UK Navy SRD Taunton Royal Navy Rum 1953 Flagon
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A sipping rum for a quiet, curious evening — this is old blended navy stock, dark Guyana leading with burnt molasses, coffee and licorice, plus a surprising fruity Jamaica lift. Several tasters flag a musty, almost Maggi-and-gravy nose that fades with air, then a spicy, woody, oily palate. Not the most complex old navy, but genuinely history in the glass.
The community says- Old navy history
- Fruity Jamaica lift
- But: Musty, funky nose
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The look inside the bottle
How does UK Navy SRD Taunton Royal Navy Rum 1953 Flagon taste?
Summarized by AI from 23 community reviews.
Dark, woody old navy with fruity lift Members love it as a rare piece of navy history: dark Guyana, spice and unexpected fruit, well-integrated alcohol. Most agree it's very good but not the most complex — and the nose starts musty.
Collectors and drinkers into old dark navy-style blends
Anyone put off by a musty nose or wanting bright, clean rum
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
12 of 23 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Community voices
What does the community say?
23 community reviews
17 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 7% of Caribbean rumsTop 13% at Multi Distilleries
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Ranges include their upper bound: “7–8” means above 7 up to and including 8. See the full rating guide
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Jakob
Most helpful positive review
Delicious navy rum with sweet Demerara backbone, which is gallantly complemented by tropical fruits. In addition, present spicy notes and subtle latte flavors...not settled in the Champions League, but this is still really fun!
Review by Leo Krüper
Most helpful mixed review
Tastes like aged meat. Just very musty. And caramel and alcohol notes at the end. A lot of history in the glass.
Review by DomM
Amazing piece of history. This one is heavily dominated by coloured Guyana notes to my palate. Dark, rich and heavy. Definitly enjoyable, however, lacks some complexity which made other flagons, I was able to taste, truely outstanding. Edit: Some time breathing in the opened sample elevated the profile. Nice coming back to this one.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#5451 04.07.2025 Enjoying some samples while watching a horror movie called "Companion". Nose Intense, wood, roasted, faint smoke, faint varnish, dried fruit, light nutts, light anise, faint leather, pencil shavings. Palate Oily, medium intense, wood, roasted, medium dry, light leather, light anise, faint caramel, faint chocolate, light nutts, raisin, faint coffee. Finish Long, wood, roasted, light anise, raisin, medium dry, faint glue. Empty glass Wood, dried fruit, light chocolate, vanilla, caramel, light leather. Needs to rest for a while to really open up and balance the ABV.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Crazy historic distillate. Lots of wood, lots of spices, lots of tannins, quite astringent. Has something of strong coffee, licorice, dark chocolate, burnt molasses, bitter orange and lemon peel and freshly tanned leather... I can well imagine that in the British navy in rough sea weather it went down throats in large quantities! Exciting experience, thanks to Mirco for the opportunity!
Review by Oliver
There’s some serious power in the nose. I’m guessing a pretty high Jamaica share – it suits it really well. Quite fresh but still the typical dark, roasted Navy vibes come through. Really fun! Many thanks to Mirco for sharing!
Review by Frank
On a business trip with a fine drop: for the second time I have the chance to taste a venerable sample from an old Navy flask. Thanks Richy for this opportunity. I'm curious: Nose: very muted, very old, but nicely spicy. At first quite musty. I even have associations with shiitake mushroom. Slowly finer notes come through: dried plum, dried date, but also dark (somewhat overripe) fruits like cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry. But all not fresh, rather stale and yet concentrated. Also goes towards old port wine. The spice is found in a pleasant Maggi note. Somewhat restrained but interesting, not a top enjoyment but history in the glass. Therefore 8.4 Palate: clearly more intense than the nose, very nice. Spicy-woody-fruity, with dried plum, some Maggi and pepper, vanilla and lovage too. After the first, also somewhat musty, attack a short bitter-sour wood acidity comes through. Behind that, maple syrup and molasses soothe the palate a bit. Nice to have these concentrated aromas of old Navy style in the glass. For that 8.5. A bit overaged, a bit musty, but still brilliant. 🫠
Review by TheRhumhoe
A historic rum remarkably well preserved, standing the test of time. The nose is very fragrant, caught between the dark, sweet and spicy notes of Guyana (prune, licorice, anise, coffee, chocolate, caramel, molasses, roasting) and the heavy and surprisingly still very fruity aromas of Jamaica (exotic fruits). Floral notes, tobacco and black tea bring a welcome freshness. A fairly complex rum, but complete and evolving. The attack on the palate is very elegant. The spices give a little kick, while the fruits and the sweet notes of Demerara balance with more roundness. Oak, tobacco, herbal notes and black tea are also found. The texture is oily and supple, making the rum very pleasant both in consistency and taste. The alcohol is very well integrated, surely mellowed with age, but really at an optimum between aging and the liveliness of flavors. The finish is drier, more tannic and a bit more subtle. The bitterness and roasted notes of coffee and cocoa, as well as the tannic wood and leather, give a more pronounced heavy side. Fruits, black tea and tobacco have taken over the spices, with some caramel and typical Demerara molasses notes. A nice piece of history, hopefully preserved from time.
