No Black Tot Day in My Navy

     Today is officially "Black Tot Day", but not in Bahama Bob's Navy.   The vessels of Bahama Bob's Navy are celebrating the arrival of Pusser's Gunpowder Proof Rum to Florida today.   Morning Grog on Sanity Too to start the day, followed by this evening's the introduction party starting at 7 pm at the Rum Barrel on Front Street in Key West.  Today all the sailors in my Navy are drinking Pusser's Gunpowder Proof Rum in the true style of the British Sailors.

     The unique component of Pusser's Gunpowder Proof is rum distilled from vintage wooden pot stills, a process that provides a depth of flavor far beyond that of mass-produced rums distilled from “modern” semi-automatic metal column stills. The two existing wooden pot stills, first put in use in the early 1700s and located in Guyana’s Demerara River Valley, impregnate the rum with esters (naturally occurring organic flavoring compounds) far beyond those of any other rum. What results is a truly unique, award winning taste.

     The name “Pusser’s” is nothing more than a corruption of the word “Purser,” the Royal Navy ship’s supply officer who retained the stocks of rum. Before hydrometers, the ship’s Purser would test rum strength by mixing a few grains of gunpowder with rum to see if it would ignite under the heat of a magnifying glass. If it did that was 'proof' the rum was “at strength,” if it was not, the Purser was threatened with bodily harm for “watering down” the rum. 

     Join us tonight at the Rum Barrel for an evening of great rum tasting a chance to try some unique Pusser's Gunpowder Proof cocktails and some fun giveaways.   The party starts at 7 pm upstairs on the Quarterdeck of the Rum Barrel.  Admission is FREE.

"Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide" is Online

     Great News, The original Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide is back.  It is on line and it is very well done.   I have always thought that the Mr. Boston Guide was the best one around, and had the most accurate recipes, especially when it comes to the classics.

    Mr. Boston used to be the barkeep's best friend. The unmistakable, narrow, cherry-red books were once found behind every bar. The first edition of "Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide" was published in 1935, just as America was again able to properly quench its thirst after Prohibition. More than 65 editions would be published.

     Around the time that American bartenders became "mixologists" and cocktails got complicated, Mr. Boston fell from favor.  A few years back, the New Orleans-based Sazerac Co. bought Mr. Boston, which also sells a line of cordials and spirits.   Thursday July 21 Sazerac relaunched the Mr. Boston guide as a free, web-only tool.  Sazerac plans to make Mr. Boston bigger than ever.   The website:  www.mrbostondrinks.com offers more than 10,000 cocktail recipes from the post-Prohibition era.

     It took the Sazerac Co. five years to get out of the Mr. Boston publishing contract.   While they waited, they found copies of all but 17 editions of the Mr. Boston guide and entered the 10,539 cocktail recipes into a database.   "We've been restoring it like you would a Van Gogh," said Mark Brown, president and CEO of Sazerac.   Now, you can search every one of those recipes at mrbostondrinks.com. When there is more than one recipe, the site lets you see each version to learn how the cocktail changed over time.

     Recipes can be searched by name or main ingredient. A "discovery" page lets you browse by style, era, occasion, city of origin and even color. Create an account, and you can review the recipes and build a personal collection of your favorites.   The site also has a guide to techniques and glassware, a glossary of ingredients and historical information.

     The Mr. Boston guide is a record of how America drank for 80 years. And the Sazerac company plans to keep the guide alive for at least another 80 years.   Although they likely won't print another guide, Sazerac has big plans for Mr. Boston. First, they want to find the remaining 17 editions and enter those recipes. They will create videos demonstrating cocktails and techniques. They plan to commission articles on cocktails. And users will be able to add new drinks, which will be considered for inclusion in the guide.   

     If you have a question, almost any question about mixology or bartending in general, this is the site you need to visit.  

