I know this community is probably dead but what the hell.
Rum spirit run. Why am I using a reflux column for rum, shouldn't it be pot stilled?
Yes, yes it should be. However I'm using the reflux condenser to just introduce a small amount of reflux to help compress the heads / tails, nowhere near the same amount of reflux as if I was trying to make neutral spirit.
Anyway it works, the spirit coming off is much "prettier" and less offensive than it would have been running in pot mode, while still retaining flavours from the molasses
This isn't the still you start with if you're just wanting to try the hobby, this is the still you get when you realise your starter still is way too slow and you want to up your volumes :)
In terms of taste vs the grocery store - for rum, or any aged spirit really - grocery store wins every time unless you're buying the cheapest sh*t.
Producing distillate is easy. Producing distillate worth drinking is a lot harder. The hobby is more about the fun of making something rather than competing with commercial offerings.
However for unaged spirits like Gin you can make something on-par or better than the grocery store (for a fraction of the cost), it's why every new distillery makes gin for cashflow while they're waiting for their whiskey to age
Gin is the best anyway, so it's all positives!
Aww crap. Now I think I'm going to have to try making gin.
It's fairly easy, here's the starter recipe that everyone does: Odin's Easy Gin