For those unaware of the historical Black Tot Day, it all began in the British Royal Navy. In 1731, official naval rum rations were offered across the British fleet. To begin with, the Royal Navy supplied each sailor with half a pint of overproof rum per day! Their daily ration was quickly reduced, but the sailors of the British Royal Navy were entitled to a daily ration for 239 years - the longest standing rum ration worldwide. July 31^st 1970 marked the final day of rum rations which became forever known as Black Tot Day. On the anniversary of this day each year, the team at Black Tot Rum celebrate Black Tot Day by releasing a limited edition navy-strength rum in tribute: The Master Blender’s Reserve.

To mark the release of the 2022 edition we were able to interview Oliver Chilton, the Master Blender at Black Tot.

Q: How long have you worked for Elixir Distillers and when did you become a Master Blender?

I started working for Sukhinder and Rajbir, the founders of Elixir Distillers, in 2011, first in their whisky shop and moving into the cask buying and bottling side in 2013. In 2015, we decided to expand that side of the business and that became Elixir Distillers. In terms of blending, I have been looking after our stocks of whisky and rum since 2013, but it very much feels like the never-ending journey of discovery when it comes to blending. For rum, Black Tot Finest Caribbean was my first blend, and we launched that in 2019, though it took us 2 years to put it together.

Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment while working at Elixir Distillers?

Hopefully, it is something yet to come! I feel immensely lucky to work in a family business with great people around me. Over the years, we have been fortunate to find great casks of whisky and rum and to be part of the process of creating some great drinks has been a privilege. I look back on all the bottlings we have put out with great pride, but actually the best part of my job has been helping grow the company and helping people find a place where they can work with the drinks that they love.

Q: What was the very first rum that wowed you?

I love the way in which Richard Seale at Foursquare uses wood to accentuate the flavours he is creating in the stills and I would probably say Foursquare was an eye-opener for me. That being said, the first time I tasted Last Consignment in 2011 I was shocked to find a rum that could develop over time in a similar way to whisky.

Q: What is your favourite expression from Black Tot?

Probably unsurprisingly, I love the concept behind Master Blender’s Reserve and being able to look at stocks of rum each year and see what direction we could take the blend. Master Blender’s Reserve 2021 was very much my style with its explosion of citrus fruit.

Q: Could you tell us the story behind the Last Consignment?

The full history of the Navy Rum ration dates to around 1655, though there are many noticeable changes along the way. Regarding the rums in Last Consignment, for over 100 years, leading up to 1970, the British Royal Navy was the world’s largest purchaser of bulk rum. They would buy rum from countries around the world and bring it to the UK to be blended in large open-top vats and then sent back out for the sailors for the daily ration. They were very much the first international blenders. They would also keep a third of the rum back in the vats for some consistency of style.

On the 31st July 1970, the British Government decided to end the rum ration, bringing 100 of years of tradition to an end. This is known as Black Tot Day and sailors around the world commiserated the loss of the tot with mock funerals. The Navy still held 1000s of litres of rum and put this into stone flagons for storage. It was kept for over 40 years, only being brought out for special occasions such as Royal Weddings.

In the early 2000s, Sukhinder was lucky enough to come across a few flagons which sent him on a journey to find out where all this lost stock had ended up. He managed to find enough flagons to create Last Consignment, itself a blend of flagons from different vintages. Essentially some of the rum inside the bottle will date back over 100 years, and it is truly an example of liquid history.

Q: What makes the Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 so special?

MBR 2022 contains 20 different rums in total, ranging from 2 years old up to 30, as well as a small quantity of the original Navy rum flagons and some rum kept back from MBR 2021. In many ways, it was the most complicated rum we have embarked on as we looked to create flavour camps with each country blend and then bring these together to find a specific taste profile. It is both wonderfully layered and complex while also being beautifully linear with a balance of coffee, chocolate and orange flavours.

Q: How did you celebrate Black Tot Day this year?

I have two small children at home, so I woke up early and by 11am very much needed my rum ration! In the end I spent the day with my brothers and sister, enjoying daiquiris in the garden.

Q: If you could only pick three words to describe the Master Blender’s Reserve 2022, what would you pick?

Unctuous chocolatey goodness!

Thank you, Oliver for taking the time to answer our questions. We're so excited to be able to share this year's instalment of the Master Blender's Reserve!