Following the abolition of the daily tot on 31st July 1970, excess stocks of rum were drawn from their barrels and placed into wicker clad stone flagons. These stocks lay untouched in bonded underground warehouses around the world, remaining the property of the Admiralty.
Only guests at state banquets and royal weddings had the privilege of tasting these rums. Often they were brought from archive warehouses and decanted into ceremonial flagons. Some of this rum was served at the wedding of HRH Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Andrew served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Invincible, during the Falklands War.