“Rum, sodomy and the lash” is how Winston Churchill’s supposed to have described naval tradition. Whether he did or not, rum’s reputation has certainly suffered from this dubious association. Churchill himself, when questioned by Anthony Montague-Browne, his personal assistant, replied: “I never said it, but I wish I had.”

The Royal Navy’s daily rum ration (a “tot” of rum was thought to stave off the scurvy) was abolished as recently as 1970.