If you’re a fan of rum, then you’ll love learning about Black Tot Day. Its origins date all the way back to 1655, and have to do with drinking copious amounts of a type of rum called “navy rum”.
While rum cocktails like pina coladas, mojitos, hot buttered rum and daiquiris are delicious, the variety of rum we are talking about on Black Tot Day is served straight up. Or rather, not served.
This July 31 national day commemorates the end to rum rationing on the British Royal Navy. Before this day, sailors received a daily ration (known as a tot) of rum.
Shockingly, the tot was half of an imperial pint of rum. Keep in mind that an imperial pint is 20 oz (larger than an American pint of 16 oz).
Can you imagine manning a ship under the influence of 10 ounces of navy strength rum? Well, the Admiralty Board couldn’t either, and ended the rum tot on what is now called Black Tot Day.
Keep reading to learn about navy rum, as well as the history of rum rationing and how it led to Black Tot Day.
Navy rum origin
The history of rum rationing and the origin of naval rum dates all the way back to 1655, and the British naval invasion of Jamaica led by Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables.
When the British Royal Navy sent sailors out on expeditions, they sent them with drinking water which was stored in wooden casks. They also gave the sailors a beer ration of one gallon per day. This ration was called a ‘tot’.
However, because the water and beer were stored in wooden casks, they would frequently spoil. On long journeys, this lack of clean water was a huge problem for sailors, causing more of them to die from scurvy than in battle.
It wasn’t just the water spoiling that the sailors had to worry about. The alcohol content in beer also wasn’t high enough to stop it from going rancid.
When the Royal Navy soldiers arrived in Jamaica, they discovered that due to rum’s high alcohol content, this spirit made from sugarcane wouldn’t spoil like beer did.
Many soldiers thought it was a better idea to drink this unspoiled rum than beer. So they opted, unofficially, to replace their beer tot with rum. Thus, navy rum was born!
How much navy rum is in the rum tot?
In 1731 a new regulation was put in place that officially allowed beer to be replaced with rum as the sailor’s tot. It allocated each sailor with half an imperial pint of rum.
This ration was to be given out by the purser, the officer who was in charge of handing out tots. He issued it in two equal portions at two different intervals during the the day.
It is important to keep in mind that an imperial pint is 20 oz (larger than an American pint of 16 oz).
So, even though the rum tot was only half an imperial pint, these sailors were still allotted 10 oz of rum per day! Work on the naval vessels was challenging and often complex, which was not helped by the sailors being rum drunk.
Navy rum also has a higher percentage of alcohol by volume than most other types of rum. To be classified as navy rum, it must be at 54.5% ABV.
The history of rum rationing in the Royal Navy
Enter Admiral Edward Vernon who, in 1740, decided to do something about the sailor’s drunkenness, which was becoming problematic. He issued Order to Captains No. 349 on August 21, 1740, to change the way the daily rum tot was presented.
It stated that the rum tot of half an imperial pint was to be watered down, in a 4:1 ratio (four parts water to one part rum). The rum tot would still be distributed in two servings during the day, as it was previously.
Admiral Vernon was nicknamed “Old Grog” for a grogram (coat) he used to wear. In addition to his nickname, the diluted rum mixture he created had a nickname too; it was called grog. Grog is now commonly used to describe any alcoholic drink.
It is also commonly known in modern times that having too much grog, will result in your waking up groggy (or hungover) in the morning. All of these terms date back to the rum rations of the Royal Navy.
In 1975, the Royal Navy mandated that three quarters of an ounce of lemon juice were to be given daily to sailors in an effort to combat scurvy.
This lemon juice was often added to the grog. When lemons weren’t available, lime were permitted.
This change in citrus was the origin of the term limey. This slang term was often used as a derogatory way to refer to British sailors or citizens in general.
A London based commodities trading company, called ED&F Man, became the official supplier of navy rum in 1784. They held the exclusive contract to supply the rum for the daily tot.
In 1823 the rum rations intensified and the rum tot was cut in half, from half a pint to a quarter of a pint. In 1850 the rum tot was cut in half again resulting in a rum ration of an eight of a pint.
What is Black Tot Day?
Even after the rum tot was lessened and the rum was diluted, there was still a problem with the demanding, complex and dangerous ship work being done under the influence of alcohol.
In December of 1969, the Admiralty Board finally made the final decision that a daily rum tot wasn’t a good idea. After several centuries, of doling out rum, the rum rationing ended.
The last rum tot was handed out on July 31, 1970. This day is referred to as Black Tot Day, and has been observed annually since 1970.
Black Tot Day is one of the many national drink days devoted to rum during the year. Check out our post on National Rum Day which has a list of tasty rum cocktail recipes included for another rum day to celebrate this year!
