Production Techniques and Quality Evaluation of Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (Rum Spirits) in Onitsha Metropolis of Anambra State, Nigeria

Alcoholic beverages have been prepared and consumed by mankind since ancient times inmost of the world‟sculture (1; 2; 3; 4; 5).The forms of alcoholic beverages consumed in various regions of the world vary considerably in accordance to location and ingredients. But in many developing countries, various types of homemade or locally produced alcoholic beverages such as sorghum beer, palm wine or sugarcane sprits continue to be the main available beverage types (6).The global alcoholic drink industry exceeded USA $1 trillion in 2014 (7). Alcoholic drinks are most widely used recreational drugs in the world with about 33% of people being current drinkers (8). Furthermore, it was reported that alcoholic beverage production serves some nutritional, psychological, religious and social functions (9).

Alcoholic beverages are drinks that include wine of different sources; spirits such as brandy, whisky, gin, rum; and beer that contain ethanol, a type of alcohol produced by fermentation of grains, fruits or other sources of sugar (10). Depending on their alcoholic contents, Alexis, (11) reported that unsweetened, distilled alcoholic drinks that have alcoholic content of at least 20%Alcohol By Volume (ABV) are called spirits and that they include large variety of liquor produced with distillation process such as whiskey, Brandy, Gin, Vodka, Tequila, Rum, etc. In general, spirits are liquids of high alcoholic contents which are obtained by distillation from such fermentable materials distilled to a point where they are purified yet still retain sufficient by-products to impart the particular characteristics of the original base material (12; 13;14). (15) Portrays distilled alcoholic beverages as being produced by distilling ethanol through fermentation of grains, fruits, vegetables, sugarcane juice, molasses, fermented mash of cereals and potatoes as well as fermented malt of barley and rye with alcohol content ranging between 40 and 60%. They further reported that the main ingredients for these beverages are water and ethanol and they account for all of 99% of the total content of the spirit beverages which range between 40 and 60% (9).

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented sugarcane juice, sugarcane syrup or molasses (16). Most rums are produced from sugarcane molasses although as allied product cachaca is produced in Brazil from sugarcane juices (17;18). In Australia, rum is defined as a portable alcohol distillate from fermentation which unless otherwise required by this standard, contains at least 37% alcohol by volume, produced by distillation of fermented liqueur derived from food source so as to have the taste, aroma, and other characteristics generally attributable to rum (19). In the U.S.A., rum is an alcoholic distillate from the fermented juice of sugar cane, sugar can syrup, sugarcane molasses, or other sugarcane by-products, produced at less than 190o Proof in such manner that the distillate possesses the taste, aroma and characteristics generally attributed to rum and bottled at not less than 800 Proof and also includes mixtures solely of such distillates (20). Elsewhere, European definition of rum portrays rum as a spirit drink produced exclusively by alcohol fermentation and distillation, either from molasses or syrup produced in the manufacture of sugarcane juice itself and distilled at less than 96% v/v, so that the distillate has discernible specific organoleptic attributes of rum; has the aromatic characteristic specific to rum and a content of volatile substances equal to or exceeding 225ghl-1 of alcohol of 100% v/v (2250 parts per million). It is bottled at minimum alcohol strength of 37.5% v/v (21).

The distinguishing features of rum from other spirits included its composition of higher quantity of caramel (0.6mls/litre), sweetener up to 9.6mls/litre sugar syrup and rum / coffee flavor that give the product discernible specific organoleptic characteristic of rum. The minimum alcoholic content of rum is 37.5% (22). Rum has different grades and colours such as gold rum, white rum, dark/ black rum and premium rum. Gin distilled spirit drink is colourless and flavoured with juniper berries. London dry gin may not contain added sweetening not exceeding 0.1g of sugar per litre of the final product nor colourants, nor any added ingredients other than water. The term „London gin‟ is used interchangeably with dry gin. Gin has alcoholic strength of 37.0%ABV (22). Gin is termed “London dry gin” if it does not contain any sweetening agents (23).Whisky is bottled at not less than 40% ABV (80Proof). It contains caramel for colour enhancement and whisky flavor. Brandy contains caramel colouring, brandy flavor and bottled at not less than 36.0.% ABV(22).Brandy is a liquour produced by distilling wine which generally contains minimum of 36.0% alcohol by volume (22) and typically consumed as an after dinner digestive. Some brandies are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging while some are produced using combination of both aging and colouring. Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Flavoured Vodka is vodka with minimum alcoholic strength of 37.5%which has been sweetened, blended, flavoured with a predominant flavor other than that of the raw materials and matured or coloured (22).

NAFDAC Standard for rum include; 37.5%v/vminimum alcohol content, methyl alcohol(2ppm maximum), aldehydes (as acetaldehyde) 40ppm maximum, furfural (20ppm maximum), higher alcohol (50ppm maximum), total acidity (100ppm maximum), ethyl carbamate (0.015ppm maximum), ester (50ppm maximum), total ash (0.2ppm maximum), additives; food colours, flavourings, sweetening agents(As permitted by the agency), sulphur (10mg/kg maximum), appearance (free and clear), colour and flavor; characteristics of rumlead (0.2ppm minimum), arsenic (0.2ppm minimum), copper (2.0ppm minimum), iron (1.0ppm minimum). The product shall be free of pathogenic micro-organisms or their metabolic products or other toxic substances when analyzed according to the method prescribed in the standard (22)

The quality and identity of distilled alcoholic spirits is of paramount necessity especially as it pertains to their social, health and psychological implications. Therefore, this study was aimed at evaluating the production techniques and quality of rum spirit drinks, both produced and not produced in Onitsha metropolis, Anambra State.