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Join Sally Port Tours for an informative talk about the wonders and history of Navy rum - which will convince attendees that 54% - 57% proof rum is a joy to taste!

The earliest record of rum being given out on British ships was in 1655 when they won the battle for Jamaica against the Spanish. As they didn’t have enough of any other spirits, Admiral William Penn decided to give the crew a measure of rum as a reward. However this is not when the official rum rations on the Royal Navy ships started. It was in 1731 when the daily rum tot became official – or more exactly, the daily half pint of over-proof rum.

Admiral Edward Vernon – nicknamed Old Grog after his silk and mohair Grogram coat – declared in 1740 that the rum given the sailors (daily, it's worth reminding), be cut in half and diluted with water. This drink was aptly named Grog. Some of us are familiar with the Navy Grog drink which, according to tale, was “spiced up” with limes and sugar. However, while a good story, it’s not entirely verified.

Because of this practice, the Royal Navy unintentionally became one of the biggest rum blenders in the world, having approximately 4 million gallons stored in large wooden vats at any time. These were continuously refilled with cane spirit from different countries, depending on the availability. The main ones were Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica, although not limited to them, making the navy rum a continuous evolving world blend with no set recipe.

After Black Tot Day, on the last day of July 1970, all the remaining stock of the Royal Navy was stored in stone flaggons (4.55 litres each) and put away in the Navy Victualling yards. Sukhinder Singh, The Whisky Exchange founder, managed to get his hands on some of these flagons which were blended together and released as the Black Tot Last Consignment in 2010, on the 40th anniversary of the Black Tot Day.

This talk, held at The Sally Port Inn and run in conjunction with Sally Port Walks and Talks, takes place from 6.15pm to 8pm on 18 September 2025.

All attendees will be given the opportunity to taste three Navy rums, as the owner of the Sally Port Inn stated; 'two Navy rums from the middle range and one from the top shelf'. To start the evening off, Mark S is also supplying a taster rum at 40% so that guests really know when they've had a subsequent 54% - 57% Navy rum.

This is an exclusive event so numbers will be limited.