Reviving the Tot.
In the days now long past
British Navy Sailors enjoyed a
daily ration of Rum, also known as a
Tot. The Rum was issued by the Purser, a ship's supply officer, who was called
Pusser in slang by the Navy sailors, thus, the name
Pusser's Rum, e.g. the Rum given out by the ship's supply officer.
The tradition of
daily rations, which, prepared the sailors for a face-off AND eased the
pain of defeat, was one of the
longest-established traditions in the British Navy, lasting from
1655 until 1970. The last Tot of Pusser's was drunk on board
Their Majesties Ship on July 31st 1970, on, what is now known as
Black Tot Day.
In 1979, almost a decade after the Black Tot Day,
Charles Tobias obtained the rights to blend the naval Rum, and formed the company to distil the Rum according to the
original Admiralty recipe. Over the decades Pusser’s Rum has become a favourite of many a Rum aficionado, especially, because it shares certain characteristics with a
Single Malt Scotch.
One of their more recent expressions is
Pusser’s 15 Year old Rum. It's a blend of Rums from
Guyana and Trinidad, produced in
century-old wooden stills, which heavily influence the blends, thus following an essential recipe instruction for a
Navy Rum. Pusser's Rum is
fermented naturally in open vats, where yeasts inherent in the environment ferment the sugar. Fermentation time takes 72 hours, and is done in three stages. This process adds to the
finishing quality of the Rum.