R.A.S.C. 1954 – Rum from Another Time
There are rare rums – and then there are bottlings where the story behind the liquid is almost even more fascinating than the rum itself. The two R.A.S.C. Jamaica Rum 1954 releases from Velier undoubtedly belong to the second category. Only 166 bottles were produced from the two releases in total. But what makes them truly special is their origin: the rum comes from historic British military stocks and was already filled into the typical stoneware flagons back in 1954.
What does R.A.S.C. mean?
R.A.S.C. stands for Royal Army Service Corps. It was the logistics and supply corps of the British Army, responsible, among other things, for transport and supplies.
The connection to rum, however, also leads us to the famous rum tradition of the Royal Navy. For centuries, the daily rum ration – the so-called Daily Tot – was part of the tradition of the Royal Navy. It was not until 31 July 1970, a date now known as Black Tot Day, that this tradition finally came to an end.
The remaining rum flagons were subsequently stored by the Navy. The flagons opened for the R.A.S.C. bottlings had a capacity of one Imperial Gallon, or around 4.55 litres.
Giuseppe Begnoni and Luca Gargano had started buying such stoneware flagons early on and had quite a number of these historic “artefacts” in their collections. Many years later, it was exactly this stock that would become the basis for two of the most extraordinary Velier bottlings.
R.A.S.C. 1954 – 1st Release
For the R.A.S.C. 1954 1st Release, nine historic Stone Flagons were married together. They contained “Jamaican Pure Single Rum”, which had already been filled into these vessels in 1954.
There was a special reason for the bottling: Velier was founded in Genoa in 1947 and celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017. Luca Gargano and Giuseppe Begnoni therefore decided to bottle this historic rum for the big anniversary.
From the nine flagons, which belonged to Giuseppe Begnoni’s private collection, only 58 bottles of 0.7 litres at 53% vol. were filled. Due to this extremely small number alone, the first R.A.S.C. is one of the rarest Velier bottlings ever released.
The rum is also unusual in terms of taste. I had the chance to enjoy a dram a few years ago – and admittedly, at first I found it quite difficult to arrive in Jamaica. The stewed plum note, combined with tobacco, dark roasted aromas and liquorice, would have made me guess Demerara in a blind tasting – and Port Mourant in particular.
One thing can certainly be said: the flavour profile fits the story of this bottling perfectly!
R.A.S.C. 1954 – 2nd Release
Three years later, the second bottling followed.
For the R.A.S.C. 1954 2nd Release, 18 flagons were brought together – this time from the private collections of Giuseppe Begnoni and Luca Gargano.
The rum was bottled in 2020, again at 53% vol. The 18 flagons resulted in 108 bottles of 0.7 litres. This makes the second release another extremely small and today highly sought-after bottling.
The profile of the second bottling is very similar to the first. However, I found considerably more fruit notes in the second one – even tropical and fresh fruit. There is also a little more sweetness, which creates a great balance. On the finish, there are more herbal notes, which linger wonderfully together with the dry power of the rum. A great and historic dram!
Two Bottles – A Piece of Rum History
Today, the two R.A.S.C. 1954 releases therefore stand for much more than an ordinary rum series. They are more like preserved spirits history. From military supplies and the centuries-old British rum tradition to the private collections of two important personalities in the spirits world, this is a story spanning more than six decades.
And perhaps that is exactly what makes these bottlings so fascinating: anyone holding one of the 166 bottles is not simply holding an extremely rare “Velier”. They are holding a small, preserved piece of a rum culture that has long since disappeared in this form.
We are happy to be able to offer both bottles in our current auction – both in great condition.
R.A.S.C. 1954 1st Release and R.A.S.C. 1954 – 2nd Release
Good luck with your bidding!
For more information visit Rum-X:
Sebastian from RhumAuction.com