Grog: The World's Original Cocktail

     Back in the late 1600's and the early 1700's rum was known as "Kill Devil", mostly because of the firey burn it had.  In fact it was just plain rough.   In the early days of rum rationed out to the sailors of the British Admiralty it wasn't much better.  Most of the rum was more truly a distillate rather than a rum.  It was unaged and most of it was more like moonshine in its strength.

     Admiral Edward Vernon was credited for Grog being the mandatory drink of the  British Navy in 1740  when Vernon was issued the infamous "Captain's Order Number 349.   This stated that all rum should be mixed with water,  a dash of brown sugar,and lime to make it more palatable. The sailors christened the weakened beverage after the admiral, from the grogram cloth cloak that he wore.
     
     Grog has gone through a lot of modification over the nearly 300 years that it has been around, but the original recipe with just a cinnamon stick dropped in as a garnish and adding a dash of spice to the mix.


 Gunpowder Proof Rum Grog

• 2 oz. Pusser's Gunpowder Proof Rum
• 4 oz. Water
• 1/2 oz. Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
• Juice of 1/2 Lime

Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until chilled and strain into a tumble filled with fresh ice.  Drop in a cinnamon stick to garnish and enhance the flavor.

Bahama Bob’s Grog Syrup

• 4 cups Dark Brown Cane Sugar
• 4 Cups Water
• 1/8 Cup Ground Cinnamon
• Juice of ½ Lemon

Place all ingredients into a sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil.   Reduce heat to a slow boil for 5 minutes. Put into squeeze bottles and chill for a couple of hours before using.   Lasts about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. 

How Did the Rum War Over Havana Club Begin?

     Havana Club is an iconic brand that as we approach normalization of relations with Cuba has become a valuable property that was thought to be worth nothing in 1973 here in the United States when the trademark was about to expire.  The story of the rum war between Bacardi and Pernod Ricard is loaded with a history of bad decisions and revenge.

     The Arechabalas introduced Havana Club with Americans in mind in 1934.  The name of the Cuban capital was spelled in English, rather than the Spanish "Habana."   Soon Havana Club was served in places such as the Stork Club, a high-society night spot in Manhattan.      The Arechabalas,  according to Gjelten, sympathized with dictator Fulgencio Batista, whom Fidel Castro overthrew.  Soldiers showed up at the Havana Club office on New Year's Day 1960.   The late Ramón Arechabala was a sales manager, while one of the top executives, his uncle José María Arechabala, or "Pepe," was in Spain.  "From now on, I am Pepe, and you people will do as I say," declared a military commander, as Ramón Arechabala recalled in court testimony in 1999.

     "I say, 'Okay, no problem, whatever you say,' " he testified, "because he was armed with a machine gun."   Ramón Arechabala,  went on to sell cars in Miami.   In 1973, he realized that the Havana Club trademark was due for renewal.   He asked his uncle whether they should file the paperwork.   His uncle said no. The family did not have enough money to produce rum in the U.S. and mistakenly believed they couldn't renew the trademark without making rum.   "He told me we could not do anything right now with it, because, 'Let's wait because we might be going back to Cuba any moment,' " Arechabala testified.

     In 1976, a state-owned Cuban enterprise secured the American trademark for Havana Club.   It was a cunning yet hopeful investment in the day when Cuban rum might once again be poured on the other side of the Florida Straits.

The rum war was declared nearly 20 years later, when two things happened.   In 1993, news broke that Pernod Ricard had struck a deal to become equal partners in Havana Club.   In 1994, Bacardi filed its own application for the U.S. trademark for Havana Club.   Bacardi paid the Arechabala family $1.25 million for any rights to Havana Club that the family still possessed, plus a fraction of any sales of Havana Club.  Ever since, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard have battled on legal, regulatory, political and commercial fronts.

     This seems like a battle that will never be settled, it looked like it was settled back in the early 2000’s when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bacardi, but with the easing of relations with Cuba it has reared its ugly head again.