Review by Serge
For the 500th tasting a small piece of rum history from a real Navy Flagon. Not exactly the peak of complexity but still very good and interesting. Dark Guyana and some fruity Jamaica are clearly recognizable and with some standing time it becomes very tasty and the Maggi-like mix of overloaded Infinity Bottles fades away.
Review by Johannes
Amazingly fruity for an old Navy! I'm excited to do a comparison tasting with different Navys soon!
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
1953, now that's a statement. The smell reminds me a bit of opening a Maggi packet. A bit of gravy and a bit musty. So the desire for the first sip was initially limited. But the taste is quite different. A pleasant spiciness meets light fruity Jamaican notes. The wood is also very present. The alcohol perfectly integrated. The taste is top and earns a very good rating. Thanks for sharing.
Review by Mirco
Interesting project. Had the chance to buy this flask and was happy to split the rum as samples and in small bottles for the community. Expressive notes, the age is clearly noticeable and impressive. I suspect a higher Jamaica proportion than usual.
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
Quite Guyana forward, on the nose and palate I feel this dominant burnt caramel note, with a touch of fruitiness. Alcohol could have been better integrated.
Review by Buddudharma
A wonderful piece of rum history. Nicely integrated alcohol, creamy in the mouth, good interplay of Guyana and Jamaica elements, Trinidad is less present. Lacking some complexity for the highest honors, still a privilege to be able to drink a rum like this in 2023. Many thanks to Mirco for that!
Review by Lot-NAS
First of all, many thanks for sharing this rare gem. Beginning with the nose, metallic (copper), tropical fruits and some hints of Jamaica funk. It also has some meaty aspects (sausages?) I can’t really put my finger on. Also we have some coffee and spices. The palate is nice, ahornsirup, brown sugar, milkcoffee and baking spices (cardamom?). The finish is warm, sweet and easy without any off-notes (maybe a slight bitterness, but we are talking nuances here) and overall not extremely complex. Summarised I really liked it and felt almost humbled to have such an old spirit. Tasting it I got reminded that those bottlings were probably around average back when it had been flagoned. Taking this into account it shouldn’t be a surprise that „just“ some decades of time hadn’t catapulted this dram in a completely different league taste-wise.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Sweet, honey, old cupboard ...definitely without tanins. The sweet part of Last tot
Review by Rum_Freund
I like these old things😊 Fruity, but also with those typical dark aromas🥃 You just have to try it!
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Community shelf
2 bottles logged by 2 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
50% opened, 0 emptied.
What did the community pay for UK Navy SRD Taunton Royal Navy Rum 1953 Flagon?
Avg. community purchase price 1923 €.
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
2 purchased · 23 tasted · 2 wishlist · as of
Details about UK Navy SRD Taunton Royal Navy Rum 1953 Flagon
A rum from Caribbean, bottled by UK Navy SRD Taunton, at 54.4%.
About the Multi Distilleries distillery
The Multi Distilleries distillery is located in Multiple countries. Rums from Multi Distilleries have been reviewed 8,728 times with an average of 8.0/10.
To Multi Distilleries →Read on in the RumX Guide
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