Pusser's Rum
******
From 1640 to 31 July 1970, rum was dispensed on board ships of the British Royal Navy. It was one of the few daily comforts afforded those salty sea dogs as they fought and sailed the globe.
Unfortunately for those able seamen, the tot of rum was abolished as the Admiralty Board concluded that the seamen were much more efficient without it and that in a highly sophisticated navy, no risk or margin for error which might be attributable to boozing on the job could be allowed. Even when it was allowed though, many of the sailors saved their rations for shore leave where they'd use it as currency to get women to, uh, dance with them.
Pusser's rum has been distilled in the same wooden pot-stills (the earliest kind of stills with a simple pot to boil the mixture in and an output neck that allowed the vapors passing through it to get out) that were used to supply the navy's rum. It is the world's only rum that's still distilled in wood as opposed to the metal ones most people use today.
Because the rum's been distilled in the same stills for so long, it's got a really pungent nose on it with muscatel grape, tobacco and demerara sugar coming through. It's got a lightly greasy mouth-feel and coats the inside of the mouth with a silky, honey texture while tasting strongly of raw sugar cubes. It's the kind of rum best drunk neat - no ice - or with a squeeze of lime and a little brown sugar. It's definitely not the sort of rum you'd put in a mixed drink as you'd lose all those beautiful tobacco and honey notes but if you're a rum drinker, it's certainly worth a try for its purity of flavour.
Try it at Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney ?Level 4, 488 George St. 2000 (02 9265 6070).