Read the entire story at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/havana-club-v-havana-club-inside-the-rum-war-between-bacardi-and-cuba/2016/07/22/57c32a06-2cb4-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html

Black Tot Day, Sunday July 31, 2016, the 46th Anniversary of Rum Being Removed from British Navy Ships

     For over three centuries, until 1970, all Royal Navy vessels would ring out their ship's bells just before noon every day. The famous call, 'Up Spirits' would go out, calling sailors to report to deck and receive their daily 70ml ‘tot’, or shot, of rum.

     Sunday marks the 46th anniversary of Black Tot Day, and here in Key West we are celebrating this day by introducing the newest Pusser's Rum, Gunpowder Proof at the Rum Barrel.  We are having a free event at 7pm Sunday evening to introduce this award winning new expression from Pusser's Rum.  This is British Navy Rum presented at the original admiralty strength of 54.7% ABV.

     The original ration was beer, but when it was not available, or as often happened it would often spoil easily, it could be substituted by a pint of wine or half a pint of spirits depending on what was locally available.   In later years, the political influence of the West Indian planters led to rum being given the preference over other spirits.

    The half pint of spirits was originally issued neat; it is said that sailors would "prove" its strength by checking that gunpowder doused with rum would still burn, verifying that rum was at least 54.7% ABV, thus the term “Proof” came about.

     The practice of compulsorily diluting rum in the proportion of half a pint of rum to one quart of water was first introduced in the 1740’s by Admiral Edward Vernon, known as Old Grog, because of his habitual grogram cloak.   The ration was also split into two servings, one between 10 am and noon and the other between 4 and 6 pm.   In 1756 Navy regulations required adding small quantities of lemon or lime juice to the ration, to prevent scurvy.    The rum itself was often procured from distillers in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands.   Rations were cut in half in 1823 and again in half, to the traditional amount, in 1850.   The last rum ration was on 31 July 1970 and became known as Black Tot Day as sailors were unhappy about the loss of the rum ration.  There were reports that the day involved sailors throwing tots into the sea and the staging of a mock funeral in a training camp.

     This is the perfect day to introduce this wonderful new expression to Florida.  Come join in the celebration at the Rum Barrel on Front Street, here in Key West.  We start at 7 pm, join us to taste this expression and try new special cocktails made from Pusser's Gunpowder Proof Rum.  The party celebrates the newest Navy Rum on the day that the rum was removed from the British Navy Warships.

Quitting Smoking and Reduced Alcohol Consumption

     Quitting smoking and you will likely as not lower your alcohol consumption.  This is the observations of James Brown of University College London.   “Adults who attempted to quit smoking in the past week consumed less alcohol than those who weren’t trying to give up cigarettes.   And now, according to Medical News Today government warnings are now suggesting that those looking to stop smoking should lower their alcohol intake or just abstain from it completely.   It had previously been accepted that those looking to quit smoking would up their alcohol intake as a way of coping for the lack of nicotine.”

     This is an interesting conclusion that I truly understand.   From personal experience years ago, when I quit smoking there were two places that I avoided for quite some time.  First of all was the bars, smoking goes right along with having cocktails and conversation, especially when there are a lot of people smoking.   Second was the coffee shop for the same reason.   I did find, however that after about a year, I could start going to the bars again and not have a terrible urge to smoke. 

     I think that what they found is a short term effect rather than something that carries on for the long term.  I think that it depends on the individual and their will power around other smokers.   Jamie Brown and colleagues found that adults who have attempted to quit smoking in the past week consume less alcohol than smokers who have not tried to quit.   While smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with around 40 million American adults are currently smoking cigarettes, 70 percent of smokers say they want to quit the habit.   In order help with the quitting process, health officials recommend reducing alcohol intake or abstaining from it altogether.

     I know for me I did not go to a bar for at least a month after I decided to quit smoking, but as the desire for nicotine diminished, I could comfortably go to bars again without craving a cigarette.   I feel that they have arrived at a very valid conclusion, but I feel that this is just a temporary thing that will, after a period of time, will be reversed.

