Timber Creek Distilling/Distillery (Crestview, Florida)

[Beukeboom]

My wife and I took a long weekend getaway at Panama City Beach. As is my custom, when we ramble about I check out various liquor stores that I have found have the highest chance of carrying something unique that I may not have had the chance to try elsewhere. For example last year I found a dusty bottle of Clement XO Rhum on the top shelf behind the counter of a little liquor store on the beach. According to the clerk the Clement had been sitting there for a long time and no one was interested.

Well this time while checking out the rums at a different Panama City Liquor store called Paradise Liquors I found four different types of rum from a distillery called Timber Creek Distilling or Timber Creek Distillery [the label has it one way while the website has it the other way] (http://timbercreekdistillery.com/).

The four rums are: Timber Creek Handcrafted Rum (white rum), Timber Creek Dark (dark rum -- "with caramel color added" according to the label), Timber Creek Handcrafted Apple Pie rum (flavored rum), and Timber Creek Handcrafted Coffee rum (flavored rum).

Their website proudly announces, "Timber Creek has released our first four handcrafted spirits" which happen to be the first three of the rums listed above along with a hand crafted vodka. I guess they haven't updated the website with news of the coffee-flavored rum.

Anyway, according to Florida records this company was established in 2014 making it relatively new in the growing Florida distilling industry.

They describe themselves:

OUR STORY

The Timber Creek Distillery is located on a family farm just north of Destin, Florida. Our vision is to take the best local fruits and grains from the Florida Panhandle and turn them into the finest Craft Spirits. We take great pride in hand making every batch and hand bottling every bottle.

A UNIQUE WAY OF CREATING SPIRITS

We have custom designed our distillery to take the greatest care of the fruits and grains to preserve and extract the purest flavors. We have a custom designed pot still, “thumper”, and copper worm condenser to allow the bold favors of our raw ingredients to shine through.

OUR LOCAL INGREDIENTS

The Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast are blessed with some fantastic local crops. For our Vodka and Whiskeys, we use local Red Soft Winter Wheat, local Yellow #2 Dent Corn, and local Florida 401 Black Rye. For our Rums, we use the best Gulf Coast Cane Molasses from right down the road in Louisiana. Next summer, we will begin to also incorporate many of our local fruits including: Strawberries, Blueberries, Plums, Peaches, and Muscadines. We will use these in our Brandies and also as flavorings for our other products.

Also the four spirits are described:

TIMBER CREEK RUM

Our Rum is made with the finest Louisiana grown sugarcane processed into B-Grade Molasses. This type of molasses is most often used baking. It has a sweet taste and is lighter in color and flavor than Blackstrap molasses. We simply mix the molasses with our local water from the Florida Aquifer, ferment it, and distill it twice through our pot still and thumper. This gives us a bold, yet smooth rum perfect for mixing in your favorite rum drinks.

TIMBER CREEK DARK RUM

Our Dark Rum starts with our clear rum as the base. We then barrel age it in Charred Missouri Oak barrels. The barrels add some color and oak flavor to the rum as well as help smooth out the rum making this an exceptionally smooth Dark Rum. In order to enhance the boldness a bit, we also add in a touch of caramelized molasses. This little tweak enhances the rum flavor to balance out the oak leaving a delicious rum like you’ve never had before.

TIMBER CREEK APPLE PIE RUM

And for desert, we have our Apple Pie Rum. This also uses our clear rum as the base. Then we add in everything you would find in an apple pie, except the crust. Our recipe is based on a family Blue Ribbon Award winning apple pie recipe…..and then we just add rum. This is not moonshine and there is no sugar added. We use all natural ingredients. This delicious spirit is great on the rocks, with a splash of water, or with a little cream or ice cream for an apple pie à la mode.

TIMBER CREEK WHEAT VODKA

Our Wheat Vodka is made with local North Florida Red Soft Winter Wheat. We crack the wheat and then gently cook it to get it to release its sugars. We then ferment the sugars and distill 4 times in our copper pot still. This process gives is a very clean, smooth, easy to drink vodka with just a hint of wheat flavor so you know where it comes from.

I did not see these in any other store in the area so I consider myself lucky to find these. They also have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/timbercreekdistilling) with more information.

There isn't a list of where these are available on the website but the Facebook page indicates the Paradise Liquors as well as a Wal-Mart Liquor store (one identified as in Destin, FL -- the spirits could also be available in the Wal-Mart liquor store in PCB that I neglected to check out while I was there). Last November they responded to a Facebook query by writing, "We should be in all of the sunset and paradise liquor stores in Mary ester, niceville, crestview, pensacola, and Panama City by the end of this week."

