Help!! Pusser's varieties?

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da'rum
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Help!! Pusser's varieties?

Post by da'rum »

The differing abv's/proofs and all the same description, ie from the original recipe and a blend of 6 rums.

I can't get any reliable information, so can any one tell me is there a difference in recipe/technique/still in the Pusser's varieties?

So far I have tried the 42% Blue label and the 75% blue label.

Leaving out the 15 year old there remains

red label 42% and blue label 54%.

Any one? Image
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

A good question...


A few years ago we called up a family member who lives in Key Largo in the Florida Keys. Like us, he loves kayaking, loves the Keys and loves Pussers, for whom he also acts as a sales rep.

At a point we'd managed to contact him, and agreed to meet in Key Largo, at none other than the old, decrepit and wonderful Carribean Club, the alleged site of the 1948 film noir of the same name, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson a and Lauren Bacall and featuring Lionel Barrymore and Claire Trevor (credit Wiki).

BTW, if you use the Wiki as much as most of us do, next time make a small donation - which they richly deserved.


Back to Key Largo..


What was meant to be a short visit turned into two or three hours at the bar, which overlooks Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Jamie made sure we had plenty of Pussers to drink, on the house. We heard tales of Tobias, learned some secrets about the blend, and had a chance to ask him why - when we loved the Blue Label so much - why a bottle of Red Label at 80 proof (40%) we'd found, tasted so weak and unlike the Pussers we'd grown to love.

"That was a mistake" he said.

As memory serves, he proceeded to indicate that only the Blue Labels represent the authentic British Navy Rum (the 15 year is an aged version). Simply put, the Red Label is not the Blue Label, and doesn't have to be authentic. The 40%'r we'd found was an experiment which failed.

From this I gather that other than the 15 Year aged version, the other Red's may be other experiments. Personally I'd love to taste them and confirm this belief. I can tell you these others don't exist in South Florida, so let me be so kind as to encourage you to spend your hard won Aussie dollars to check it AUD....
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Mon Dec 03, 2012 6:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
da'rum
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Post by da'rum »

Thanks Jimbo. I'm living in Europe so it'll be (very) hard won Euro's. I am sending Pusser's an email to see what they say but when all else fails I'll just buy each one and do a comparison. I just don't want to find out that each Blue label is the exact same recipe/blend watered to different abv's.
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Pusser's Rum

Post by pussers »

I wanted to take this opportunity to add some valuable history and insight regarding the production of Pusser’s Rum. First, I believe that most are aware the formula for the Pusser’s Rum was the one last used by the Royal Navy. The exclusive brokering rights for supplying rum to the Royal Navy started in 1784 when they were awarded to James Man, later, E.D. &.F. Man, who continued to supply rum to the Admiralty until the issue was terminated.

Man supplied rum to the victualling yards at Deptford, Gosport and Devonport where it was blended to Admiralty specification and was known to the Royal Navy as “Pusser's Rum.” On board ship, stores were controlled by the Purser and over the years the sailors corrupted this to Pusser, hence, Pusser's Rum.

Although many rums project a naval image, the Royal Navy did not use proprietary brands, but issued Pusser's Rum blended to Admiralty specification, which was not available to the public. When the Admiralty stopped the rum issue in 1970, they donated funds equivalent to the cost of purchasing two years supply of rum to a new welfare fund, the Royal Navy Sailors Fund, otherwise known as the Tot Fund, to provide amenities for serving personnel.

In 1979, Company founder, Charles Tobias, negotiated with the Admiralty who approved the re-blending of Pusser's Rum to their original specification for sale to the public. In appreciation, the Company accrues a donation from worldwide sales which is awarded to the Sailors Fund annually. Today, Pusser's Rum LTD is the Fund’s largest source of income, outside the original bequest.

The Company continues to import its blend from the same stills last used and specified by the Royal Navy. In the spirits world, rum is purchased from suppliers on an LPA basis (liters of pure alcohol—100% alcohol by volume). 100 US Proof is 50% alcohol by volume (ABV). The rum is distilled in wooden stills at 170 proof (85% ABV). It is reduced to 140 to 150 US Proof during the three year aging process, the minimum requirement for Pusser’s Rum. Before the over-proofed product is shipped, the supplying distillery is required to send samples from the top and bottom of the barrels or tote to our laboratory in Barbados which precisely measures the amount of esters, fusel oils and other congeners in each container. These are organic flavoring agents inherent in the wooden distillation and aging process. If the results are not spot-on, the Company will not allow the container(s) to ship. Just to make sure, the same testing is done when the product arrives in Barbados.

The only thing that has varied about the blend since commercialization is the proof or amount of alcohol. The original formula has not been altered. The over-proof shipment noted above is blended according to formula and reduced to 109 US Proof equivalent to 95.5 UK Proof by Sikes Hydrometer (54.5% ABV) to match the original Navy Formula; that is what the Company sells in the UK, Germany and Gibraltar. Several years ago founder Charles Tobias decided to lower the proof to 84 convinced that it made for a smoother sipping beverage and was more palatable in a Painkiller. Today that is the standard throughout most of the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Scandinavia, China and the Caribbean Islands.

We are a Company who listens closely to our importers and distributors who have taken on the responsibility to sell our products in their markets. We have found that “taste,” and hence “demand,” can vary significantly in world markets. In Germany, for instance, there is definitely a taste, and demand, for high proof spirits, hence our introduction of the 150 proof to that market (essentially blended without any dilution). In reality, there is a smoothness which comes with some dilution. There is also pressure from certain consumer groups to lower the proof of spirited beverages which is further supported, indirectly, through the levying of excise taxes based on proof and in certain countries though outright regulation. If it’s an aged spirit, like Pusser’s, higher proof also means a higher price to the consumer--so all of these factors have been influential in the crafting of our brand.

I will conclude what has become a tome by saying that the blend, or formula, of our rum has not changed, but note that dilution will impact the sensory perception of the product.

I thank your audience for their strong support of our niche brand and I hope I have addressed their concerns.

With kind regards,
Gary L. Rogalski
President & CEO
Pusser’s Rum LTD
da'rum
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Post by da'rum »

Brilliant!! Thank you Gary for taking the time to post that information. It is very much appreciated.

Cheers Marcus
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