Review by: The Auditor

Review 1306; Rum #611

This bottle of rum is the third release of Black Tot’s annual Master Blend Reserve, an ever evolving blend of rums sourced from various distilleries. This rum is distilled from molasses on various pot and column stills, has no additives and is not chill filtered in any way. The blend breakdown can be found here (https://blacktot.com/our-rums/black-tot-master-blender-s-reserve-2022/) but I will summarize for neatness.
29% Guyana

25% Barbados

7% Jamaica

22% Trinidad

17% perpetual blend

The blend includes rums from Foursquare, Mount Gay, Demerara Distillers, Long Pond, New Yarmouth, Clarendon, Trinidad Distillers Limited, and Caroni. As well as the Perpetual Blend that is some portion of the ever evolving black tot masters blend which is aged in sherry casks and added to each year.

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Distillery: Foursquare, Mount Gay, Demerara Distillers, Long Pond, New Yarmouth, Clarendon, Trinidad Distillers Limited, and Caroni

Bottler: Black Tot

Region: Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica

Still: Pot & Column

ABV: 54.5%

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Nose:  Toasted Caramel Sauce, Touch of Leather, Apple, Mango, Toasted Coconut, Figs, Nutmeg, Nuttiness

Palate: Medium oily mouthfeel, Toasted Caramel, Leather, Apple, Toasted Coconut, Figs, Nutmeg, Nuttiness, Dark Chocolate, Menthol

Finish:   Long finish, Dark Chocolate, Nuttiness, Apple, Toasted Coconut, Figs, Nutmeg, Menthol

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Conclusion: This is a great rum. This runs in line with some of the other high end “navy” rum blends I’ve tried over the years. Its dark, rich, decadent, and has a nice bit of tropical fruits and spices to balance out the more heavy kind of savory notes I think for the base of the flavor profile. It’s a smidge under the 50^th anniversary for me but its taking that navy blend kind of rum up to another level for me.

Final Score: 88

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.