Black Tot, Master Blender’s Reserve 2025

ABV: 54.5%

Country: Full breakdown here

Age: A blend of unaged to 27 year old

Cask: Blend

Still: Blend

Price: £141

Distillery: Blend

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Celebrating the 55th anniversary of Black Tot Day (July 31st 1970 – where the Royal Navy officially stopped distributing Rum rations) this years Master Blender’s Reserve is “A perpetual blend of the world’s finest and rarest rums” containing the last of the Black Tot 50th Anniversary release, a portion of last years blend and some of the original navy rum from the original flagons. That’s before we get started with legendary distilleries such as Foursquare, Worthy Park, Diamond and Caroni.

I’m very fortunate to have all 5 of the Master Blender’s Reserves (2021-2025) and one day I hope to have a bottle of the Last Consignment (and maybe even one of the early edition anniversary bottlings if I’m really lucky). I’m a big fan of the Black Tot brand and this bottle goes a long way in showing why that is the case.

Nose

54.5% is nothing to turn your nose up at but this could easily be mistaken for being in the 60’s(%) with the profile. This has quite a woody profile offering some damp/musky earth tones – Makes me think of exploring an old cellar with lots of old books full of calligraphy (very specific way to say ink and old things haha). Hot and a little funky with pineapple skin, banana and molasses followed by orange peel and black liquorice adding some bitterness.

Palate

Immediately this has a lot of depth and the fact that this feels balanced with the number of flavours present is very impressive and a testament to the skill of the Master Blender Oliver Chilton. We’re very much in thinker territory with this one.

Dry with tannins yet still offering richness and sweetness. Dry bark (very fitting for the 30°c weather we’re having), cinnamon stick and pineapple all speak to me very positively whilst orange peel adds a fruity sweetness (alongside juicy pineapple) that I don’t get along with quite as well. (If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ll know I just don’t like the flavour of orange). Despite such bold fruit, wood and baking spices there’s still room for the more delicate mint and nettle freshness.

A lovely long finish where the flavours stick around with some pepper and a pleasant astringency.

8/10 – The art of the blend and overall sip scores this high with some points lost due to my personal dislike of orange that is present in this years release.