Black Tot day

July 31, 1970 was a black day for the British Marines, as it saw the abolition of the Tot, their daily rum ration.

As early as 1731, Tot had been a staple in sailors' daily bread. Water was considered unhealthy at the time—and often was after a long sea voyage in a wooden barrel. Rum kept longer than beer and contained more alcohol per barrel, meaning less weight to carry on the ship.

You can imagine the logistics involved in distributing those rations. Because all British marines had to receive rum of the same quality (read: strength), the Royal Navy stockpiled some 18 million liters of rum in London. This inadvertently made the Navy one of the largest rum blenders in the world, shipping rum from a wide variety of regions to London to be blended for the marines.

Initially, the Marines received a pint of rum per day, more than half a liter. This quickly decreased because consuming such quantities of alcohol didn't exactly improve discipline among the soldiers. In 1970, the British Parliament decided to abolish the Tot altogether. On July 31 of that year, the last rum rations were distributed. Although the Marines received more beer in their rations, they mourned their daily rum allowance. They organized funeral ceremonies for the Tot all over the world, and July 31 became known as Black Tot Day.

Black Tot rum blenders searched the world for remnants of the navy blends that hadn't reached the Marines due to the discontinuation of the Tot. They used the remaining jars as examples for their own blends . The result? A modern blend with pot and column rums from Guyana, Barbados, and Jamaica, combining the elegance of Barbados and Guyana with the boldness of Jamaica. Available at Paradisi!