Pussers Rum 50th Anniversary Rum 54.5%

Pussers Rum 50th Anniversary Rum 54.5% is a limited edition bottling of rum launched in late 2019 to celebrate (perhaps commiserate would be a better word) the 50th anniversary of the date that the Royal Navy last issued the rum ration, Black Tot day on 31st July 1970. Pusser’s Rum will be releasing 5,000 limited-edition bottles to commemorate the historic event.

Pusser’s Rum & The Tot Fund

British Navy Pusser’s Rum is based upon the same Admiralty blend West Indian rums that were issued on board British warships, and it is with the Admiralty’s blessing and approval that Pusser’s is now available to the consumer. In return, The Royal Navy Sailor’s Fund, a naval charity more commonly called the “Tot Fund”, receives a substantial donation from the sale of each bottle of British Navy Pusser’s Rum. Aside from the fund’s original bequest, the Pusser’s contribution has become the fund’s largest source of income.

100% Natural Rum

Today’s Pusser’s is still produced according to the Admiralty’s rum specifications. Unlike most rums, Pusser’s uses no flavouring agents. It is 100% natural. There are three standard rums in the current Pussers range – Blue Label bottled at 40%, Gunpowder Proof (Black Label) bottled at 54.5% and the reformulated 15 Year Old. Pussers Rum is a blend of rums from five different stills, three pot stills in Guyana and two column stills in Trinidad. This blend of hand-selected rums produces the perfectly balanced smoothness, flavour, and mellow depths of Pussers Rum. The blend is aged for a minimum of 3 years and features a heavy proportion of rum from the Port Mourant wooden pot still.

Black Tot Day

Like the Gunpowder Proof, the Pussers Rum 50th Anniversary Rum is a blend of Guyanan and Trinidadian rums bottled at 54.5% abv but it is made to the same specifications last used used by rum bottlers and blenders James Man (now ED&F Man) for the Admiralty when the rum ration (first issued in 1655) was discontinued in 1970 on “Black Tot” day. On Black Tot Day some sailors wore black armbands, tots were buried at sea and at HMS Collingwood near Fareham there was a mock funeral procession complete with a black coffin and accompanying drummers and piper.

Each limited edition bottle of Pussers Rum 50th Anniversary Rum features a numbered label. It is bottled, chill-filtered at “Gunpowder Proof” of 54.5% ABV.