Rum Rations

Rum Rations were a daily amount of rum (tot) issued to sailors serving on Royal Navy ships.  The practice dates back to the 17th century.

History of the Rum Ration

Sailors in the 17th century were given a daily drinks ration of 1 gallon of beer per day.  Beer would last longer than water on a voyage and also helped with the morale of the crew.  Life on board a Royal Navy ship was very hard in the 17th century.  The living conditions were very cramped and the work was physically hard. In order to maintain discipline punishments were common and harsh and food shortages were common particularly towards the end of a voyage.    The sailor’s low pay was also withheld for months or even years to prevent desertion.  By 1655 due to the storage problems associated with beer ie space and also the tendency for it to spoil on a long voyage in warmer climes, a spirit allowance was introduced instead.  Due to the political influences of the plantation owners in the Caribbean at that time Rum became the spirit of choice and has become synonymous with sailors ever since.  This daily drink allowance became known as the Rum Ration or tot.

A Ration of Rum

When the Rum ration was introduced in 1655 each sailor was given 1/2 pint of rum per day.  Before the invention of the hydrometer, the proof of the rum was tested with gunpowder.  A small amount of rum was poured onto some gunpowder and would attempt to be ignited with the aid of a magnifying glass.  If the gunpowder ignited then the rum was said to be proof.  If the gunpowder exploded it was overproof and if the gunpowder didn’t light it was underproof.  Indeed the word proof derives from this practice.  Heaven help the purser if it was underproof!

Dilution

By 1725 the amount of alcohol consumed by the sailors was beginning to cause a problem on board the ships.  Some sailors would save their rum rations and then drink them all at once, even though drunkenness was punishable by flogging.   An Admiral Edward Vernon was given the task of finding a solution.  His answer was to water down the rum.  The rum ration was still the same but water had to be added with a rum to water ratio of 1:4.  Over time the ratio changed to 1:3 then 1:2 and finally the run ration itself was reduced to 1/8 pint until it was abolished in 1970.  The watered-down rum was known as grog, this name derived from Admiral Vernon’s nickname “Grogrum”. Grogram was a type of fabric woven from silk and wool, and Vernon was partial to coats made from this fabric.

Abolition

The daily rum ration tradition was continued right up until 1970.  The Admiralty Board issued concerns regarding the safety of the daily rum rations. “The rum issue is no longer compatible with the high standards of efficiency required now that the individual’s tasks in ships are concerned with complex, and often delicate, machinery and systems on the correct functioning of which people’s lives may depend.”  The last of the rum rations were handed out on 31st July 1970, Black Tot Day.

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