Elixir Distillers of London Black Tot Rum Master Blender’s Reserve 2021

Black Tot is Elixir Distillers of London's reimagining of the old Royal Navy ration, and this Master Blender's Reserve marries aged pot and column still rum from across the Caribbean into a single navy-style blend carrying a 24 year age statement. The mix leans on Trinidad and Jamaica, which lends it a fruit forward lift and a thread of ester funk that can read almost Jamaican.

Matured in ex-bourbon wood and bottled at cask strength, it delivers ripe tropical fruit, dark chocolate, tobacco and roasted, chocolatey oak, with coffee and caramel on a long finish. The style is rich and full bodied in the English navy tradition but stays comparatively dry and ester edged rather than sweet, bottled without added sugar. It rewards the kind of drinker who enjoys depth and complexity over softness, and it stands up well to slow sipping.