Black Tot Day 2022 marks the third iteration of our annual Master Blender’s Reserve, an ever-evolving perpetual blend crafted by our Master Blender, Oliver Chilton.
For this year’s blend, we drew inspiration from historical rums in our collection and the unique flavour profiles they exhibited over half a century ago. These rums, since lost in the rum world, were rich with notes of baked banana, dusty chocolate, mocha milkshakes, honey, tobacco, leather, liquorice, and spice. These flavours were mapped out and became our guide.
TASTING NOTES
FROM THE PRODUCER
NOSE
Melted chocolate nibs and toasted hazelnuts are offset against warm orange and cinnamon sticks with a background of mixed tropical juice and cassis. Blackcurrant and raspberry leaf start to come to the fore with time in the glass.
PALATE
Initial flavours of milk chocolate and raisins are complimented with café latte and ripe banana. A touch of aniseed balances against a light hint of tropical fruit and a wonderful rich baked Demerara sugar top to a crème caramel.
FINISH
Cinnamon and nutmeg spice along with chilli and cocoa linger for an age.
RECIPE
Black Tot Master Blender's Reserve is inspired by the philosophy or Royal Navy rum blending. The 2022 release, like its 2021 predecessor, displays a wonderful range of origins - from Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and our 'perpetual blend' element of last year's 2021 release (finished in Sherry casks) and some original British Royal Navy rum.
GUYANA BLEND - 29%
Guyana historically has been one of the world’s leading producers of molasses and rum, and it was undoubtedly the heart of the Navy Rum blend. Despite the consolidation of its many distilleries, Guyana’s historic stills have survived and continue to make a variety of rich and flavourful rum marques at Demerara Distillers. The below breakdown of our Guyana component comprises 29% of the final Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 rum blend.
2%
30 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
DEMERARA DISTILLERS COLUMN
6.7%
2 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
DEMERARA DISTILLERS COLUMN
7%
18 Y.O. (3 TROPICAL, 15 CONTINENTAL)
DEMERARA DISTILLERS COLUMN
13.3%
7 Y.O. (5 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
DEMERARA DISTILLERS POT/COLUMN
BARBADOS BLEND - 25%
The birthplace of molasses rum in the Caribbean. Barbados is famous for elegant and balanced blends of pot & column still rum, with notes of tropical fruits, vanilla, and coconut. The below breakdown of our Barbados component comprises 25% of the final Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 rum blend.
2.8%
19 Y.O. (4 TROPICAL, 15 CONTINENTAL)
MOUNT GAY POT/COLUMN
6.7%
16 Y.O. (14 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
FOURSQUARE POT/COLUMN
15.5%
7 Y.O. (5 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
FOURSQUARE POT/COLUMN
JAMAICA BLEND - 7%
Classically a heavier style pot-still rum, Jamaican distilleries like Hampden utilise longer fermentation times, as well as wild yeast strains, and the addition of dunder and muck pits in their molasses ferment to create distinctively big, funky flavours. The below breakdown of our Jamaica component comprises 7% of the final Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 rum blend.
1.2%
27 Y.O. (24 TROPICAL, 3 CONTINENTAL)
NEW YARMOUTH COLUMN
1.2%
27 Y.O. (23 TROPICAL, 4 CONTINENTAL)
CLARENDON ESTATE POT
0.8%
23 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
LONG POND POT
1.2%
24 Y.O. (22 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
CLARENDON ESTATE POT
0.7%
24 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
CLARENDON ESTATE POT
1.9%
22 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
VARIOUS POT/COLUMN
TRINIDAD BLEND - 22%
Trinidad’s most famous rums have all developed out of distilleries founded in the 1900s, most notably Caroni and Trinidad Distillers. The former made a heavier style column still rum (no longer in operation), and was a core component of the original Navy Rum blend - while the latter is a lighter, cleaner style, and is responsible for continuing the heritage of Trinidad rum today. The below breakdown of our Trinidad component comprises 22% of the final Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 rum blend.
1.6%
24 Y.O. (CONTINENTAL)
TDL COLUMN
1.5%
24 Y.O. (13 TROPICAL, 11 CONTINENTAL)
CARONI COLUMN
4.6%
12 Y.O. (10 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
TDL COLUMN
4.6%
12 Y.O. (10 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
TDL COLUMN
9.7%
10 Y.O. (8 TROPICAL, 2 CONTINENTAL)
TDL COLUMN
PERPETUAL BLEND - 17%
Each year, we keep aside a proportion of our previous year’s limited edition Master Blender’s Reserve blend to use as a base for our next year’s Master Blender’s Reserve. As such, the 2022 release has a proportion of a ‘perpetual reserve’ comprising our 2021 release (finished in Sherry casks) and some original British Royal Navy rum. The below breakdown of our Perpetual Reserve component comprises 17% of the final Master Blender’s Reserve 2022 rum blend.
16.3%
PERPETUAL RESERVE - MASTER BLENDER’S RESERVE 2021
SHERRY CASK FINISHED
0.7%
PERPETUAL RESERVE
ORIGINAL ROYAL NAVY RUM BLEND
RAW MATERIAL:
Molasses
DISTILLERY:
Multiple
DISTILLATION:
Guyana column and pot/column, Jamaica column, pot and pot/column, Trinidad column, Barbados pot/column, World pot/column
CASK TYPE:
Multiple - including perpetual reserve sherry cask finish
MATURATION:
Tropical & Continental
CHILL FILTERED:
No
BLEND COMPOSITION:
A blend of rums from Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and a Perpetual Reserve blend
Overall Rating
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