Winter Special – How Is Rum Made?

Winter season is here and so is the time to sip on some warming drinks. For years, people have believed that dark rum keeps you warm and give you comfort in cold weather and for the same reason avoid it during the summer months. People who believe also suggest that it helps to relieve the symptoms of cough and cold. But, we don’t endorse that one bit!

Keeping advantages aside, have you ever wondered how dark rum is actually made? And what is it that makes it so warm and cosy in this cold weather? We have got all the answers.

Although the roots of rum are not exactly known, it is believed that the development of fermented beverages produced from sugar cane was the first to occur in China. Another version attributes the origin of rum to Barbados Island. Rum is made from sugar cane, which is aged between 10 months and two years, after which it is harvested to be converted to alcohol. The spirit is made from sugar cane juice or by-products such as molasses and honey by fermentation and distillation.

Making of Rum involves many major processes and they are-

Harvesting of sugarcane

It requires about a year or so, and when the field is ready to be harvested, the field is sometimes burned to remove leaves and insects, etc. What has been left is the sugar cane standing due to its excessive water content. It is then dried, chopped and pressed or milled to draw water (75 per cent) and sugar juice (10-16 per cent).

Extraction of sugar

The method of extracting sugar from cane juice creates a by-product called molasses, which is what most rum is produced from. The sugar cane is boiled in order to reduce the water content and leave behind the syrup known as ‘ wet-sugar ‘ which contains approximately 30% sugar. This syrup is clarified and blended with sugar crystals that allow the centre of the dissolved sugar in the syrup to be crystallized. Now, this mixture is boiled and then cooled down to allow the sugar crystals to be enlarged. It is then spin to isolate the crystals from the liquid. The process is repeated a few times; what’s left is a dark liquid that is then fermented and distilled to produce rum.

Fermentation

The manufacturer can determine which base to use to make rum. They then fermented with water and cultivated to create a beer like consistency. The subsequent wash can then be distilled to produce rum.

Distillation

Rum distillation involves alcohol boiling at a lower temperature than water. The distillation process influences the final flavour and aroma of the different types of rum. The use of the distiller is to isolate and store the desired spirits and flavour compounds in the finished form.

Ageing of rum

Rums are transparent when they are condensed after distillation. Appearance of colour in rum is the result of its ageing in oak caskets other than the possible addition of caramel colour. On the other side, white rum is actually a filtered sugar cane distillate. The aging of rum helps to improve colour and taste.

Charcoal filtration

This stage is to isolate the undesired components of rum, and different types of charcoal can be used to extract and smooth the different substances.

Blending and bottling

It is the final process. Several preservatives are used to enhance the flavour. It is standard practice to add caramel to the aging rum in order to correct the colour and make it look a little older. In the end, the prepared rum is bottled and sold.

 

Do’s & Don’t For The New Year Eve – Party Responsibly

As we all know that one of the biggest party nights is just around the corner, and we have to make sure that we party responsibly and take care of the basic thing which is – Don’t drink and drive. And also don’t let others do the same.

Follow our Do’s and Don’ts for New Year’s Eve to have good memories to start off your 2020 and be rest assured that you will have a night to remember!

Planning The Night

Do plan in advance as it’s going to be a very busy night. If you want your New Year Eve to go off without a hitch, be sure to make a decision on time where you want to ring in the New Year. Unless you keep waiting for deals or confirmation from your mates, you could end up paying twice.

Don’t keep scrambling to make plans and figuring out what to do? If you decide to just go out that night and figure it out then, just know there will be a good chance of long lines which can turn your New Year’s Eve into one of the worst nights of your entire year.

Drinking

Do make a toast. What’s a better way to celebrate than to celebrate with champagne? Many bars and clubs are going to make a free champagne toast at midnight. Just ensure not to get drunk. Everyone copes with alcobev differently, so there’s no perfect number to stick to. Just get a grip on your limits.

