Arrack was offered on occasion but the planters in the West Indies held sufficient political influence to eventually see rum take pride of place. The alcohol proof test is commonly agreed to have consisted of mixing an alcoholic spirit with gunpowder and then attempting to ignite it. Canada still occasionally provides a rum ration at a hefty 75 percent ABV and out of the commanding officer’s fund (so probably very rarely then). In the British Empire, distilled spirits, often rum, was used as a form of currency where traditional notes and coins were in short supply. However, the gunpowder method is significantly less variable than the burn-or-no-burn method, and 100 proof defined by it is traditionally defined as 57.

Gunpowder Proof Spiced Rum 70cl 54.5 Percent ABV Pussers Gunpowder Proof Spiced Rum 70cl 54.5 Percent ABV

She is enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge and expertise and learning even more about this amazing spirit. In 1848 the United States of America introduced its own alcohol proof system where 100 proof was defined as 50% ABV. In 1824 the French chemist, Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac proposed a sensible proof scale based on ABV, where pure water was considered ‘0 proof’ and pure alcohol or 100% ABV was considered ‘100 proof’. Who even thinks of pirates without also thinking of them swigging rum (and perhaps parrots on shoulders, though one suspects that might have come from a little freedom with the literary license)?Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof is an authentic recreation of the high proof rum served on Royal Navy ships for more than three centuries. Perhaps because larger numbers are more attractive to consumers, so marketing something as 80 proof (40% ABV by the US scale) is more desirable than the same product labelled as 40 proof? In the UK, the proof system for testing alcohol content was eventually replaced by measuring specific gravity, with a standard being agreed upon in 1816.

Best dark rum 2023 – top bottles taste tested | BBC Good Food Best dark rum 2023 – top bottles taste tested | BBC Good Food

So a navy rum would be a rum guided by the Man recipe, a blend constituting aged rums from two or more of the colonies of Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad.When Jessica is not writing about rum, she is also a travel and food enthusiast who loves going around the world and experiencing various cuisines and cultures. Out of the famous Vigia bodega, this aims to offer to the people the premium sipping rum once reserved for the elites of the island. One interesting thing – at one stage Tobias sold the operation to Jim Beam but then purchased it back. S. Navy also had a rum tradition, a practice it inherited from the Royal Navy, although this was phased out in the mid-19th century. This distillery situated at the foot of the Andes is as at one with its environment as it is with its rum and that shows in the freshness and complexity of the product.