Rum Distillation and Black Bull Turbo Yeast

Black Bull Turbo Yeast is an ideal way to create homemade rum using an air still, offering 18% ABV fermentation in as few as five days! We carry a selection of fermentation kits to make this process simple.

Once your rum wash has been fermented, the next step in creating high quality rum is distillation. This step removes unwanted substances such as acetaldehyde, acetone and methanol (which may lead to blindness). After distillation is complete it’s time to bottle it with some delicious spices for flavor!

Start your rum distillation off right by sterilizing all equipment. Pour your wash into a large fermentation bucket – we suggest one with a Demi John for easier pouring – equipped with a spigot and airlock, such as this Demi John kit from Fermentis. When your batch reaches 6.5 US gallons pour in the yeast and allow fermentation to run its course – which typically lasts 3-7 days, leaving your wash dark brown in colour and with the distinct smell of rotten eggs due to fermentation – the more successful the results. The darker this process goes, the better will your final rum will turn out!

If you are making fruit-based rum, your yeast should contain a pectin enzyme package to break down sugars more rapidly for fermentation. This step is essential as many of the private store mixture turbo yeasts don’t provide these necessary enzymes for optimal fermentation.