Pussers Spiced Rum Launched

Pussers Spiced Rum now available in the UK

Last week, I was lucky enough to meet George Freegard, the International Brand Manager for Sales and Procurement, and Gary Rogalski, President and CEO of Pussers Rum. They were on a whistle stop tour of the UK visiting various suppliers, retailers and bars that distribute Pussers rum. They were in our area taking the time to make a considerable donation to The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) at the charity’s home of HMS Excellent, Portsmouth (just down the road from us at Fareham Wine Cellar). Amongst other things we discussed the new Pussers Gunpowder Proof Rum and a new Pussers Spiced Rum – a gentle modernisation seems to be creeping through the company.
Buy Pussers Spiced Rum at Fareham Wine Cellar.

Quite frankly, I am surprised it has taken so long for Pussers to get into the spiced rum market. Going back 10 years or so, there were only a handful of spiced rums on the market, today there are well over a hundred spiced rums. In the UK popular brands include Captain Morgan, Kraken, Barcardi’s Oakheart, Sailor Jerry, and many more, varying in style from dark and sweet all the way through to more elegant, dryer styles. Some are made in a very artisanal way using aged rums and steeping the herbs and spices, some are made by colouring and sweetening flavoured white rum with caramel and there is a whole range of intermediate styles in between! Spiced rum is one of the fastest growing spirits categories. Rum sales in general are growing and the WIRSPA (The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc.) in their report 2013 “A Decade of Rum” state that, between 2000 and 2010, “rum enjoyed a growth rate of +40%, ahead of one of the most talked about categories of the decade, vodka”. In the same period, “spiced rum has more than doubled in size over the last ten years and flavoured varieties are up by over 50%.”

Pussers Spiced Rum

So what makes Pussers Spiced Rum different from all the other spiced rums on the market? Obviously Pussers Rum has a long and historical association with the Royal Navy that no other rum has but what is the Pussers Spiced Rum USP?

The base rum is a blend of young Barbados column still and pot still rums. The secret blend (naturally) of herbs and spices are obviously Caribbean spices, but the dominant one here is ginger. There is also some citrus, cinnamon, vanilla, anise and “other spices” – these are steeped in the base blend for 7 days. This not only allows the herbs and spices to steep it allows for the column and pot still rums to blend together too. Only natural ingredients are used. Imagine a liquid rum and ginger cake.

Tasting notes from the Pussers Rum website – The colour is a rich golden amber. This lively, aromatic spiced rum first provides distinct notes of fresh culinary ginger and cinnamon, followed by layers of orange zest and baking spices such as nutmeg and allspice. Pussers Spiced Rum is not a typical spiced rum and has been crafted with great care resulting in a spiced rum of superb quality.

Pussers Spiced Rum Tasting Notes by Fareham Wine Cellar

Pussers Spiced Rum has a light golden / amber colour. The nose is full with predominantly ginger notes and baking spiced, it is not surprising that Pussers were toying with the idea of calling this Ginger Spiced Rum. There are aromas of allspice, nutmeg, anise / star anise and peppery spice. It also has nutty, caramel and dried fruit notes. The palate is complex, round and smooth. It is initially quite sweet. There are flavours of brown sugar, demerara, ginger and some orange / citrus. Finish is good, clean and lengthy, drying out with a good gingery kick at the end.

Pussers Spiced Rum is bottled at 35% abv which is a little bit low in my opinion. It falls in line with Foursquare Spiced Rum and Sailor Jerry at this strength, but I can’t help but wonder what this would be like if it was bottled at 40% abv. All in all it is a fantastic spiced rum, great for ginger lovers and hopefully it will entice a new generation of rum drinkers to try Pussers rum.
Edit 07/01/16 If you are looking for a Spiced Rum at a bit of a higher ABV, check out the Ron de Jeremy Spiced Rum “Hardcore Edition” or Bayou Spiced Rum from Louisiana.