Black Tot Finest Carribean 5-Year

"Navy style" blend of column and pot still rum from Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica
46,2%abv unsweetened and unchillfiltered
Nosing: Very strong distinct ripe banana note, vanilla, caramel, all quite traditional caribbean blend aromas.
Palate: Dry, caramel, vanilla, bit tannic or bitter on back palate, quite oaky, hint of banana

Ok "navy style", i appreciate the nonsugaring on this one and overall this is a decent rum but not one that i find interesting enough,
i feel like this rum could have been much more special and desirable for rum fans if only pot still rum would have been used (and from my knowledge that is what the historical navy rum was) it is bit too "light" and gentle for my palate and pricewise it cant compete with the likes of Pussers or Woods in the navy rum market.
Im just bit disappointed,
i dont know who this rum was meant for, it does have some merits that usually are of interest for rum aficionados,
no sweetening or chill filtering but in the end you have a product that is quite basic multi island blend,
it is good rum but very overpriced for 35€.
In the end i get a feeling that the Black Tot licence and branding was where the most focus was when making this product, sadly

Nothing spectacular.

Good if you like British style rums. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I can see the potential.

Aroma is light wooden. Taste is complex with combination of wood, earth and fruit. Aftertaste is average and a bit bitter.

I was surprised to find this bottle in a small liquor store in eastern Iowa.
The nose is complex. I had to savor several samples to absorb the complexities of it.
I was surprised to find it to be a lighter rum, more of a brandy color. The first sip proves to be smooth with out losing the outlaw roughness of rum.
Despite how delicious it is, I expected more for the price.

Aroma - molasses followed by cinnamon, raisin and brown sugar.

Taste - molasses followed by cinnamon, oak, brown sugar, and baking spices.

I really enjoyed this rum. It's got so many corners to dig into and chase certain flavours and smells. You can easily taste the Demerara component, and I found the Jamaican funk not hard to find either despite only being 5% of the total rum. The Bajan stuff is harder to determine but probably is the reason the rum feels so well balanced. Gives me blackstrap bitterness and a liquorice tang but also plenty of funky sweetness. Frankly if this is close to what the navy was getting every day it's no wonder it was such a dark day when those rations ended.

Duft: karamel, fad, vanilje, lys karamel, let syrlig. Score: 4
Smag: karamel, lakrids, kaffe, peber, vanilje, alkohol. Score: 4

This 5yo rum from the Scottish IB Black Tot Rum is a blend of rums from Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica.
The term “Black Tot” comes from, as most of you know, from the British tradition of giving sailors a daily ration of rum for almost 300 years. The last ration was served on July 31th 1970.
In nose it’s having a navy profile with Demerara from Guyana and some funkiness from Jamaica. Recognizable aromas is exotic fruits, banana, resin, prunes, caramel, oak and dark chocolate.
In mouth and at the palate it’s fruity, spicy and woody with flavors of vanilla, Demerara sugar, cocoa and chocolate.
The rather long finish is fruity, spicy and woody with flavors of vanilla, chocolate and licorice.
Overall a quite soft navy styled rum.
Picture: My emptied sample with a poured glass.

Not a great rum,certainly not a sipper for me.

No real flavour or character, just a blend that for me is hard to distinguish.

Nice with a mixer, good as a session rum.

Unfortunately for this rum, I tried it strait after a glass of Appleton Estates 21 year. Two that shouldn't really be compared. In any case, the Black Tot was nothing to write home about, I wasn't so keen on the sharpness which was obviously not apparent with a smoother aged rum. Maybe one to try under different circumstances.