They also have a December 24th, 2015 entry, "Florida black rye in rain soaked barrels."

So clearly they plan on expanding their lineup.

I haven't sampled these just yet but probably will soon.

Wanted to bring this to your attention Cap'n Jimbo in case you come up to the Florida Panhandle. Now you know where to get these if you're interested. However as knowledgeable as you are, you probably knew all of this already.

[Capn Jimbo]

Thanks, and very interesting but as usual, a brief note:


1. The raw material (#2 molasses) MAY be better than black strap (though some quality distillers would disagree). It will be different. Compare to Prichard who as I recall uses A-grade, first boil.

2. The pot still is modfied for added reflux (more later) and with a single thumper - curious - especially in that there are two runs. The classic Caribbean method (especially in Jamaica) is to use a simple pot with TWO thumpers with the idea of creating a rich, heavy spirit with a single run. That this new distiller is doing two runs with such a lighter setup could predict a lighter spirit.

From the distiller:

"Our Dark Rum starts with our clear rum as the base. We then barrel age it in Charred Missouri Oak barrels. The barrels add some color and oak flavor to the rum as well as help smooth out the rum making this an exceptionally smooth Dark Rum. In order to enhance the boldness a bit, we also add in a touch of caramelized molasses. This little tweak enhances the rum flavor to balance out the oak leaving a delicious rum like you’ve never had before."

(Emphases added)

3. Hmmm. Their "dark rum" is awfully dark, especially considering that the distillery is new (2014). Whether that is due added E150, or more likely the "carmelized molasses" is of concern. It is possible that new charred oak might also contribute to the unexpectedly dark color. It's a given that adding anything, especially additives designed to add "boldness" (flavor) makes this - sorry guys - a flavored rum.

It's hard not to wonder why this "dark rum" doesn't carry any age statement (even 1 or 2 years). Does this mean that like Hamilton's raw Jamaican, that the dark version is simply the altered white?

The regulations mandate that a flavored rum must name the primary flavor used, in this case "Carmelized Molasses Flavored Rum". Was this done? I can't read the label. Boom?

[Capn Jimbo]

Sent to the distiller...

"Hello! And congrats on your artisan rums. FWIW, the Rum Project now gets about half a million hits per month, and is easily the most read free and independent rum website on the net. We are huge supporters of the artisan movement and wish you the very best. However, a few due diligence questions:

1. Neat still. Did you build this, or was it purchased in part or whole, and from whom?

2. It appears to have adjustable reflux on the top of the pot (and before the thumper), is that so? Is it used for the rum, or just for the vodka?

3. You mention two runs for the white. Is the first just a high speed, no reflux stripping run?

4. How do the runs proceed? Is the pot still reflux used on both runs? To what percentage is the first run? And the second? Are heads and tails recyled, and to what? To the thumper? To the next run?

5. What happens to the leftover wash?

6. How and for how long is the molasses fermented? Open air? Wild or special yeast?

7. You state that you add carmelized molasses to the end, dark product. Is this addition mentioned on your bottle's label?

8. Aging is always of interest to us whisky and rum heads. Are the charred barrels new or used, the size and for how long is the dark aged? Why is age not apparently stated?

Thanks. As you can see we are fanatical afficianados, and do love our rums. Again, best wishes, and look forward to your replies."

Stay tuned. I trust we'll get a good response.

[Beukeboom]

The regulations mandate that a flavored rum must name the primary flavor used, in this case "Carmelized Molasses Flavored Rum". Was this done? I can't read the label. Boom?

I will try to remember to take a photo of the label when I get home and upload it so I can post it on this thread.

[Beukeboom]

The regulations mandate that a flavored rum must name the primary flavor used, in this case "Carmelized Molasses Flavored Rum". Was this done? I can't read the label. Boom?

Here is a photo of the label.

[Capn Jimbo]

A big thanks for the pic, Boom...


Any mention of the addition of carmelized molasses (not coloring) on the back label? Age statement? No need to post a pic, but the copy would be of interest...

[Beukeboom]

A big thanks for the pic, Boom...


Any mention of the addition of carmelized molasses (not coloring) on the back label? Age statement? No need to post a pic, but the copy would be of interest...

Nothing like that on the back label. Just an "our story" self-promotion, a standard "government warning" and a self-identification. That's about it.

[Capn Jimbo]

Timbercreek responds...


