Anyway, the most nautical thing about my stay here in Whistler has been the sumptuous Dark n Stormys I've been drinking in the afternoon. In an earlier post I spoke about my fondness for this drink. As I sip one now I've been contemplating the relationship between rum and life at sea. I've always found it interesting (and redeeming) that the British Navy served rum to its' sailors every day until the year 1970. Around 11am, the time known as "up spirits," the captain gave the order to issue a tot of rum to the crew. Occasionally when circumstances warranted, the captain would issue the command to "splice the mainbrace" which was a euphemism for authorizing a double ration. I had first read about this in an excellent book on the history of modern spirits called "And a Bottle of Rum" by Wayne Curtis. Hungry for a bit more detail, I found more information on Wikipedia. For your edification I share it with you now.
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| An excellent book on the history of rum and other spirits |
From Wikipedia:
The rum ration traditionally consisted of 70 millilitres of rum given out to every sailor at midday.[1] It was sometimes supplemented with splice the mainbrace. The rum ration was often served from one particular barrel, also known as the "Rum Tub" which was often ornately decorated and sometimes was reinforced with brass.[2]
Sailors when boarding their ship were asked if they were members of the Temperance movement. If they said they were, it was noted in the ship's records and they were given three pence a day instead of the rum ration.[3] The time when the rum ration was distributed was called "Up Spirits", which was between 11 am and 12 noon.[4] Sailors under 20 were not permitted a rum ration.[5]
History
The rum ration was originally beer with a daily ration of 4.5 litres per sailor until the 17th century. In 1655, rum replaced beer as the sailor's daily alcohol ration because of the capture of Jamaica from Spain. This change was made because beer would often spoil on long voyages. The ration of rum was half a pint per day, and originally issued neat; sailors would "prove" its strength by checking that gunpowder doused with rum would still burn (thus verifying that rum was at least 57% ABV.) <Thus the use of the word "proof" to describe alcohol content to this day - Doug > In 1740, to minimize problems caused by drunkenness and hoarding of rum, the Navy adopted the practice of diluting rum with water in 1:4 ratio and splitting the ration into two servings, one between 10 am and noon and the other between 4 and 6 pm. In 1756 Navy regulations required adding small quantities of lemon or lime juice to the ration, to prevent scurvy.[1][6] The rum itself was often procured from distillers in Jamaica,Trinidad & Tobago and the British Virgin Islands.[5] Rations were cut in half in 1823 and again in half, to the traditional amount, in 1850.
The abolition of the rum ration had been discussed in Parliament in 1850 and again in 1881 however nothing came of it.[7] In 1970, Admiral Peter Hill-Norton abolished the rum ration as he felt it could have led to sailors failing a breathalyser test and being less capable to manage complex machinery.[8] This decision to end the rum ration was taken after the Secretary of State for Defence had taken opinions from several ranks of the Navy. Ratings were instead allowed to purchase beer, and the amount allowed was determined, according to the MP David Owen, by the amount of space available for stowing the extra beer in ships.[9] The last rum ration was on 31 July 1970 and became known as Black Tot Day as sailors were unhappy about the loss of the rum ration. There were reports that the day involved sailors throwing tots into the sea and the staging of a mock funeral in a training camp.[1] In place of the rum ration, sailors were given 2 cans of beer a day and improved recreational facilities.[10] While the rum ration was abolished, the order to splice the mainbrace remained as the command for it could only be given by the Monarch and is still used to recognise good service.[11]
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