Rum newest release by college’s inaugural artisan distilling class
Double-distilled in small copper pots and aged for a full year in a Bourbon cask, a rum joins the list of School Spirits crafted and released by Niagara College’s teaching distillery.
It comes from the college’s inaugural artisan distilling class of 2019, which also created an Eau-de-vie de Fruits in January 2019, a vodka in March 2019 and a small batch gin in May 2019.
The distillery program started in September 2018, the first of its kind in Canada. Its 2,500-square-foot facility comes with five stills, four mash tuns and 10 fermenters.
In a release, distiller David Dickson said School Spirits Rum is an achievement for the students responsible for its creation and the college as well.
“The rum production came at a time when the students had already honed their distilling and fermentation skills, and they were able to execute the production with a higher degree of independence,” said Dickson.
He said the students set the bar high for the quality of aged spirits produced by the teaching distillery.
Steve Gill, general manager of learning enterprises at the college, said the rum was highly anticipated.
“Our first student-crafted rum showcases the distillation and fermentation talents and skills of our students, and offers a taste of what our country’s future craft distilling leaders are producing,” he said.
The rum started as a base material of dark brown sugar — a combination of refined sugar with molasses blended back in — and was double-distilled in small copper pot stills before being fermented in a two-week process, slower than typical rum production.
“One of the most important set of flavour components captured during rum distillation are esters, which give rum some of its distinctive aromas and flavours,” said Dickson.
It was aged for a full year in a 57-litre Bourbon cask before its release. Dickson said smaller barrels have a larger surface area proportionally, which leads to more rapid extraction and aging.
“Another interesting feature was that the cask had only been used for two years, whereas most bourbon casks are used for at least four years,” he said.
He said that may have led to both the increase in colour and barrel character present in the spirit.
The rum is available in limited quantities at the college’s Wine, Visitor + Education Centre, 135 Taylor Rd., Niagaraon-the-Lake.