Pusser's Rum (thing)

Pusser’s Rum is both the name of the company which used to produce the Rum, and the name of the Rum itself. Pusser’s Rum has been out of production since 1975. In the days of yore, it was given to sailors in the Royal British Navy, this long-lasting tradition started in 1655, and wasn’t ended until 1970.

A correction. The Rum went out of production in 1975, but a man named Charles Tobias managed to obtain the rights to start up production (Using the old recipe, of course) again. The company Pusser Ltd has produced the rum since 1979, out of Tortola on the British Virgin Islands. It has won several prizes.

Buying a bottle of Pusser’s Rum today can be quite rough on the wallet, if you want the old (pre ’75) bottles. But Pusser’s ain’t cheap, no matter what. I own one bottle myself, bought in companionship with two friends, for the sum of 750 DKK. That’s roughly equivalent to 150 $.
My rum is 150 proof. I don’t know what this means, but it says so on the bottle. It holds 75 % alcohol. Interestingly, this variety can not be found on the company website. Many other different varieties are available, though. I have emailed the company with questions (also regarding historical facts) , and if I get an answer, I’ll be sure to update the node then.
Not surprisingly, the rum is a product of the British Virgin Islands, Guyana and Trinidad. (In the time of slavery and colonialism, rum was produced from spill-products of sugar refining. This is also why Pirates drank rum.(Well, except for their possible liking of the drink) It was the easiest alcohol to obtain in that part of the world, back then.) In my personal opinion, Pusser’s is absolutely worth the price. I’m not a rum-expert in any way, but I have seldom enjoyed a bottle of alcohol so much. Great stuff.

The following is directly transcripted from the back of my own bottle, so the information should be somewhat accurate:

BRITISH NAVY

PUSSER’S RUM

For more than 300 years, from before the days of Admiral Nelson, wooden ships and iron men, the sailors of Great Britain’s Royal Navy were issued a daily ration of Pursser’s Rum. This tradition, one of the longest and unbroken in the history of the sea, carried forward from the year 1655 to July 31 st, 1970 when it was stopped. The Navy’s rum issue gave birth to an especially flavorful kind of rum called Navy Rum. Naturally flavored, Pusser’s is the original Navy Rum, still produced in accordance with Admiralty Regulations for Rum.
The superb rum in this bottle, a Gold Medal Winner, is the same rum that was issued in the Royal Navy. They called it “Nelson’s Blood”. We call it Liquid History. Its full, rich flavor is unsurpassed. A substantial royalty from the sale of each bottle of Pusser’s Rum is paid to the Royal Navy Sailor’s Fund-referred to as the ‘Tot Fund’ – which provides amenities for serving personnel.

Okay, the “Iron Men” part might be a lie. I think Englishmen are flesh and blood too.
Just for kicks, here’s a list of the traditional Royal Navy toasts. Different toasts would be made on specific days of the week.

Sunday ............... Absent friends.
Monday ...............Our ships at sea.
Tuesday .............. Our men.
Wednesday ..........Ourselves (as no one else is likely to concern themselves with our welfare).
Thursday ............. A bloody war or a sickly season.*
Friday ..................A willing foe and sea room.
Saturday ............. Sweethearts and wives (may they never meet).

*Thursday's toast is clearly a reference to promotion, only then to be obtained in dead men's shoes. Another version goes: “To a bloody war and quick promotion”

Here’s links for my sources on this:

http://www.hmsrichmond.org/toast.htm
http://www.pussers.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
My other sources include my friend Robin (A rarely recognized authority on all alcohol)
and my own bottle, at home.