576 CHAPTER XXVIII 



and one gallon of molasses should afford material sufficient to colour from 50 

 to 60 gallons of rum. 



It is sometimes found that a coloured rum obstinately refuses to settle. 

 In this case the addition of about four ounces of alum per 1,000 gallons of 

 spirit will often be found beneficial. 



The essential part of the analysis of a caramel is the determination of its 

 colour intensity. This determination is usuall}^ made by dissolving a fixed 

 weight of caramel in a definite volume of water or spirit and comparing the 

 colour with a standard prepared under similar conditions, or the colour may 

 be matched in terms of a Lovibond or other tintometer, which forms a very 

 useful instrument for this purpose. Determinations of the ash and reducing 

 power are also sometimes made ; a molasses caramel, of course, carries more 

 ash than a sugar caramel. The copper oxide reducing power varies consider- 

 ably and generally lies between 0-3 and i-6, that of glucose being unity; 

 for highly burnt molasses caramel the writer has found a reducing power of 

 about 0-5. Connected inversely with the colour intensity is the obscuration, 

 caramel of high colour intensity giving a low obscuration. 



In the preparation of caramels for beers, porters and vinegars, a very 

 well-known trade formula is the addition of salts of ammonia, chiefly the 

 carbonate and chloride, in quantities of one to two lbs. per 100 lbs. of sugar 

 or glucose. Their addition is said to increase the colour intensity and to 

 modify the harsh bitter taste. 



Various patented caramels are on the market ; these consist essentially 

 of organic dyes and are not caramels at all. They colour rum with a low 

 obscuration, but spoil the flavour and do not keep their colour permanently. 

 Their use is not to be recommended. 



The process described above gives a caramel suited for rums of about 

 40 O.P. For rums of proof strength the caramelization must not be carried 

 so far. 



Ehrlich^^ by heating sugar in vacuo at 200° C. extracting the product with 

 methyl alcohol, and extracting the residue with water, has obtained a homo- 

 geneous body of composition C^gHigOg {i.e., sucrose minus 2 HgO) ; this body 

 is stated to be the most powerful caramel colour yet made. 



The Distillery. — A distillery consists of four separate buildings ; the 

 liquor loft containing the fermenting vats, the still-house in which are 

 placed the stills, the engine-house and the rum store. To these in certain 

 cases may be added the boiler-house. 



The choice of position for the liquor loft is not unimportant, as experience 

 has shown that the fermentation is affected by apparently trivial causes. 

 It should be raised on pillars about fifteen feet from the ground, be well 

 lighted and ventilated and open on all sides to the breeze, and should not be 

 shadowed by the other factory buildings. In certain factories the rum 

 store is built underneath the liquor loft. This is inadvisable as, besides 

 running the risk of wash leaking into the rum vats, circulation of air under- 

 neath the liquor loft is prevented. The pipes and gutters used in connection 

 with the distillery should be so placed and arranged that they present easy 

 access for cleaning. Underground pipes, and concrete or brickwork tanks 

 in connection with a distillery are unhesitatingly to be condemned. 



The number of vats and their capacity depends on the amount of molasses 

 available and the time required for fermentation. Every 100 gallons of 

 molasses will give between 600 and 700 gallons of wash at a density of i • 060, 