I am pleased that Timbercreek did finally get back to me with a pleasantly surprising and extremely informative and transparent reply. Bully on them, terrific...

"Hi Captain Jimbo.....just saw your post on your site. Our email from the website has not been super reliable as it is very new and seemingly not configured properly quite yet.....so I never saw any email from you.....but here goes as to answers on our Rum.

Original post:

"Hello! And congrats on your artisan rums. FWIW, the Rum Project now gets about half a million hits per month, and is easily the most read free and independent rum website on the net. We are huge supporters of the artisan movement and wish you the very best. However, a few due diligence questions:

1. Neat still. Did you build this, or was it purchased in part or whole, and from whom?

Answer: I designed our complete distillery plant. The still pot was a brew boil kettle modified with a 12" Tri-clamp flange. The still head, piping, condenser, and parrot were designed and manufactured by Paul Caldwell at Confederate Stills of Alabama. He had built a similar setup for another customer in Colorado, so this was his second build. There are 2 bubble plates in the pot head, a small 30 gallon thumper (with optional bypass), and a copper worm condenser.

2. It appears to have adjustable reflux on the top of the pot (and before the thumper), is that so? Is it used for the rum, or just for the vodka?

Answer: Yes, we added a 6" deflegmator at the top to give us better control over the distillate depending on what we are making. We were hoping the deflegmator would give us the ability to whiskey and rum in a single pass with the thumper....but the setup didnt quite work out as planned. Its hard to make clean cuts with the thumper, so we primarily use it for flavor enhancement instead of a gin basket. We primarily use the deflegmator when making our Vodka. We run 4 passes on our Vodka with the deflegmator and we use the Thumper on the last 2. We fill the thumber with clean water and it really cleans up the Vodka so we can get away with only 4 passes....and it still leaves a little character in our Vodka.

3. You mention two runs for the white. Is the first just a high speed, no reflux stripping run?

Answer: As I mentioned above, for our Rum and Whiskey, we want bold flavors, so we do not use the deflegmator or the thumper....we just run a standard stripping run as the first pass, and a standard spirits run for the 2nd pass. The whiskey comes off right at 80% and since our molasses wash is a bit higher in sugar content, it comes off about 90% to start on the spirit run.

4. How do the runs proceed? Is the pot still reflux used on both runs? To what percentage is the first run? And the second? Are heads and tails recyled, and to what? To the thumper? To the next run?

Answer: We keep it as simple and clean as possible. We run a standard stripping run on the first pass and a standard spirits run on the 2nd pass. We run the spirits run nice and slow and take it from 90% down to about 70%. We started saving the tails, but we just didnt get much and we really liked the flavor of the run straight out of the spirits rum, so we dont even pull tails any more. No relux and no thumper on either run for the Rum. We only use heads for cleaning our equipment. We just want a nice clean rum.

5. What happens to the leftover wash?

Answer: For the leftover molasses wash, we dump it into a drain field and plant blueberries on top.....they like the acidity.

6. How and for how long is the molasses fermented? Open air? Wild or special yeast?

Answer: Since we are in Florida, we have fully enclosed, jacketed, cooled fermenters.....basically standard SS canonical beer fermenters. We use a single yeast, grow a big yeast colony on our first ferment, then reuse the same colony about 20 times or so. We ferment at a steady 78 degrees year round. We tried a number of yeasts and our favorite is an ale yeast.

7. You state that you add carmelized molasses to the end, dark product. Is this addition mentioned on your bottle's label?

Answer: Our dark rum is rapidly aged....to do this, we hit it with some toasted oak chips for a few days, then put it into new charred oak bourbon barrels for about 2 months. After we pull it from the barrels, we add a bit of caramelized molasses. It really works nicekly and the rum is delicious. For our dark rum, we were targeting something similar to Meyers.....as I love a great Mai Tai. To be clear, this certainly is not an aged rum and we dont position it as such. We have had many dark rum lovers tell us that our dark rum is the best dark rum they have ever had. Strangely enough.....the TTB is a bit funny on labeling requirements.....and it differs from reviewer to reviewer. We tried to submit this as a flavored rum (some friends from Jamaica call it a Caramel Rum).....but the TTB does not regard Caramelized Molasses as a flavoring....they regard it as a coloring, so I had to change my label statement from caramel flavored rum to caramel colored rum. We dont add a ton of the caramelized molasses....maybe 5 gallons to a 400 gallon batch. Our dark rum isnt sweet and the caramelized molasses adds a bit of depth to the oaked rum.....and of course, a couple of months in a charred oak barrel will smooth it out a bit as well. Its really nice.

