Review: Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum (Guyana)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 14, 2020

Pusser’s Rum is advertised as the original rum of the British Royal Navy. And it is a fact that for over 300 years it was a tradition of the British Navy that each member of the crew was issued a daily ‘tot’ of rum. This tradition began in 1655, and by 1731, the tradition of the daily ‘tot’ was in general use throughout the British Navy. As it was the ship’s purser who was responsible for issuing the rum, the tot of rum became known as Pusser’s Rum in a sort of slang derivation of the term ‘Purser’s Rum’. Although the naval tradition of the daily tot had ended, in 1979 Charles Tobias obtained the rights for the British Naval Rum, and formed Pusser’s Ltd. on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

When I recently received rum samples from 1423 World Class Spirits, I noticed that the label on the Pusser’s Gunpowder Rum stated the rum is bottled by Pusser’s Rum LTD. (British Virgin Islands), and that it is a product of Guyana. This is a departure from my previously reviewed Pusser’s Gunpowder Rum which was sent to me two years ago (which was a Product of Barbados). It is also a departure from the product as advertised on the Pusser’s Website which is stated to be a product of of the Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados.

I suspect that Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum changes its lineage based upon which blending rums are more economical, or perhaps different markets receive different blends, based upon the export market’s presumed preferences.

Here is a link to the review for the Guyanese version of the ovenproof Gunpowder Rum: