make ANZAC biscuits I can tell you definitely that it is not dehydrated cane juice.

Cheers

[Capn Jimbo]

Except that they neither claim nor do this. The simple dehydration of fresh juice referred to is exactly just that, and is done for nothing more than allowing a modest storage time before adding back the water and then fermenting it say a week later.

This is exactly what St. James does at times to accomodate their agricole production schedules of their well known and respected agricoles. The term "honey" is unfortunately misused (purposefully I'd say) as the word is more marketable.

None of which changes in any way the two basic raw materials and categories of either cane-juice based, or molasses-based. Otherwise we'd start distinguishing the three or more categories of molasses-based rums, nicht vahr? Trust me, JaRiMi and I had one of most famous threads ever discussing this very point over at the old Count's site.

Remember, J?

[da'rum]

I obviously don't get it. They let pressed cane juice sit until the water content is less? Wouldn't it naturally ferment and grow mold? Do they heat it to remove the water?

Confused.

[da'rum]

I tried to send them an email but their webpage won't let me unless I sign up for spam so...effort vs outcome.

[Capn Jimbo]

Thanks for your interest d...


Since my preceeding post I found another post - here at the Project - which correctly describes what is produced (and referred to) as a "semi-syrup", to wit for St. James agricole:

"During the cane season, the mills yield more juice than can be fermented. Most of the fresh juice is pumped directly to the fermentation tanks. The rest is filtered, then concentrated by vacuum to a syrup for storage. This is the first step of sugar production, but the sugar is not crystallized as it would be in the more refined process. After the cane season, the syrup is diluted to its original consistency then fermented and distilled into alcohol."

http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtop ... ight=james

I recall some other research where the vacumn dehydration is done to a relatively minimal extent, ergo the term "semi-syrup", and its primary function of extending the time before the cane juice is actually fermented. The big myth: that "agricoles" must be made from only fresh cane juice, even on Martinique.

[da'rum]

And this is definitely what they use over at St Nicholas? Tiara says the 'Honey' is dark like molasses.

[Capn Jimbo]

The minimal description provided by both Tiara and St. Nick - which identifies only the origin (cane juice) - is sufficient to call this an agricole, which was the point. I have to assume this dehydrated syrup is similar to that used by St. James, which is reconstituted later for fermentation.

St. Nick's site provides this description only for their rums:

"The freshly cut cane is hand-fed into the steam mill where it is crushed just once to extract the sweetest juice possible. Within minutes, the juice is fed directly into the fermentation pots to ensure premium freshness and quality."

They do not discuss what Tiara romantically calls "honey", but her site does show some, which is dark. Assuming they are following the established practice noted in Martinique, I guess we are left to assume that the thickened juice is in fact dark, but later will be diluted for fermentation.

Unfortunately St. Nick's contact link did not seem to be working. Stilll, there's no argument that this is a cane juice rum, aka "agricole".

[da'rum]

Well with respect, I'll reserve my judgement in the absence of proof. You may well be correct but there's a chance you're not so until I read exactly what St nicks's Sugar Honey is I'll remain cautiously cynical.

[Capn Jimbo]

The use of a vacuum process to remove water is actually pretty common; the only differences would be to extent. I believe Seales uses vacuum to assist in the hot distillation.

There is always room for skepticism, but I tend to favor the use of established practices by St. Nicholas for their thickened cane juice. If they were using the novel and relatively costly product you described I'd expect them to say so, along with the usual marketing hype as do the very few distillers who use expensive food-grade, first boil molasses.

Some may be surprised to learn that Zacapa also uses concentrated cane juice, which they too eupehmistically call "honey"...

Zacapa:

"You need to travel a little higher than Zacapa’s namesake town to find the starting point for our rum’s unique taste: virgin sugar cane honey... Most rums use molasses, a by-product of the sugar making process, as their base; Zacapa, however, is different....

To impart a sweeter, smoother flavour, Zacapa uses only the concentrated first press of sugar cane, known as virgin sugar cane honey."

Of course we now know that most of the "sweeter, smoother flavor" is actually due to the addition of 41 grams of sugar to each high altitude bottle, lol.

However, we are now far afield as none of this defies the two basic categories of rum, of which all these are indeed cane-juice based, aka the French "agricoles". I have no doubt that food-grade molasses or concentrated cane juice rums may have a different character from their black strap or fresh juice brethren, but that can also be said of any number of quality distillations from different countries.

Frankly I think far more variation is due to the yeast and fermentation, not to mention the cuts made by a skilled pot distillation, and yes, the cooperage and aging as well - yet the use of different yeasts or techniques does not lead to a naming new third basic category, the original claim.

[Capn Jimbo]

I wonder what the new five year old is made from? It certainly did not taste like an Agricole rum.

Dai, Tiara has a very good palate and if you check the link to her site in the OP, she reviews both the white and the 5 year as I recall. My understanding is that the 5 year is simply the aged version - it appears that St. Nicks uses both fresh and concentrated cane juice. There is also the issue that up until recently their rum was made by Richard Seale, but now they are proceeding with their own still (a pot/column in comibination) - very well made stills with LOTS of copper.

I personally resist the Preacher's notion that Matiniquean cane juice rums set any kind of standard. Actually, they are rather late to the party and it is fair to say that Barbancourt has been making agricoles since the early to mid 1800's, while the AOC rhums by regulation did not really appear until the 1990's.

You might be better off comparing the St. Nick's to Barbacnourt's products. Or to a degree with the St. James agricoles (particularly the aged versions). Keep in mind too that the AOC latecomers are made with columns of a designated number of plates while both St. Nicks and Barbancourt have a pot stilled component which makes a BIG difference. To me the gold standard is Barbancourt (at any reasonable cost).

[Blade Rummer]

To me the gold standard is Barbancourt (at any reasonable cost).

As someone who just recently had his comment endorsing Barbancourt as a great and affordable agricole unceremoniously deleted off another site, I hear you Jimbo and I am starting to understand your frustatations with the state of online reviews, etc.

I've tried the white, 4yo and 8yo and they are all spectacular. I really can't think of any reason why they always get passed over when recommendations are being made for rums in general, agricoles in particular.

In response to the cane juice/honey debate, it's my understanding that if cane juice rum producers didn't divert some of the cane juice to be stored as a concentrate, it would cause difficulties in maintaining a constant production due to the nature of cane harvesting. In terms of avoiding fermentation, as surprising as it would seem, a high %sugar is actually lethal to bacteria: the sugar draws moisture away from the bacteria, killing them. Honey is a good example, it can be kept almost indefinately without spoillage.