Keeping navy rum alive
While Black Tot Day could have been the end of navy rum, it wasn’t – thanks to a man named Charles Tobias.
In 1971 Tobias quit his high powered job in California and set sail to Greece with three other people, a chimpanzee named Tommy and a cheetah named Fifi. They spent the next 5 years sailing and made the documentary called The Way of The Wind.
When the crew reached Gibraltar, they needed a replacement piece for the sailboat, and boarded a naval ship to try and locate one. Tobias left with not only the needed piece of equipment, but also a flagon of navy rum.
Even though the rum tot had ended, some naval ships still kept rum on board for special occasions like weddings. This parting gift made Tobias decide that he wanted to keep the tradition of drinking navy rum alive.
Pusser’s Rum history
In 1979, Charles Tobias asked the Royal Navy’s Admiralty Board if he could have the recipe for the official blend of naval rum. He also asked for the rights to produce and sell it commercially.
The Admiralty Board agreed, gave him a breakdown of the recipe and allowed him to sell it commercially, without charging him for the rights. They also allowed him to use the White Ensign (the flag of the Royal Navy) on the bottles.
Tobias created the name British Navy Pusser’s Rum for the spirit. There are two important parts to this name. For the first part of the name, he wanted to use “Royal Navy”, but since he was not allowed to legally, he chose “British Navy”.
The second part of the name “Pusser’s Rum” (to which it is frequently referred) is a play on words. If you remember, the purser was the person who handed out rum tots to sailors, and “pusser” was a nickname for this position.
Thanks to Pusser’s Rum you can still drink navy rum which is made in the same style as the one consumed by the Royal Navy sailors!
To this day, in an order to give back, for every case of Pusser’s Rum sold, the company makes a donation to the Royal Navy Sailor’s Fund. This is a charitable organization the directly helps veterans and their families.
Charles Tobias of Pusser’s Rum
In addition to Pusser’s Rum, Charles Tobias opened a chain of restaurants and stores called Pusser’s Landing and Pusser’s Co, respectively.
He also helped popularized the popular rum cocktail called the painkiller. It all started when he met Daphne Henderson on Jost Van Dyke (an island in the British Virgin Islands).
Henderson invented the recipe for a cocktail called the painkiller in which used Pusser’s Rum. With her permission, Tobias trademarked it and helped popularize the drink.
If you’re interested to learn more about Charles Tobias, make sure to read this two part interview (part 1, part 2) where he talks about his life and adventures during the creation of Pusser’s Rum.
How to celebrate Black Tot Day
Would you like to celebrate Black Tot Day in a special way? Try one of these ideas to celebrate this national drink day.
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- The most obvious way to celebrate Black Tot Day is to raise a glass and drink navy rum.
- Learn more rum history by reading about the pina colada origin story, which involves pirates!
- Host a rum party for your friends. In addition to serving navy rum for people to drink neat or on the rocks, you can also add some rum cocktails for people who prefer rum in mixed drinks. Try making a traditional Pina Colada as well as this Malibu Rum Punch and this Hotel Riley Cocktail.
- Read a book about the history of rum like The Curious Bartender’s Rum Revolution and Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum and the Cult of Tiki.
- Upgrade your rum bar accessories today. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, we recommend a new set of rum glasses and ice cube molds.
- Not looking to drink rum today? Try eating a rum cake, which has all the flavor of rum without the same alcohol content.
National days of the year are a fun way to celebrate foods, animals and items that you come into contact with. Be sure to check out this national days guide for more information about the history of national days, why we celebrate them.
Share this post about the history of rum rationing and Black Tot Day
If you enjoyed learning about the history of rum rationing don’t forget to share this post on Black Tot Day with your friends. Here’s a tweet to get you started:
Head to Always the Holidays to learn about Black Tot Day - a July 31 national day which commemorates the end to the Royal Navy rum ration. 🥃 #NavyRum #BlackTotDay Share on XMore July 31 national days
Did you enjoy learning about Black Tot Day and the history of rum rationing in the Royal Navy? Well you’re in luck, July 31 is host to more than just one national day!
Here is a complete list of all the July 31 national days:
- Black Tot Day
- National Raspberry Cake Day
- National Avocado Day
- National Mutt Day
- National Jump for Jellybeans Day
- Shredded Wheat Day
- World Ranger Day
- National Cotton Candy Day (also December 7)
More national days in July
There are close to 2000 national days in the year and over 150 of them are July national days. There’s even monthly observances in July that are celebrated all month long!
Is food your thing? Each day of the month has a food or drink associated with it, too. You’ll find all the July food holidays here.
If you’d like an interactive way to teach your kids about the national days this month be sure to download our free July word search of national days.
Pin this post on Black Tot Day and the history of rum rationing for later
Would you like a reminder of this post for Black Tot Day? Just pin this image to one of your national day boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
About the author
Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.