The Black Tot Rum, since its debut launch in 2010, has come to arguably be the most prominent and also most trustworthy Navy Rum brand actively produced in the market today, and has constantly found new ways to present this traditional rum style. The brand, belonging to Elixir Distillers, had initially debuted with the inaugural and legendary Black Tot The Last Consignment which was a bottling of actual original Royal Navy rum stocks that were still left in stone flagons and tracked down by Elixir Distillers' (and The Whisky Exchange's founder) Sukhinder Singh to be bottled celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Black Tot Day - it's an incredible story that's definitely worth checking out! - and since then has seen its popularity grow thanks to its quality, consistency, great sourcing, ability to push the envelope on the style, and of course tireless work of its very passionate and friendly ambassador Mitch Wilson, which has made Black Tot a beloved tradition and community even!

But just as a quick recap - what is the Black Tot? The Black Tot is first of all a historical practice that lasted over 300 years, that is from 1655 to July 31st 1970 (the date being what is today called the Black Tot Day), where those serving aboard the British Royal Navy ships were entitled to an issue of a daily rum ration that was known as a "tot" - that is sailors were given a pour of rum every day! This had a huge influence on rum-making where former English colonies would often produce rums to supply to the British Royal Navy, which would in turn be blended to create the classic Navy Rum rum blend that was then typically stored aboard in flagons to be dispensed from. Consequently, the Navy Rum blend would come to typically include rums from Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and occasionally Australia's rums blended in too. This would not only help popularise rum as a beverage - and cement its pop culture image of being synonymous with travels on the high seas - but would also help transmit rum-making knowledge and expertise across the vast expanses of the world all along these seafaring routes. And whilst today there exists several brands offering this traditional Navy Blend, Black Tot Rum is perhaps the most popular.

And so this Whisky Live Singapore 2025, we were definitely looking forward to trying the new Black Tot Historic Solera Rum, given that we've followed along the Black Tot journey for some time now!

Now, before we delve into it, let's talk alittle bit about the solera system. The solera system is the practice used by Spain's Sherry producers to age and blend their fortified wines where barrels are stacked in layers, with the youngest at the top with then each subsequent lower layer holding more aged rums, all the way to the bottom layer which carries the oldest rums; each time rum is drawn from the bottom layer, some younger rums from the layer just above is moved to the bottom layer as replacement, and this cascades layer by layer (with a portion of rums from the upper layer moved to the layer directly beneath, and the same is done to the layer below that, allowing for younger rums and older rums to marry) to create a solera blend. This is often touted as the method that's created incredibly consistent, seamlessly textured and cohesively flavoured Sherries! 

Original Navy Rum flagons.

Getting into the Black Tot Historic Solera Rum, Elixir Distillers had for this release put together a little 3-tier solera where a blend of Guyana, Barbados and Jamaican rums were first aged for two years in First Fill Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez Sherry butts before being moved into the 3-tier solera system. In the 3-tier solera system, the rums were then aged for 1 year in each layer before being moved to the subsequent layer, before being finally drawn from the final (lowest) layer to be bottled. This is also said to be the first time that such a blend of rums has been aged in the solera process!

Now with that said, let's give it a taste!

PS. If you're a big whisky and rum fan (or also mezcal and gins too!) definitely keep an eye out for the Whisky Live festival organised by La Maison du Whisky that takes place in both Paris and Singapore annually, where you'll not only get to try hundreds of different spirits, but also get to talk to the folks who made them! It's always a great gathering for the spirits loving community and a great chance to dip into the hottest new releases, or just to find out what you actually like!

Rum Review: Black Tot Historic Solera Rum

Tasting Notes

Colour: Amber / Copper

Aroma: Opening with comforting and cozy Christmas cake aromas of dried raisins, prunes, leather, brown sugar and also some coffee, it’s even got juicy bits of dried prunes in there. For its darker tones, its remarkably vibrant and exuberant, with then accents of industrial grease and rubber.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it’s alittle squeaky with some rubber and grease that comes through first, followed closely by a richer body of brown sugar, dried dates, prunes, leather and also coffee cake and fruit cake. It’s got this mustiness of old oak and dunnages that gives it a good deal of depth. No astringency in sight! There is a touch of rancio, with then some brighter twang of dried red fruits of cranberries and hawthorn. That said, it’s not quite tart. A herbal and slightly medicinal element begins to come through at the back, of herbal Pei Pa Koa cough syrup.

Finish: More on grease, brown sugar, dried sour plums, alittle bit sour here, with also earthier tones of leather and tobacco, backed up by more juiciness of dried plums and prunes. Seamless and plush finish. Some rancio that lingers with alittle bit of brie rind yeastiness.

My Thoughts

A really understatedly unique take on the Black Tot! It seems obvious to say but this really delivers a solera quality to the otherwise familiar Black Tot profile, with here this seamless, almost slippery lusciousness, intertwined within all these beautifully composed layers of earthiness and dried fruit, with then touches of coffee, herbal syrup and also industrial tones, which all comes through with this really silky interwoven harmoniousness. There’s also that mustiness and rancio that gives it that added sense of age here which is again a subtle reminder of this rum being actually blended with some impeccably well-aged barrels!

Most extensions or interpretations of a core brand typically don’t deliver something that is both actually unique and also substantial in terms of enhancing the signature flavour profile, and yet the Black Tot Historic Solera really does nail it on both fronts, where the Black Tot identity remains intact and very much serves as the core here, and yet it does stand out and deliver what the solera is meant to do, making clear the effects of its use and showing how its able to actually boost the core profile whilst also being itself a unique interpretation - that is all to say, this was really delicious!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot