MAKING AUSTRALIA’S FINEST RUM
There are five key steps involved in all spirit production:
Processing raw materials
Fermentation
Distillation
Maturation
Post maturation
Raw Materials
By-products, such as molasses, created during the production of sugar juice extracted from sugar cane, and sugar are used to produce rum.
Water is added to create a wash, suitable to sustain fermentation.
HOW WE DO IT BETTER
We are the only distillery using AUSTRALIAN CERTIFIED ORGANIC MOLASSES, locally sourced in Queensland.
We use DUNDER, the liquid remaining after the first or wash distillation.
We use MUCK, the controlled introduction of organic matter to dunder with resultant fermentation and putrefaction.
We use WOOMBYE WATER.
Fermentation
Fermentation describes the chemical process by which sugars within a wash are consumed by yeast or Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. Yeast is a naturally occurring living single-celled microorganism classified as a fungus.
Over several days the fermentation of the wash produces alcohol, carbon dioxide, heat and a range of natural flavor compounds, such as esters, which gives rum its unique aroma and flavour.
HOW WE DO IT BETTER
We do NOT use yeast cultured and grown in a laboratory.
We use wild yeast that occurs naturally in the rainforest that surrounds our distillery on the beautiful sub-tropical Sunshine Coast. The wild yeast inoculates the wash through the use of fermentation tanks open to the atmosphere. Once the fermentation commences yeast rapidly reproduce.
Distillation
Distillation does not produce alcohol, it merely concentrates it by raising the temperature of a liquid within a still and evaporating the alcohol within the liquid at a lower boiling point than the water within the liquid. The alcohol vapor is then condensed or returned to liquid form.
Column or continuous stills are commonly used for industrial scale production of rum and rums where fuller flavors are not desired.
Pot or batch stills produce rums with fuller flavors and more complex taste profiles.
HOW WE DO IT BETTER
Our 2,500 and 6,000 litre pot stills ‘Sarah’ & ‘Maria’ were custom designed by Head Distiller, Adam Chapman, to create stunning and complex flavour profiles and were manufactured in Tasmania from Australian copper ore milled in Germany.
Maturation
Rum can be aged in wooden barrels or larger format wooden vessels such as vats.
The location and the climate in which maturation takes place and the size, the age, the prior use and multiple uses of the vessel all influence maturation and the taste and flavor profile of the rum.
HOW WE DO IT BETTER
We use single use barrels from America’s finest bourbon distilleries and condition those barrels for several months with sherry or port.
The barrels are then emptied and filled with new make spirit at 60.5% ABV and are sub-tropically aged.
The spirit interacts with the wood to extract color and create distinct flavors and a smooth quality that achieves our goal to make a rum equal to the world’s best. The loss of liquid while ageing through evaporation, the Angel’s share, further intensifies flavors and aromas.
Post Maturation
The rum is removed from the vessel and may be bottled at cask strength or diluted with water to reduce the ABV.
Many rums are adulterated to enhance a rum’s character by adding sugar, flavors, glycerine for smoothness, caramel for color etc.
HOW WE DO IT BETTER
Our rum is 100% pure unadulterated rum. NIL additives. NIL added sugar, sweeteners, caramel, glycerine, flavours, colours or chemicals.
Head Distiller, Adam Chapman, carefully selects individual barrels to find the perfect balance of flavour, aroma and texture.
A lengthy period in tank to ‘marry’ the rum and Woombye Water ensures harmony of flavors and aromas, a crystal clear product and consistency.
The rum is then bottled at our Australian Certified Organic and HACCP accredited Distillery.
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