Rum Aging Science2
Series Overview
The January 2020 issue of “Got Rum?” covers in detail the goals of this series, as well as, descriptions of the different equipment being used to collect and measure the data.
September’s Weather
The month of September always brings much-needed relief from the heat, with refreshing morning temperatures and milder afternoon heat.
The average high temperature inside the cellar was 82F and the average low was 74F.
Temperature for October
In September we also received an average of 3.4 inches of precipitation, which helped increase the relative humidity in the air inside the warehouse.
The humidity inside the cellar hit a minimum of 24% and a maximum of 87%, with an average of 68% for the month.
Humidity for October
The Rum
Even though the rum hasn’t celebrated its first year inside the barrel, its maturity is coming along nicely, thanks in great part to the Texas heat and daily temperature deltas.
Rum appearance in October
Organoleptically-speaking, the rum continues to improve on its oak character, with a noticeable monthly increase in aromas and flavors extracted from the barrel. The tannins are definitely softening, due to their interaction with the oxygen. The oak lactones are also coming through more clearly, with their distinctive toasted almond and coconut flavors.
pH: The rum that went into the barrel had a pH of 7.04. This number is now 4.66.
ABV: The alcohol concentration increased a bit in August and it did so again in September. The current reading is 63.72%, meaning that, for another month, water evaporation was higher than alcohol evaporation.
ABV for October
Coming up: October will be on average several degrees cooler than September and more humid too. How will this affect the rum in our barrel?
Join us again next month, to continue our exploration of this fascinating topic!