Black Tot

Here is a rum with a history dating back over 300 years, a rum that left its mark on the minds of Royal Navy sailors from 1689 to 1970, the year that marked the end of a rather surprising custom: during this entire period, it was customary to give sailors a daily ration of rum on ships. In 2010, 40 years after the end of this custom, Specialty Drinks (a specialist in old alcohols based in London) found the last stocks of this legendary rum, which it decided to market under the name Black Tot, the Last Consignment…

Price : over €700 for 70cl and 54.3°. The bottle is nestled in a luxurious wooden case, including a historical booklet (signed Dave Broom) and a cup to drink your ration. 7,000 bottles are in circulation.

Age : unknown; we simply know that the Royal Navy rum was a blend of rums imported from the West Indies and mainly from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. The precise recipe is not known because it has changed several times throughout history, depending on supplies and other vagaries of the time. In the 18th century we know for example that it was the rum from the still and old Port Mourant distillery that made up 80% of this blend with rums from Barbados and Trinidad (according to the book Rum: Yesterday & Today by Hugh Barty King and Anton Massel published in 1983).

There is a lot of mystery surrounding this rum and it is certainly a marketing stunt masterfully orchestrated by those who one day found stocks that had been lying dormant for 40 years in British army warehouses; stored in stone urns, each offering a different character, they were then assembled to give this Last Consignment.

History shows us that the rum served to sailors at the time was a blend that could change over time and depending on the rums received by the blender: it was therefore decided to use a Solera -type aging method in order to guarantee a product with a consistent taste, so as not to offend anyone and even less to change the habits of the navy. A certain homogeneity was therefore ensured by this system, the oldest rums of the Solera ensuring character and aromatic intensity to the youngest. This Black Tot Last Consignment is therefore intended to be a substitute for the past, a more or less true taste of what the troops of his majesty could drink to warm up and draw their strength before - and after - the battle.

Our ration has a mahogany color tending towards intense ruby , then a few bubbles, proof of an advanced viscosity and already large legs appear which drip under the yoke of the weapons of our dandy sailors, ready to fight.

The nose is woody and powdery as desired, damp leather and very dark and bitter molasses, outrageously ripe and slightly rancid fruit, spices to awaken your ardor (ginger and cinnamon), not without recalling the touch of Port Mourant with this damp and soaked wood. We sink dangerously into the holds of the boat before a breath of freshness, of citrus fruits, finally gives a little hope, a little light in all this darkness. We must take advantage of it because the lull does not last, and it is now a veil of caramelized smoke that comes to blur your sense of smell, and dried fruits (raisins, prunes), nuts (walnuts), and always this extreme molasses, far too present to be pleasant. A nose as heavy as the atmosphere that must have reigned then on the ships, excessive and raw, cocoa and powdery, hard and ready to explode.

The attack is striking, almost brutal, and thick : damp, bitter, smoky oak (tobacco/leather), liquorice and always this powdery and molasses sensation which now comes to stick to the palate while waiting to be seized by a flame (or more simply water); the explosion is imminent and the spices become more insistent (black pepper, chili) and end up awakening the slightest of your wanderings; it is difficult to keep this rum in your mouth for very long so much does it attack you from the inside. Time is not at rest and the message of the rum is rather clear: do not fall asleep, do not let down your guard or vigilance, and it works. We do not dream of exoticism but of piracy, the mouth is austere and resolutely black and woody. A certain sweetness on the attack, this molasses again and surely the fruits.

The finish is like the mouth, always in a dominant dry, powdery and woody : oak, tobacco, liquorice, bitter cocoa, the rum does its work for a very long time, even delivering aromas of black fruits at the end (blackcurrant), with always this impression of having some lined on the palate. The rum is very much alive and even continues to haunt you… for a long, very long time. Even a good hour after tasting you still have the impression of having the rum in your mouth, or in any case its memory which does not seem to want to leave, forthe best, or for worse.

I have always had preconceptions about this rum and it took me a while to succumb to temptation, and I honestly did not expect anything great, and I was right to do so... It is indeed a Navy Rum but it remains classic, certainly with beautiful packaging and a story that would bring the dusty books back to life; But to spend around €700 is not to be pushed, at this price it is precisely the story that you are buying, a collector's item to keep preciously, but certainly not an excellent tasting rum, as honest as it may be. Not to mention that we know almost nothing about this blend, its exact origins, its age...

The mouth is powerful, but the blend doesn't work, too much molasses, too much wood; maybe they shouldn't have blended the rum jars together? Unfortunately, we'll never know... And to think that this rum is served at major royal events shows us - if need be - the strange and dubious taste of our English friends. Rating: 76.5

To help you (and me) find your way around, regarding the notes:

90 and + : exceptional and unique rum, it is the best of the best
between 85 and 89 : highly recommended rum, with that little something that makes the difference
between 80 and 84 : recommendable rum
75-79 POINTS : above average
70-74 POINTS : in the low average
less than 70 : not very good

Review courtesy of DuRhum.com.

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