Shirley Temples Are Destroying America’s Youth

Shirley Temple

     I ran across an interesting article by Wayne Curtis about "children's cocktails", and particularly the  "Shirley Temple herself, before she died in 2014 at the age of 85, recalled that she’d first been served her namesake drink at the Brown Derby in L.A." 
"Shirley Temple".

     The Shirley Temple is the most enduring non-alcoholic drink that ever had the temerity to mimic the sophistication of an actual cocktail.   Watching kids order and sip Shirley Temples at a restaurant is "adorable".     "I have several objections to the drink, but none are about kids pretending to be adults", playing adult is how they learn.   It’s what they’re being served, and therefore what they’re learning, that’s wholly objectionable.

   

Shirley Temple "Mocktail"

     The recipe for the Shirley Temple varies slightly depending on where it’s served. But generally it’s a concoction of ginger ale (or sometimes 7Up) mixed with a little grenadine and served in a highball glass. The essential coup de grace? A cherry the color of a shiny new fire engine. That’s what made it sophisticated for kids.   What is a Shirley Temple? It is sweet mixed with sweet, garnished with a crimson dollop of sweet. It’s an underground bunker of a drink, able to withstand direct assault.   

     "I’m not the only one who objects to the Shirley Temple", Shirley Temple never really liked it either.    “It is a saccharine sweet, icky drink?” she replied to an NPR interviewer who asked her about the drink in 1986.    “All over the world, I have been served my namesake, because, people think it’s funny.  I hate them.”  When asked why?, she replied, “Too sweet!”.

Read More at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/20/the-shirley-temple-s-effect-on-four-generations-of-cocktail-drinkers.html 

     I really have to agree with Wayne that it is a really bad drink, but for slightly different reasons.  One of the most important things that young children need to learn when they are out in public is how to behave and good manners.  The last thing that needs to be done if you are truly trying to enjoy going out with your children is a "ton of sugar".  Children are hyper enough, they don't need a stimulus that make them more hyper when you are trying to teach them to be quiet and act appropriately.   There are many other possibilities that are not laded with sugar.

It's Been Too Long, Need to go Back to Abaco

     It is hard to beat the crystal clear waters and the powdery white sand of the Bahamas, and especially Great Guana Key.   The combination of the rocks, surf, and the sea oats make it such a beautiful view from the dunes that lie just off of the beach.  So many great memories of these cays that surround the "Crystal Sea".

How Much Can You Drink to be less Calories than a Cheeseburger?

     The basic 1/4 pound cheeseburger has 545 calories.  That is 260 1/4 lb patty, 120 bun, 60 American cheese slice, 15 ketchup and 90 Mayo.  This is a basic cheeseburger, not a double or one with god knows what dripping off of it.   The average recommended intake for men is 2500 calories and women 2000 calories, this is an average of all the weight and activity levels.   500 calories of liquor or cheeseburger boils down to 20% of a mans daily allowance of calories and 25% for women.



     It is actually simple, take a simple Rum and Coke, you get 100 calories from the rum and 90 for the cola, that is 190 calories, and on average most people will drink three of them at a sitting, that is 570 Calories or more than a cheeseburger.  If you start adding heavily sugared mixers like creme of coconut etc, then you can get single drinks like a Pina Colada, that will have more than 400 calories each.

     "A recent survey commissioned by Truly Spiked & Sparkling and conducted online by Harris Poll showed that a stunning 47% of drinkers in the United States believe that there aren’t enough low-calorie drinks options out there on the market, with 45% believing that following a fitness regime makes it more difficult to be social when events revolve around food and drink."

   On the other hand a rum or any other basic spirit on the rocks or with a diet soda, is only 100 calories, about the same as a light beer.  You will be pretty drunk is you have five of those in one sitting, but it is less than a cheeseburger.  Check out the chart and see what you are taking in when you are out grilling and eating burgers and drinking your favorite beverage how many calories your are taking in.  Usually about the equivalent of about 2 to 3 hours of running to burn them off.