8. Aging is always of interest to us whisky and rum heads. Are the charred barrels new or used, the size and for how long is the dark aged? Why is age not apparently stated?

Answer: per above, we put our rum in new 53 gallon, #3 Charred Missouri Oak barrels. These are the same barrels we put our bourbon and rye in....but since we are new, we dont have any used barrels....so we go with new for this dark rum. We also used medium toast oak chips. The rum really only stays in the barrels for 2 months, so we are not labeling it as an aged rum....because its not. Under the TTB type designation, this is a specialty spirit.....not an aged rum.

Thanks. As you can see we are fanatical afficianados, and do love our rums. Again, best wishes, and look forward to your replies."

Thanks for taking an interest in our operation and if you make it down to the Florida panhandle....give us a try.

Regards,

Camden Ford
Timber Creek Distillery"

[Beukeboom]

I have all four of their rums and have not tried them yet. I am very curious about their Apple Pie rum. I hope it's not too sweet. Thinking about it, some apple flavor and cinnamon should work well in rum.

[Capn Jimbo]

Timber Creek seeks our input...

"Thanks Capn,

I sent you a set of responses to your list of questions. Did you get them? Not sure why they didnt come through on my company email.....but I know there was a problem getting it setup for a while, but it seems to be working fine now.

We are new and just getting started, so I am wide open to learn from the group and hopefully your feedback will help me make better products.

Thanks for letting me join.

Regards,

Cam"

Friends, The Project continues to grow and affect opinion everywhere. The Master Sugar List is being circulated, with some posters stating they now use it to pick their rums. The Petition to WIRSPA was signed by Richard Seale, and continues to grow.

My friends and wise associates, if you wanted a chance to help out and influence yet another distiller, here it is. A big welcome to Timber Creek....

[TimberCreekDistillery]

There was a question about our Apple Pie flavored Rum. Yes, we started out by "borrowing" this concept from the moonshine guys.....but let me be clear.....this NOT moonshine. Most of the moonshine apple pie recipies use apple juice and lots of sugar....we dont add any sugar to our flavored products.

Our 2 biggest sellers are our Apple Pie rum and our Coffee Rum. For the apple pie, we actually use a recipe inspired by my mother-in-laws Blue Ribbon Award winning apple pie recipe. We use Apple Juice concentrate, but instead of reconstituting it with water, we just use our Clear rum. We then add in Saigon Cinnamon, Sunmaid Raisins, Madagascar Vanilla, and Lemon extract. We dont like sweet drinks and the lemon extract cuts the sweetness down just enough.....its really a great drink.

I will also mention our Coffee Rum here as well. We love coffee, but we were sick of rum drinks that just taste like syrup and not coffee....so we set off to make a Coffee Rum that taste like coffee. It took about 6 months of experimenting....but we figured it out. 1. the only way to get strong enough coffee flavor is to use fresh roasted beans. We have a local coffee roaster roast us a great Brazillian bean to a nice French roast and after it has outgassed for a few days, we run it through our mill into our lauter tun. We use cold brewing techniques and just fill the lauter tun with cold water. Let it sit for about 3 days....and it gives us a great, strong coffee flavor without the acid. We also blend in some Madagascar Vanilla, some fresh nutmeg, and a little more of our caramelized molasses just to cut the bitterness of the coffee and the heat of the rum.....but not to sweeten it. This is NOT a sweet coffee drink. You can simply pour this coffee over ice and mix in a little Almond milk and it makes a fantastic Iced coffee.

[Beukeboom]

I have a bottle of each rum Timber Creek offers (got them from Paradise Liquors in Panama City Beach). I haven't had the chance to try them yet but will soon.

[TimberCreekDistillery]

Glad to year someone has all of our Rums. Please let us know when you taste them and what you think.

Regards,

Cam

[Beukeboom]

I always enjoy trying new rums. Will someone be selling them in Tallahassee anytime soon?

[TimberCreekDistillery]

We currently have our Apple Pie rum at Sams Club in Tallahassee. We are also being picked up by ABC here in Destin and Panama City Beach.....if you go to one of the ABC stores and request it, they can bring it in for you.

I am certainly planning to get it into Walmart and the ABC stores up there when I get time to travel to Tallahassee....just havent had the time to make it up there yet.....so, please request it at any liquor store you like to buy from. We are distributed by Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC)....so any liquor store can bring us in....they just get it from their distributor.

Thanks