Planteray's Navy Rum Project - Behind the Scenes
Now that Planteray Rum has released its new Mister Fogg Navy Rum, I can finally share my part in the project’s genesis. The rum and a new book, Exploring 300 Years of Royal Navy Rum and Its Techniques, were announced at the 2024 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.
My part of the story starts in late 2018. My wife, Carrie, and I had just pushed the reset button, “retiring” from our long-term professions and selling our Seattle house to focus on more meaningful projects. In my case, that meant trading a software engineering career for writing, consulting, and educating about rum.
However, my first task was to turn one of my most popular articles, Minimalist Tiki: What you truly need to make classic Tiki Cocktails, into a book. Carrie and I had six months to write, design, and lay out the book before sending it to the printer. It was a daunting timeline, made more stressful because we were moving to New Orleans at the end of those six months. Publishing Minimalist Tiki was a trial run to see if we could successfully create and publish a no-compromises book equal to or exceeding the quality of a book from a major publisher. If successful, our next project would be creating what became the Modern Caribbean Rum book.
Shortly after starting this six-month dash, Planteray’s Alexandre Gabriel proposed a project to me: researching the history of London dock rum and Royal Navy Rum using original sources from the 1600s to the mid-1900s to get a more accurate perspective. In exchange for researching and writing a short book for Planteray to publish, I would be compensated for my time.
While delighted at the prospect of a really interesting project, I hesitated, as getting Minimalist Tiki to the printer was our top priority. Further complicating things, the deadlines for both projects were at the same time. Eventually, knowing I was signing up for 16-hour days for several months, I took on the project.
The Research
While I’d heard the usual brand-centric tales of London dock rum and Royal Navy rum, I started by clearing my brain of those narratives. Instead, I dove into a metaphorical ocean of documents written a century or more ago. My brain soon filled with questions like:
What exactly did London dock rum mean in the 1800s and 1900s?
Are there records of what rums were stored in those docks?
Do the Royal Navy’s rum purchase records still exist?
Where did the Royal Navy make its rum?
For the first few weeks my list of questions grew far faster than any answers I could find.
My initial efforts focused on centuries-old documents scanned by Google Books. However, after an email exchange with David Wondrich, I realized I’d also need to spend countless hours reviewing online newspaper archives.
Of course, some of the most informative sources are tucked away in physical archives and may never be scanned. Carrie and I spent a week in London photographing records at the British National Library, The Port and River Archive, the Caird Library, the West India Committee Library, and others. Holding letters personally signed by H.H. Cousins, the high priest of high Jamaican rum, was a particularly meaningful moment of my time in the archives. Another huge moment of delight came when I found the fire report for the 1933 West India Docks fire.
After churning through countless books and newspaper stories from the 18000s and 1900s, a picture of the true history slowly emerged. Terms like Rum Quay, Deptford, barricoe, flagons, victualling, ED&F Man and degrees under proof filled every waking and sleeping hour.
Michael Fogg
While most of my research centered around documents, I was fortunate to have a few living sources, first and foremost, Michael Fogg. Michael was working at ED&F Man when Pusser’s Rum founder Charles Tobias asked the company if they had any information about the Royal Navy blend. Tobias had already received the blend information and sources from the navy, but the navy suggested he also talk to ED&F Man, as they had purchased the rum for the navy. (My subsequent interview with Charles tells the story in more detail.)
When Charles approached ED&F Man circa 1978, they no longer had a rum department, but Michael Fogg staffed their whiskey trading desk. While Michael couldn’t provide any additional information of note to Charles, the two became friends, and Charles later hired Michael as Pusser’s UK marketing manager.
I came across Michael by way of Gary Rogalski, the current CEO of Pusser’s. Gary wasn’t sure if Michael would talk with me, so I was delighted when Michael replied to my email. Although initially guarded, he quickly warmed up to my dozens of esoteric questions. He gladly shared his stories and records that furthered my understanding and sent me in new directions.
In October 2019, Michael and I met in person in London. What I imagined might last 90 minutes became a wide-ranging, five-hour conversation, including lunch. We’d still be there chatting if he didn’t need to catch the evening train home.
2019-2022
I gave my manuscript to Planteray in March 2020 and returned to finishing Minimalist Tiki. My interest in Royal Navy and London Dock rum continued, however. To this day I continue my research in my rare spare moments. My enjoyment from working with original sources to learn the real story goes well beyond this project and hugely influences my writing. My article, Why Does Jamaica Limit Its Rum to 1600 Esters? is just one example.
In May 2020, I received the sad news that Michael Fogg had passed away. My article, Remembering Michael Fogg – Conservator of Rum’s Legacy, shares more about Michael and details our meeting..
When Michael passed, the world was well into the COVID-19 pandemic. My consulting/writing work for various brands continued, and I was actively working on Modern Caribbean Rum. At some point, Alexandre Gabriel mentioned that he was making a rum based on findings from my research. In mid-2022, Carrie and I visited Cognac to see the open vats that Alexandre and his team were using to replicate what the navy did, per my research. We also shot some photos that were eventually used in the book.
2023-2024
In late 2023, Alexandre told me the rum was finally ready for release. After meeting Michael’s widow, Jayne Fogg, Alexandre received her approval to commemorate Michael and his role in preserving British Navy Rum history by naming the rum after him. More recently, Carrie and I were in London and presented Jayne with a first copy of the book.
To complement my findings from 2019, Alexandre added additional chapters to what I’d written to explain his technical approach to making the rum. And since I’d learned a few new things since 2019, I added several more paragraphs to my previous writing.
Q&A
What is the Book Called?
Exploring 300 Years of Royal Navy Rum and Its Techniques, by Matt Pietrek and Alexandre Gabriel.
What Does the Book Cover?
My seven chapters fill about two-thirds of the book’s 256 pages. Alexandre’s section is titled The Technical Tapestry of Navy Rum.
The chapter titles in my section are:
Britain’s Rum History in Overview
London’s West India Docks & Rum Quay
What Was London Dock Rum?
London’s Rum Merchants
Sourcing Britain’s Military Rum
Navy Rum Production
Drinking the British Navy’s Rum
Source records are extensively footnoted. Numerous images highlight some of the original source documents used in writing the book.
Who Is the Publisher?
Maison Ferrand. However, Carrie assisted them with some technical details in preparing the book for printing.
How Can I Get a Copy?
An initial print run was made for sale at the bookstore during Tales of the Cocktail 2024 in New Orleans. Subsequent availability is planned.
Do You Work with Other Brands?
Absolutely. I’ve done research, writing, consulting and education for numerous brands and rum-industry companies.
How’s the Rum?
It’s a blend of Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad rums. Alexandre’s part of the book provides substantially more details. I don’t trade in tasting notes, as everyone’s palate is unique. That said, I certainly enjoy it, and I think you’ll find the flavors to be quite deep and complex. But in the end, you’ll have to try it yourself and make up your own mind!
Why is Mister Fogg Rum 55.7% ABV rather than 54.5% ABV?
Great question! The short answer is obscuration, as documented in the Royal Navy’s records. A more complete answer is extensively detailed in the book.
Groundbreaking work, congrats!
Fantastic stuff! I totally understand why you enjoy diving into the archive documents, I think such activities is a big part of why I studied history... primary sources are the best! Looking forward to the book, and currently enjoying a wee tot of Mr. Fogg Navy Rum!