LIGHT BEER (12oz)  WINE Budweiser Select 55  55 Skinnygirl  120 Beck's Premier Light  60 Red (Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, etc)  150 Miller 64  64 White (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, etc)  150 Michelob Ultra Amber  90 Korbel Brut California Champagne  160 Budweiser Select  100 Skinnygirl Sangria 160 Busch Light 100 Sweet dessert (3.5 oz.) 170 Coors Light  100 Barefoot Refresh Pink Spritzer (8 oz.) 180 Corona Light  100 Kirin Light  100 RESTAURANT COCKTAILS  Michelob Ultra  100 Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus 100 Red Lobster Manhattan  160 Miller Lite  100 Chili's Premium Long Island Iced Tea  210 Natural Light  100 Olive Garden Frozen Margarita 340 Bud Light  110 Red Robin Irish Beer Shake 780 Miller High Life Light 110 Bud Light Lime  120 HARD CIDER (12oz) Michelob Light  120 Sam Adams Light 120 Michelob Ultra Light 120 Strongbow Gold Apple 170 MALT BEVERAGES (12oz)  Stella Artois Cidre 180 Angry Orchard Crisp Apple  190 Bud Light Lime Lemon-Ade-Rita (8 oz.) 200 Johnny Appleseed 210 Smirnoff Ice Original  200 Bartles & Jaymes Strawberry Daiquiri  210 PACKAGED MIXED DRINKS Bud Light Lime Lime-A-Rita (8 oz.)  220 Sparks Blackberry (16 oz.)  380 Mr & Mrs T Original Bloody Mary Mix (6 oz) 90 Bacardi Mixers frozen Margarita (8 oz.)  150 BEER (12oz)  Jose Cuervo Original Margarita Mix (6 oz.) 220 Master of Mixes Mojito Mixer (6 oz.)  240 Guinness Draught 130 Bacardi Mixers frozen Mojito (8 oz.) 260 Bud Light Platinum  140 Daily's Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri (10 oz.) 280 Heineken 140 Daily's Frozen Piña Colada (10 oz.) 290 Miller High Life 140 Pabst Blue Ribbon 140 LIQUOR & LIQUEUR Beck's 150 Budweiser 150 Pimm's No. 1  80 Corona Extra 150 Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, or Whiskey  100 Kirin Ichiban 150 Baileys Irish Cream  140 Stella Artois  150 Crème de menthe  190 Allagash White 160 Hoegaarden  160 MIXERS  (4 0z.) Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager 170 Shock Top Belgian White 170 Diet Cola 0 Blue Moon White IPA 170 Cola 91 Samuel Adams Boston Lager 180 Lemon- Lime Soda 70 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 180 Fruit Juices (Average) 60 Leffe Blonde (11.2 oz.)  200 Ginger Beer 64

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3700150/How-fattening-favorite-drink-55-calories-780-use-chart-tipple-choice-ranks.html#ixzz4F3uVTWVM

Couples That Drink Together Stay Together

     This is an interesting study.  My wife and I have been together for almost 42 years, we share many of the same interests and enjoy a lot of things together.  Our drinking habits are very much the same, most of the time if either of us are drinking we are drinking together.  I feel like this is a very good thing for us, both from a social stand point, but on so many other levels.  Many couples fight over financial things, and if one drinks and the other doesn't, this can lead to a serious financial rift, especially if money is tight.  I feel like this is a very valid study and a good read.

     The study, conducted by the University of Michigan, found that married couples aged over 50 with the same drinking habits as their partner – whether they partake, or abstain – tended to be more happier than those whose drinking habits were misaligned.   The amount that people drank was less important than whether both partners had the same habit of drinking or not drinking, the study found.   Women in particular became increasingly dissatisfied over time when only they, and not their partner, drank.   “Concordant drinking couples reported decreased negative marital quality over time, and these links were significantly greater among wives”.   “Wives who reported drinking alcohol reported decreased negative marital quality over time when husbands also reported drinking and increased negative marital quality over time when husbands reported not drinking.”

