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Everything You Think You Know About Royal Navy Rum Is (Probably) Wrong
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Everything You Think You Know About Royal Navy Rum Is (Probably) Wrong

Selected Readings for Black Tot Day 2023

Matt Pietrek's avatar
Matt Pietrek
Jul 31, 2023
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Everything You Think You Know About Royal Navy Rum Is (Probably) Wrong
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A quick post today while I continue to dig out from three weeks of European travel followed immediately by a week at Tales of the Cocktail.

My longtime readers know I’m a huge Royal Navy rum history fan, and I’ve accumulated many interesting documents that disprove commonly held notions and/or shed light on previously undiscovered/forgotten details about it.

With today being the 53rd anniversary of Black Tot Day, i.e., the last day that the British navy issued a daily ration of rum to its sailors, I’m sharing a curated list of my recent articles on the topic.

  • Setting the Record Straight on British Navy Rum

  • Navy Rum Strength isn't 57%

  • A (Non-)History of Jamaica in British Navy Rum

  • The British Navy's Rum Purchases Revealed

  • British Navy Ron/Rhum/Rum?

  • The British Navy’s Rum Vatting System: An inside look

  • The 1969 Ministry of Defence Signal Ending the British Navy Rum Ration

  • Pusser's Rum Charles Tobias: On the Record

More Rum Wonk posts are in the queue. Stay tuned!

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Everything You Think You Know About Royal Navy Rum Is (Probably) Wrong
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The Fallacy of "White Rum"
We can overlook that “white rum” is actually clear rather than white and accept that the term refers to rum with little or no coloring. The bedrock…
May 23, 2023 • 
Matt Pietrek
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The Fallacy of "White Rum"
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Is Bumbu Rum? It Depends...
Is Bumbu really rum? The answer depends on which Bumbu you're talking about. Here, we'll separate fact from conjecture to examine why Bumbu is…
Jun 25, 2024 • 
Matt Pietrek
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Is Bumbu Rum? It Depends...
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Plantation Rum Becomes Planteray Rum
At a press conference today at the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados, Plantation Rum owner Alexandre Gabriel revealed the brand’s long-awaited new…
Jan 9, 2024 • 
Matt Pietrek
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Rum Wonk
Plantation Rum Becomes Planteray Rum
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