If you love rum, get ready for the greatest, worldwide celebration of rum to ever grace the inter-web as we join Black Tot Rum to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot Day with a free 24-hour virtual rum festival.
What is it?
31st July marks the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot Day (the day the Navy stopped issuing sailors with their daily rum ration). In a pre-COVID world, that would have no doubt meant a ridiculously well-attended party with gallons of rum imbibed by communal revellers and a whole host of tastings and events throughout the country. However, this year’s pandemic has meant that the forces that be behind Black Tot Rum have sensibly elected to pivot away from in-person celebrations. But don’t dismay.
Instead, they have embraced this brave new world of online revelry and announced the gargantuan undertaking of a Worldwide 24-Hour Virtual Celebration, featuring discussions, tastings and talks from the most well-known, best respected and most knowledgeable figures throughout world of rum. This includes blenders, distillers, historians, authors, bartenders and ambassadors, all looking to share their know-how in fun, accessible and high-spirited sessions.
Having pulled together rum lovers from all across the globe, Black Tot Rum Brand Ambassador Mitch Wilson says:
“For the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot Day we wanted to celebrate in a way that had never been done before – there are so many wonderful distilleries and producers around the world, and the Navy Rum was a blend of so many of them – it seemed fitting to bring as many of these producers together as we could for this historic occasion.”
When is it and How do I join in?
The 24-hour rum extravaganza will kick off on 31st July at 10am BST on Black Tot Rum’s Facebook Live and end with its final session scheduled for 10am on 1st August. Attendees will be asked to raise a tot around the world at “six bells in the forenoon” (11am UK time) to commemorate the very moment that the last navy rum ration, the “Black Tot”, was served 50 years ago that day.
Attendance to the virtual festival is free of charge and available to all via Facebook Live streaming. A number of the sessions come with accompanying Tasting Sets that can be purchased from The Whisky Exchange. See below for the purchase links for each session.
The Schedule
The whole, 24-hour festival will be hosted by Mitch Wilson (Global Ambassador of Black Tot Rum) and the inimitable Dawn Davies (Head Buyer at The Whisky Exchange). All session times are UK times but rummies from around the world will be in welcome attendance.
FRIDAY 31ST JULY, 2020
10:00am – 10:15am
WELCOME TO BLACK TOT 24-HOURS PART 1 of 4 – CELEBRATING THE WORLD OF RUM
with your hosts, Dawn Davies (The Whisky Exchange) & Mitch Wilson (Black Tot Rum)
—
10:15am – 11:45am
UP SPIRITS! CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF BLACK TOT DAY
with Sukhinder Singh (The Whisky Exchange), Oliver Chilton (Elixir Distillers), & John Hume (former Royal Navy)
Raising a toast in the session commemorating the last tot 50 years ago, at 11:00am
—
12:00pm – 1:15pm
THE PILLARS OF NAVY RUM
with Global Rum Ambassadors – Miguel Smith (Mount Gay), Christelle Harris (Hampden Estate), Daniyel Jones (Angostura), & Benjamin Booth (Tamosi)
A look at the islands that provide the cornerstones of the traditional Navy Rum blends. GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
1:30pm – 2:45pm
TROPICAL VS CONTINENTAL AGEING
with Luca Gargano (Velier) & Carsten Vlierboom (E&A Scheer)
What do these different styles of ageing mean for the overall flavour of rum? GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
3:00pm – 4:15pm
BARBADOS – THE ROOTS OF RUM
with Trudiann Branker (Mount Gay)
The heritage of Barbados rum (considered the birthplace of rum). GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
4:30pm – 5:45pm
(IN)DEPENDENT BOTTLERS – THE EVOLUTION OF DOCK RUMS
with Daniele Biondi (La Maison & Velier), Joshua Singh (SBS), Peter Holland (That Boutique-y Rum Company), & Florent Beuchet (Compagnie des Indes). GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
6:00pm – 7:15pm
BARRELS AT SEA – THE DYNAMIC AGEING EXPERIMENT
with Don Benn (West indies Rum Distillery) & Alexandre Gabriel (Plantation Rum)
A look at a classic style of ageing pioneered by the British Navy
—
7:30pm – 8:45pm
GUYANA – THE HEART OF THE TOT
with Shaun Caleb (Demerara Distillers Limited)
—
9pm – 10.15pm
THE RUM ARCHIVES
with Dave Broom (Author, Rum: The Manual), Matt Pietrek (CocktailWonk), & Frank Ward (former Mount Gay & WIRSPA)
A delve into the rum history books
—
10:30pm – 11:45pm
JAMAICA AND THE DUNDERCATS
with Zan Kong (Worthy Park), Christelle Harris (Hampden) & George Frost (Duppy’s Share). GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST, 2020
Midnight – 1:15am (Saturday 1st August)
RUM – CHALLENGING THE NEW FRONTIERS
with Joy Spence (Appleton), Margaret Monplaisir (St Lucia Distillers), Maggie Campbell (Privateer), Sly Augustin (Trailer Happiness)
—
1:30am – 2:45am
FROM SHIP TO SHORE: RUM AND COCKTAIL CULTURE
with Jessica Yến Manzey, Paul McFadyen (Plantation Rum) & Gergő Muráth (Worthy Park)
—
3:00am – 4:15am
THE AMERICAN RUM RENAISSANCE
with Maggie Campbell (Privateer)
—
4:30am – 5:45am
EAST COAST VS WEST COAST – RUM BAR THROWDOWN
with Jen Akin (Rumba, Seattle), Chockie Tom (Doom Tiki, NYC), Austin Hartman (Paradise Lounge, NYC) & Gergő Muráth (Trailer Happiness, London)
—
6:00am- 7:15am
THE RUM REBELLION – THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN RUM
with Steve Magarry (Beenleigh)
—
7:30am – 8:45am
RECREATING THE NAVY BLEND
with Oliver Chilton (Elixir Distillers)
A Black Tot Rum Tasting with head blender Oliver Chilton and a first look at the brand new 50th Anniversary Black Tot blend!!! GET THE TASTING SET HERE
—
9:00am – 10:00am
THE LAST TOAST – A TRIBUTE TO RUM CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD
with Jim Wrigley & Rum Clubs Around The World
A visit to rum clubs around the world
—
10:00am
THE TALL SHIPS TOAST
#BlackTot50th #BlackTot24Hours