     “The present findings stress the importance of considering the drinking status rather than the amount of alcohol consumed of both members of the couple when attempting to understand drinking and marital quality among older couples”, researchers concluded. “These findings are particularly salient given the increased drinking among baby boomers and the importance of marital quality for health among older couples.”

Read More at https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/07/couples-that-drink-together-stay-together/

W.C. Fields the Entertainer and the Drunk

     There seems to be quit the direct connection between creativity and drinking.  So many famous 
creative people have been associated with drinking.  Ernest Hemingway is as well known for his 
ability to sip his daiquiri's at the El Floridita as he is for his writing.   Like so many other celebrities, 
W.C. Fields brought drinking out of the closet of the Prohibition Era and on to the screen as comedy.   "It was a woman that drove me to drink and I never got a chance to thank her", has always been one 
of my favorites.  One of his first major movies on the subject of drink came out in 1933, just prior to 
the end of Prohibition.    It was called International House, where Fields played professor Henry R. 
Quail, a professor that was flying his autogyro (a strange hybrid of plane and helicopter) to Kansas 
City but he got drunk and confused and ended up in China.  He did not become known as a great 
actor as a result of the movie, but as an irascible drunk,   “The persona itself was the work of genius.”

        He drank often and well, mostly Martinis, “I work better with them inside me,” he said, but he was not unfamiliar with Irish Whiskey, Bourbon. Scotch, Rye, red wine and sherry. He was also quite fond of rum and Coca Cola.   His staff estimated that he drank about two quarts of liquor a day.   He was always an amiable drunk, and he wore his alcoholism well, like the askew top hat, which he became famous for.  He drank at home and he drank on the set. He would often bring a cocktail shaker filled with gin to work, which he referred to as his “pineapple juice.” When a studio employee once refilled it with actual juice, Fields took a sip and bellowed, “Somebody’s been putting pineapple juice in my pineapple juice!”

   His fondness for drink didn’t impair his acting, and may have improved it. “His timing was better when he was drinking,” said legendary director Mack Sennett, who certainly knew about comedy, since he was responsible for the Keystone Kops. “He was terrified of speaking lines too fast, which he sometimes did if he was sober.” 

   

     Toward the end of Field’s life, his drinking became less funny, his nose larger and redder.   Fields suffered from roseacea, did little to treat it, and helped cement a link between excess drink and scarlet snouts.    Yet he always maintained his ability to function appearing in his last film, Sensations of 1945, 72 years ago next week.  “He keeps on drinking and keeps on being funny,” said one colleague of that era, “so whose business is it except his own?” 

     W.C. Fields died 70 years ago. He had been a bridge between the dour temperance era, and the boozy, goofy humor of Dean Martin, Joe E. Lewis, Foster Brooks, Jackie Gleason, and Red Skelton.   His Los Angeles tombstone was famously engraved with the line, “On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”

Read More at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/21/how-w-c-fields-helped-end-prohibition.html

International Spirits Challenge Rum Winners

    The 2016 International Spirits Challenge results are in and some good friends are the big winners.
  Trophy Winners R.L. Seale and Pusser's Rum are both outstanding example of the rum production industry.   There are a whole lot of others that showed very well in the event, as you can see below with all of the gold medal winners being listed.   The silver and bronze metal winners can be seen by clicking on the "Read More at" website.   Congratulations to all of the winners, you are examples of how far that the rum category has come with their drive for excellence.

Brand Name

Brand Owner          Company Name

Tasting         Medal

Trophy Winners

Pusser's Rum Gunpowder Proof	Pusser's Rum Company	Trophy
Foursquare 2004	R L Seale & Company	Trophy
Gold Medal Winners
Branca	J.Faria & Filhos		Gold
Facundo Exquisito	Bacardi		Gold
Foursquare Zinfandel Cask Blend	R L Seale & Company		Gold
Havana Club Añejo 15 Años	Havana Club		Gold
Mezan Panama 2006	Marussia Beverages		Gold
R H Jefferson	Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners		Gold
Red Heart Original	Pernod Ricard South Africa		Gold
Savanna Rhum Vieux Traditionnel 5 anos	Distillerie de Savanna		Gold
Woods Old Navy Rum	William Grant & Sons		Gold
Foursquare 2004	R L Seale & Company		Gold
Pusser’s Rum Gunpowder Proof	Pusser’s Rum Company		Gold

