What is navy rum?

Navy rum is a style designation and not a legal category; European legislation only recognises rum, with a minimum of 37.5% vol.

Regulation (EU) 2019/787 describes rum in Annex I, category 1. The spirit must come from fermented molasses, from syrup produced in cane sugar production, or from sugar cane juice itself, and is distilled to less than 96% vol. Adding alcohol is not permitted, nor is flavouring. Sweetening is allowed only to round off the taste, up to at most 20 grams per litre, expressed as invert sugar; for colour only caramel is permitted.

The words navy, navy strength or navy rum do not appear in that annex. A producer therefore decides for himself what he means by them.

The Royal Navy issued rum at 95.5 degrees proof, in today’s measure 54.5% vol.

The British proof system measured differently from the alcohol percentage of today. One hundred degrees proof equalled 57.1% vol, and every number below that is a proportional part of it. So 95.5 degrees proof comes to 54.5% vol. The United Kingdom switched to alcohol by volume in January 1980, after which the proof numbers disappeared from the trade. Both numbers, 54.5% and 57%, go back to that same system.

In the gunpowder proof test, gunpowder was doused with spirits and set alight; if it burned with an even flame, the drink was at proof strength.

The test solved a practical problem. Rum was stored on board next to the gunpowder, and anyone who added too much water to the rum made the gunpowder unusable. If the mixture burned evenly, the drink was said to be at proof. If it burned more fiercely, it was called over proof; if it did not ignite, the drink was under proof.

The test was later replaced by measuring instruments. Clark's hydrometer came into use in 1740, Sikes's in 1818. Sikes determined strength via the specific gravity relative to distilled water at 51 degrees Fahrenheit.

The last daily rum ration was issued on 31 July 1970; as of 1 August 1970 the Royal Navy abolished the tot.

The Admiralty Board no longer considered the ration compatible with the demands made by complex and often sensitive equipment on board. The House of Commons discussed the decision on 28 January 1970. On abolition, 2.7 million pounds went to the Sailors’ Fund, calculated by discounting the annual saving.

The day is known as Black Tot Day. On some ships and at a training base it was marked with black mourning armbands and a re-enacted funeral procession.

Grog is named after Admiral Edward Vernon, who in 1740 ordered that his crew’s rum ration be diluted with water.

Vernon did that for health reasons, and grog was his nickname. The practice then became the ordinary routine in the fleet. Crew below the rank of petty officer received their share diluted in the proportion of one part rum to two parts water; officers received their rum undiluted.

Rum came into use in the Royal Navy from around 1655, as a replacement for beer. The name Pusser’s rum goes back to the purser, the man who handed out the ration on board.

Rum of 54.5% vol or more in the shop in Bathmen comes from twenty countries, with Jamaica as the largest origin.

On the shelf are 65 bottles of rum of 54.5% ABV or higher, spread over 23 brands. Jamaica supplies fifteen, Barbados nine, Guyana six and the Netherlands five; for eight bottles the broader designation Caribbean is given as origin. The alcohol percentages range from 54.5% to 81%.

The whole rum department has 431 items, within a range of about 6,500 items at the Brink 2 in Bathmen. If you want to know which bottle suits your use, walk in or give us a call.