The narrative most rum enthusiasts know about British navy rum usually starts around 1731, when the British Navy declared that (in certain parts of the globe) a daily ration of rum was to be issued to their sailors. Alternately, they might know that in 1740 Admiral Edward Vernon decreed that the sailors’ daily rum ration... Continue Reading →
For students of spirits history who pour over countless dry pages to glean precious tiny nuggets of information, coming face-to-face with living, breathing history that can be queried is as close to professional nirvana as one gets. Such was the case when my phone rang one morning, displaying a mysterious 284 area code. Not immediately... Continue Reading →
As the 50th anniversary of Black Tot Day approaches, interest in all things British Navy rum is rising. A topic rarely discussed is how and where the navy actually blended their rum. Britain’s navy had a series of victualling (pronounced “vitalling”) yards in various places in the U.K., and elsewhere around the globe where they... Continue Reading →
The source of the rums in the British navy’s blend is a topic of much speculation and misunderstanding. I’ve already debunked one myth here. Historical records are clear that the navy’s rum blend changed substantially over the decades prior to 1970’s Black Tot day. However, one seemingly fundamental truism is that the admiralty purchased rum... Continue Reading →
A quick post with my recipe for “Analog Fassionola”, an old-school tiki ingredient that’s shrouded in some mystery. Originally, I shared my take on fassionola in a series of tweets, so the photography isn’t what we’d call… professional. Nonetheless, they get the point across. There’s been a lot of interest in it, so here we... Continue Reading →
As we hurtle towards the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot day, a lot of interest is focused on the British Royal Navy’s tradition of issuing a daily rum ration to its members. One of the hallowed auxiliary traditions of the rum ration was the order of “Splice the Mainbrace”, called by an officer on the... Continue Reading →
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