Don’t go overboard and get so drunk that you don’t make it to midnight. Champagne showers are fun, but not when it’s you showering the dance floor with vomits because your stomach couldn’t handle it. Be conscious of how much alcobev you’re consuming and keep sipping water after every couple of drinks.

Cash or Card

It’s wise to carry some cash as a backup and not entirely depend on your plastic money. Most of the clubs and restaurants will accept cards but if they don’t, or if your card is rejected at any point due to any glitch, you’ll be out of luck and you may find yourself in a tricky situation.

Don’t bring in too much cash. You certainly wouldn’t want to get pick pocketed or robbed so limit the amount of cash you carry.

Phone Battery

Do charge your phone battery before you leave the house for the night. You want your phone to work if you want to book a cab, call family or friends, click pictures with your buddies, upload stories on Instagram, do party tweets or check-in on Facebook.

Don’t forget to keep a charger or extra battery or power bank. In case your battery drains out due to heavy usage, an extra battery will help you book a cab or call someone in case of an emergency.

Drive Safely  

Do book a cab or hire a designated driver for the night if you are planning to drink and ride safely back home. You don’t want to start the year with a challan receipt for drunk driving or in the hospital after an accident.

Don’t drink and drive. No matter how much drunk you are, you should not drive after drinking. You will not only be putting your life at risk but also you will be risking the lives of all those you come across while driving.

Wishing you all a safe New Year’s Eve and a prosperous Happy New Year ahead!

Things To Know About The “Old Fashioned”

There is no other whiskey drink more satisfying than the Old Fashioned. It’s brown and boozy, a little sweet and a little bitter. With the cocktail revolution came the resurgence of classic cocktails across the nation but luckily, the Old Fashioned is one cocktail that has never gone out of style. Whether you’re new to the classic cocktail or you’ve been drinking them for years, here are few Old Fashioned facts to stir conversation and thoughtful sipping.

It is old

As the name suggests the “Old Fashioned” is really old, like 1806 old. The basic recipe was first mentioned in The Balance and Columbian Repository in Hudson, New York, as “a potent concoction of spirits, bitter, water and sugar.” While this defined the word cocktail for many years, drinkers started ordering Old Fashioned in earnest in the 1860s.

It doesn’t have to be Whiskey

The most popular choice for Old Fashioned is certainly is whiskey and every time you order one at a bar you’ll get it in whiskey only but you can make it with any spirit.  It works well with brandy, mezcal, rum, gin and many other spirits.

It began as the Whiskey Cocktail

The Old Fashioned is a cocktail of evolution. There really is not a particular person to pin for its so-called invention. What we do know is that by the time cocktail recipe books began appearing in the late 19th century, what we basically would call an Old Fashioned today was often under the title of Whiskey Cocktail. Perusing the pages of different iterations of barman Harry Johnson’s “Bartenders’ Manual” is an excellent example of seeing that change over time. The 1887 first edition offers up the Whiskey Cocktail with gum syrup, ice, Angostura or Boker’s bitters, a couple of dashes of curaçao, and whiskey. By 1887, he ditched the Angostura. By 1900, he swapped the syrup for raw sugar and called for a couple of dashes of curaçao or absinthe. All iterations got a lemon twist expressed over the top.

Most popular cocktail in the US  

People of Wisconsin so much love their Old Fashioned that there are multiple riffs on the regular. Order it sweet, and you’ll get a gun splash of lemon-lime soda. Order it sour, and you may well get sour mix. Sweet versions also stand out for their extra punch of bitter with the sweet. There’s an Old Fashioned, and then there’s the Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet, a Wisconsin-centric concoction that goes heavy on the Angostura.

The sugar makes a difference

The argument about higher-proof spirits in cocktails comes down to balance. You don’t want to disguise ingredients; you want everything to be present. With the Old Fashioned, it depends on what you’re using as your sugar source and how much. If you only have one-to-one simple syrup to work with, don’t mind using younger bourbon between 80 to 90 proofs and try to go lighter on the sugar increment. If you are using the 91-plus proof and the whiskey is aged, try heavier syrup such as two-to-one Demerara sugar as the sugar source.