Read More at http://www.internationalspiritschallenge.com/isc2016/2016-results

Pussers Gunpowder Proof “Black Tot Day” Launch in the United States

     This year's celebration of  "Black Tot Day" is going to be a very special one, marking the 46th anniversary of the removal of the daily ration of rum from the British Royal Navy ships, Pusser's Rum is introducing their new Pusser's Gunpowder Proof expression to the United States.  This is the rum that was just awarded the trophy in the rum category at the International Spirits Challenge last month and a "Best in Class" at the 2016 RumXP event in Miami in April.

    Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum Leaps Across the Pond Aged Overproof Expression to Launch July 31 in Select U.S. Markets to Commemorate “Black Tot Day” Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof, the last rum issued by the modern Royal Navy to its enlistees in 1970, will launch in seven U.S. markets July 31 to commemorate the 46th anniversary of Black Tot Day. Gunpowder Proof is an aged overproof expression at 54.5 percent which was the formula last used by the Admiralty.   Pusser’s Rum Pusser’s Rum is produced in strict accordance with Admiralty blending specifications last used by the Royal Navy for issue to its fleet, a tradition which began in 1655 when it first served rum as its spirit of choice, with extra “tots” being offered before and after some of the most infamous battles in history.

     This is probably the best expression that Pusser's has produced to date.  The two existing wooden pot stills, first put in use in the early 1700's and located in Guyana’s Demerara River Valley, impregnate the rum with esters (naturally occurring organic flavoring compounds) far beyond those of any other rum. What results is a truly unique, award winning taste. The name “Pusser’s” is nothing more than a corruption of the word “Purser,” the Royal Navy ship’s supply officer who retained the stocks of rum. Before hydrometers, the ship’s Purser would test rum strength by mixing a few grains of gunpowder with rum to see if it would ignite under the heat of a magnifying glass. If it did that was 'proof' the rum was “at strength,” if it was not, the Purser was threatened with bodily harm for “watering down” the rum. “Gunpowder Proof is riding the wave of hand-crafted artisan spirits that are authentic and all-natural,” said Pusser’s CEO Gary Rogalski. “Forbes Magazine called the blend ‘the single malt of rum’ because of the painstaking batch process required to blend, bottle and bring the rum to market.  

     

Where are You Going to be Most Apt to Consume Alcohol This Summer?

   Summer time is a curious time when it comes to the consumption of alcoholic beverages.  Depending on where you are, it could be at the beach, the mountains, on the lake or many other places.   The summer provides us with so many opportunities to quench our thirst with a refreshing beverage.     It seems that Americans seem to be most apt to have an alcoholic beverage at a barbecue.   Portability and the ability to keep the beverages cold are big decision factors as to what they are going to be consuming.   

  According to Nielsen almost two thirds of regular alcohol consumers in the US say they will drink at barbecues this summer, ranking it the top consumption occasion.

     With more than 90% of regular drinkers above legal drinking age planning to consume alcohol outdoors during the summer season, picnics and barbecues rank the most popular occasion, followed by pool-side, at the beach, and then at patio bars.   In terms of summer alcoholic drink qualities, “refreshing” was ranked top by both men and women, at 61% and 64% respectively. “Natural” and “handcrafted” were expressed strongly with men, while “fruity”, “sweet”, “citrusy”, “frozen” and “bubbly” were more popular among women. 

     Nielsen data also found that social media had become a key influencer when choosing drinks for US consumers. One quarter of legal drinking age plus consumers said what other people are seen drinking on social media, increasing to 45% of 21-34-years old.   42% of the demographic also said that they like to post pictures of their drinks on social media, well above the average of 25% for all drinkers.

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/07/barbeques-top-summer-imbibing-occasion-for-us/