Rum with an Airstill

[Flump]

I have a horse molasses/demerara sugar brew on the go hoping to make rum through my Airstill. I usually follow the guide on here to produce neutral for gin runs which works well for me. Would following the same procedure be OK for white rum?

I don't have the climate or facilities for running a dunder pit but wondered about using some of the residue from the stripping runs (backset?) to produce a rum flavour essence after boiling it down. That won't produce the esters etc. that a dunder pit does but would give me colour. Is that worthwhile or would sticking to a commercial essence be a better bet. I intend nuking some of the white rum with JD chips to get a bit of colour and flavour but I guess I would need some essence to get a dark navy style rum.

Advice gratefully received.

[Mash]

There are lots of threads about this on here. Well worth a read. I am not going to do justice to your question.


That said. I have tried molasses before.
It had LOADS of flavour. So next time I will freeze strip. Make a simple caramel to give you colour and nuke.

I wouldn't both with an essence though.