Raise a glass to a life without limits…
Pusser’s Rum is introducing an exclusive piece of maritime history to UK retailers with the launch of Founder’s Reserve Limited Edition, available via Paragon Brands.
The launch arrives ahead of Trafalgar Day (21st October 2026), observed each year to mark Vice-Admiral Nelson’s Royal Navy victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and offers retailers and specialist spirits stockists a high-value collectable rum from an iconic brand with a genuine place in naval history.
At 47.75% abv, this limited-run bottling is a meticulous historic recreation of the very first rum blended by the brand’s eccentric late founder, Charles Tobias, in 1979. The Founder’s Reserve recreates his original recipe by blending rich Demerara pot still spirit from Guyana, oak-aged rums from Trinidad and Caroni, and small-batch sugarcane rum from the BVI’s historic Callwood Distillery.
Strictly limited to 2,160 individually numbered bottles in the UK (just over 6,500 globally), the expression carries an RRP of £79.99. Pusser’s Rum Founders Reserve Limited Edition delivers bold aromas of dark molasses, pipe tobacco, and toasted nutmeg on the nose, before bringing dense notes of caramelised sugar, stewed raisins and dark chocolate yield to subtle vanilla, charred oak on the palate before a warm, lingering finish.
Individually numbered and finished with metallic gold detailing and Tobias’s signature, the commemorative bottle delivers a bold, rich and unapologetically traditional flavour, honouring the founder and the naval legacy he preserved. A robust and authentic rum that mirrors the man who brought it to life.
With demand for authentic story-driven, super-premium Caribbean rums continuing to climb, this exclusive limited release provides UK retailers with a strong hero product to anchor high-end seasonal displays, naval celebrations and target collector portfolios.
Charles Tobias and the creation of Pusser’s Rum
Before Pusser’s Rum ever hit back bars or retail shelves, it was brought to life by founder Charles Tobias – a man who lived half a dozen extraordinary lives before turning his sights to commercial spirits.
A Canadian-born track champion turned U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, Tobias was dramatically shot down over the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War and pulled from the swamp by Navy SEALs. After returning to everydaylife, he started a radar-jamming tech venture in Silicon Valley, and filled his world with luxury cars, a sprawling mansion and frequented Hollywood circles, with the proceeds. One day, disillusioned with the corporate world, he simply walked away.
Charles bought a 57-foot wooden ketch and took off on a five-year, 30,000-mile voyage around the world, accompanied by a crew, a chimpanzee named Tommy and a cheetah named Fifi.
It was during this epic adventure – immortalised by a documentary called Way of the Wind – that Tobias discovered the traditional Admiralty blend of Royal Navy Rum. While docked in Gibraltar for repairs and captivated by the history behind the spirit following the Navy’s 1970 “Black Tot Day” shutdown, Charles persuaded the British Admiralty to hand over the secret recipe and blending rights in 1979.
To seal the deal, he pledged a share of all future profits to the Royal Navy Sailors’ Fund. Setting up shop in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, Tobias quickly became a legendary local figure, hosting visiting warships, running bottling operations and even building his own naval-themed bars.
Unfiltered, headstrong and entirely larger than life, Charles left a characterful mark on the rum industry that remains impossible to ignore – and that same unapologetic spirit shapes every bottle of this Founders Reserve.
Pussers Founders Reserve 70cl 47.75% ABV (RRP £79.99) is available to retailers from w/c 12th October and will be available for consumers to buy online from 19th October.
Contact Paragon Brands [https://www.paragonbrands.co.uk/] for further information and stockists details.
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