Pusser\'s Rum Is a Fascinating

Pusser's Rum is a fascinating product with a fascinating history. The association of Rum with a form of compensation on a naval ship has a long tradition and Pusser's Rum is the rum that fit this bill got the British Royal Navy from 1655 to 1970. The name comes from a slang pronunciation of Purser, the individual on the ship responsible for divvying out the daily rum ration for the individual sailors.

Prior to 1740, the men's daily tot of Pusser's Rum was a pint a day, which they drank neat, that is without water! Before battle, they were issued a double 'tot', and always after victory for a job well done! From 1655 to the 19th century, Pusser's Rum was one of the few daily comforts afforded those early seamen of Britain's Navy as they fought around the globe to keep the Empire intact and its sea lanes open. (Pusser's Website "About Pusser's")

In fact until 1980 this rum was not available to anyone except those associated with the British Royal Navy, when an entrepreneur bought the rights and the recipe from the British Royal Navy and began to produce and distribute it to the public. The availability of this product to the public marks a change in the distribution of alcohol internationally. Additionally, the marketability of the product internationally via the internet is also demonstrative of a change in the system. Yet, it seems that the company has done a great deal of research about given laws and requirements for international distribution of products containing alcohol.

In 1979, Charles Tobias-entrepreneur, global sailor, raconteur-sought to resurrect the Pusser's Rum tradition. He obtained the rights and all the blending information from the Admiralty, and formed Pusser's Ltd. On Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and began bottling and selling this storied spirit in 1980 to the public for the first time. (Prior to then, it was restricted to the Royal Navy). British Navy Pusser's Rum is the same Admiralty blend of five West Indian rums as issued on board British warships, and it is with the Admiralty's blessing and approval that Pusser's is now available to the consumer. (Pusser's Website "About Pusser's")

The original recipe for Pusser's Rum has therefore become an international success story based upon a long tradition.

In return, the Royal Navy Sailor's Fund, a naval charity, receives a substantial donation from the sale of each case. This contribution, aside from the Fund's original bequest, is the Fund's largest source of income. (Pusser's Website "Pusser's Outposts")

The rum itself is marketed in different strengths given the laws of the region, with the average proof of the rum 95.5% alcohol per volume being the original average proof of the original recipe of the Rum offered in either full strength or "Grog" (mixed with water) to the sailors of the British Royal Fleet. The Rum itself is available in bars and liquor stores in mainly the U.S. And Britain but is also available at the Pusser's outposts all over the world.

In fact the strength changes of over the years have a long tradition and are the source of the term "grog" applied to many forms of alcohol when mixed with water. The term first affectionate and then the derogatory term for Admiral Vernon, Commander-in-Chief, West Indies Station, the prime area for Spanish trade in the Caribbean) who made the regulation of mixing the sailors rum with water, so as to reduce its effect a rule.

The men had affectionately nicknamed Vernon Old Grog on account of the old grogram cloak (a rough hewn fabric of mohair and silk) that he often wore when the weather was bad. In Vernon's time, the men received one-half pint of rum a day which they drank neat, that is without water. Thus there was a lot of drunkenness and disobedience on board for which many of the men were brutally disciplined. He was much concerned with what he called, "the swinish vice of drunkenness"...Thus Admiral Vernon issued his infamous Order to Captains No. 349 on August 21, 1740...The men were incensed that he should have ordered that their rum be diluted, and named it contemptuously grog from the name they had given him. Thus real grog is Pusser's Rum with water, limejuice and brown cane sugar. Unwittingly, Vernon had created the world's first cocktail - grog! (Pusser's Website "Pusser's Folklore")