There's a lot to learn

Researching Lost Spirits rum (Navy and Polynesian) in advance of their presentation at Tonga Hut's next Rum Rhum Club on August 3rd. There's a lot to learn.

“Raw materials present an opportunity to gain precursor acids. Burnt, caramelized, smoked, or toasted raw materials contain free acids which can do chemistry. All the raw materials contain lignin and hemicellulose. When the lignin or hemicellulose is burned it breaks down into free acids. When the molasses are caramelized they release phenolic acids from the lignin in the sugar cane. Toasting grains, roasting coffee, roasting nuts, all function on the same principal.

Unlike roasting foods, in distilled spirits making we take things a big step forward and take the chemical products of the roasting and then put them back together in a new order that suits our desires (barrel aging). ”
— http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2014/2/5/rum-super-geekdom.html

More progress on the summer reading list

Read Brad Thomas Parsons's "Bitters" today. It's more a recipe book than a historical record, but it feels like a valuable reference for that nagging feeling I have that I'll be making my own bitters sooner rather than later.

What strikes me about DIY bitters, however, is that any recipe I develop that requires my own bitters will then require that I carry said bitters with me. There's something to be said for being able to recreate a cocktail in someone else's bar with the ingredients in said bar when called upon.

I like the suggestion in the book of holding a "bitters making party" where you and your guests pool resources to create batches of bitters and then reconvene a month or so later to compare results. That's an idea I can get behind.