Pusser’s relaunched their rums in 2014 to stop all the confusion about the various Blue Labelled rums floating around different parts of the world at varying strengths.

One of the rums that caused the least confusion was this one.  Not because the bottle does not immediately make you think it is one of their lower proof rums but because it was and is only available in one country. For some reason our German cousins were not satisfied with a meagre 54.5% ABV rum and demanded more so this 75% ABV expression was launched for the German market only.  Thanks to the guys at Beers of Europe I was able to obtain a bottle for £49.99.  Which sounds quite expensive but once I’ve explained exactly how this 75% ABV rum SHOULD be drank you will see I wasn’t stung too badly.

Despite Pusser’s re-launching their 54.5% ABV Blue Label rum with a new Black Label and calling it “Gunpowder Proof” around a year ago I have still yet to see a bottle for sale.  Likewise Beers of Europe only stocked the old style Blue bottle. This “Super” Overproof rum comes in what initially looks like the usual Pusser’s bottle however subtle differences can be noted.  There is more red on the front label and the colours on the neck of the bottle are also more a contrast of red and blue rather than blue and red.  A picture of the new design is here. I’ve reviewed pretty much all the Pusser’s line up to date give or take the odd 40something % decanter bottlings and the US Red Label (I assume its much the same as the 40% UK Blue Label released last year).

I’m a big fan of Pussers and I particularly like the 54.5% ABV “Gunpowder” rum which was the first Pusser’s I tasted.  Pusser’s is rich, sweet and warming with a very nice undercurrent of full strength menace.  This 75% rum takes that undercurrent and ratchets it up another notch or two. The blend in this Super Overproof rum I am assured is the same as the blend in the other Blue Label offerings.  It is predominantly a Port Morant distillate from DDL, Guyana with some Trini rum from Angostura added to the mix.  My Hydrometer tests have revealed that no sugar has been added to this product post distillation.

So this is pretty serious rum and I dare say you could pay a lot more for a Cask Strength Port Morant from an Independent bottler.  I accept that this rum is probably younger than most of those currently offered and not single cask etc.

The nose on this rum is very concentrated and sweeter than the lower ABV Pusser’s rums.  I’m surprised just how sweet and fruity it smells and how little “booze” is present in the nose.  It’s rich fruity raisins all the way and is instantly recognisable as a Pusser’s Navy Rum.  It has a little of the funk I mistook for Jamaican rum.  This is the good stuff!

On with the tasting.  Now if you have a desire to spend 24 hours with your insides in torment then you can be really big, clever and extremely hard and sip this at full strength.  Or you can do what you are supposed to do with Cask Strength offering such as this and take a very small sip and then mix (believe me you will not lose flavour or make the liquor any less potent – note I do not use the word dilute you do not make the spirit any less strong you just have more liquid to drink) with water.  The best method I have seen is to use a teaspoon.  It’s a little trial and error but if you are a fond sipper of Pusser’s rums you will eventually find a point where the alcohol burn is down to a level you enjoy and you hit the sweet spot where you can enjoy the rum as a Sipper.  It is entirely your preference how much water you add. Rums such as Lemon Hart 151 and Wray and Nephew White Overproof are often used as “floats” in Tiki Cocktails such as the super potent Zombie (a mix of up to 6 rums and fruit juice with a shot float of overproof set alight usually in a lime skin to top it off).

This Pusser’s isn’t highlighted much mainly because it is only really available in Germany but it is certainly potent enough to serve that purpose as well. As well as adding water and sipping this rum you can of course mix this rum.  For me Pusser’s Navy is my favourite rum in a Cuba Libre.  However the concentrated nose is also transferred into the taste of the drink.  This rum is a bit like Fairy Washing Up Liquid and a little goes a long way.  You don’t need a lot of this to make a hearty drink.  So be careful with the measures.

As mentioned earlier I paid £49.99 for this, I can pick up a bottle of the 40% Blue Label for around £20-25.  Bear in mind this will stretch (if you are careful) twice as far it wasn’t really all that expensive.  Not when you add in the fact it was also imported by Beers of Europe from Germany. If you are a fan of Pusser’s rum then this is an essential purchase if you are fortunate enough to come across a bottle.  It is the same as the 40% and 54.5% taste wise and I’ll probably be getting another bottle as you can add very little of this and still get a rummy kick.  Which is nice for during the week when you have work the next day.

Another classic from Pusser’s.  Very much looking forward to their limited edition releases later in the year. Splice the mainbrace!