Black Tot Rum is unveiling the fifth edition of its super-premium rum, Master Blender’s Reserve, set to launch globally on 1st July 2024.
Spurred on by the success of the previous iterations, the Black Tot team continues to seek out rums from around the globe to create flavour-led, characterful blends which resonate with the dark spirits drinker.
The 2024 edition focuses on the cultural birthplace of rum, Barbados – with a high proportion of rums from Foursquare, Mount Gay, and West Indies Distillery. Master Blender, Oliver Chilton says: “For this new release we wanted to focus on the warmth and fruit of rums from Barbados, which has given us a foundation of juicy pineapple, lime, and sweet melon.”
To create Master Blender’s Reserve, Chilton continues to use a perpetual blend as the backbone – a blend that has been added to every year since the inaugural release in 2020. From there he hunts for flavours across the diverse world of rum to add depth and layers to present a unique liquid each year.
“I knew I wanted to highlight Barbados, and then bring in some of the older Jamaican blends that we created a few years back, for added intensity. We also used some deep, rich rums from Guyana and Trinidad, including one from the closed Caroni distillery.”
As in previous years, original navy rum flagons from the 1970s were used as a homage to the first Black Tot release, ‘The Last Consignment’.
Black Tot Rum began its journey in 2011 after founder Sukhinder Singh purchased stone flagons filled with rum from the Royal British Navy. The flavour of the rum inside became the catalyst for an obsession to find as many of these flagons as he could and from them created ‘The Last Consignment’. Over time the range has been added to, most notably with Black Tot Finest Caribbean and the annual limited release of Master Blender’s Reserve.
Black Tot Master Blender’s Reserve 2024 has notes of grilled, buttered pineapple with lime, chilli, and coconut. On the palate there are hints of dark sugar and baked banana along with sweet melon and guava, finishing with liquorice, dried mango, and bitter chocolate.
Transparency continues to be a pillar of the brand and this release contains a full breakdown of the blend components which is available on its website too. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at ‘navy strength’ (54.5%).
Only 3,000 bottles were created of this year’s Black Tot Master Blender’s Reserve 2024 (70cl, 54.5% ABV). It will be available from 1st July across all channels. RRP £145.
