Black Tot Black Tot 50th Anniversary Rum is a limited release to mark the 50th Anniversary of the abolition of the Royal Navy’s daily rum ration in 1970.
Ever since the original release of Black Tot Last Consignment, with the finite resources of the Navy Rum blend ebbing away forever, Sukhinder Singh and head blender for Elixir Distillers, Oliver Chilton, began discussing what the Navy Rum blend would look like if it were created again today. Over the course of the next 10 years, many discussions and trials were put in place for how the blend could be recreated, or evolved.
And so it was decided a new blend would be created. While honouring time old components of the original Navy Rum, it seemed a fools errand to imitate a blend profile that was crafted over the span of more than 100 years. Instead the focus became to make a blend more catered for the modern palate – and there were many different considerations at play. While the Navy had shied away from Jamaican rum, Sukhinder and Oliver knew that Jamaica would play a pivotal role in adding funk and complexity needed for a new blend. Guyana has always been an integral heart of the tot, and would remain so now. And for the tropical fruit notes, it was decided Barbados rum brought this quality like no other. And so, over the course of two years, 26 different blends were trialled and tasted, until finally the Black Tot Finest Caribbean Rum was born.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot Day, Elixir Distillers created a commemorative limited edition Black Tot blend. Black Tot 50th Anniversary Rum is a well-layered homage to some of the cornerstones of the Navy blend, showcasing a delicious medley of flavours and origins – from Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and a Navy world blend. This was released in July 2020.
