The Legacy of Charles Tobias

The days Before Pusser's Rum

You know the spirit and you've read about the name, but the story of the man who created Pusser's Rum is a nautical tale for the ages. The rum dates back to 1979 but this story starts back in 1934 when Charles Tobias was born.

The US Marine Corps

Born in Canada, Charles emigrated to the U.S on an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Southern California, where he earned two degrees in aeronautical and mechanical engineering. Shortly after graduating, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps where he qualified to become a fighter pilot. Charles served two tours during the war in Vietnam. The first was served aboard an aircraft carrier, while the second was special operations ashore flying T-28s. During the second tour, he was shot down and managed to escape to safety.

Technology Savant

After his time in the Marines, Charles headed back to California, where he started a company in Santa Monica. His goal was to find a way to combat surface-to-air missiles (SAM) which were used in Vietnam. He managed to secure a government contract to develop radar jamming technology. This was the beginning of an electronics company that he and his team built into a 100 million dollar a year company. He lived the life of a multi-millionaire with a 37 room mansion, 4 Ferraris, 2 Rolls Royce’s, and 57-foot yacht. He had everything a man could dream of, but he wasn't truly happy.

Setting Sail

Charles always had a love for sailing. His family never owned a boat growing up, but he bought his own small boat after his time at sea in the Marines. He enjoyed it so much, he began competing with it and eventually worked his way up to a much larger boat with a goal to sail around the world. The only thing holding him back from his dream was the day to day workflow, until one day. Fed up with traffic on his way to the bank, Charles made a call to his administrative assistant, canceled all meetings, and decided to set sail.

This wasn't just a regular weekend voyage, Charles planned to sail around the world, and he did just that. He set sail on a 5 year journey with three crewmen and a couple unique guests, including a chimpanzee named Tommy and a cheetah named Fifi. It would be hard to believe if the voyage wasn't filmed and turned into a movie titled "The Way of the Wind" - written, recorded, narrated, directed and produced all by Charles Tobias.

First Taste - British Navy Rum

During his journey around the world, Charles stopped in Gibraltar to find a part he needed for his boat. He stopped aboard a British Navy warship to find the part he needed - they carried a large stock of parts. While on board he met the captain, who gave him a flagon of rum for the next leg of his voyage. Although at this time the daily tot had been discontinued, the ships still carried rum for special occasions when they called "Splice the Mainbrace". Over the next 15 days on his way through the Atlantic, he and his crew finished the flagon of rum. This led him to his next great business venture, a rum company to commercialize British Naval Rum.

The Birth of Pusser's Rum

With this new business venture in mind, Charles went to the British Royal Navy with a request to let him use their rum blend, along with the White Ensign used on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. With some help from General Arthur B. Hanson, he managed a meeting with Second Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Gordon Tait. After running his idea through the ranks and talking to all the right people, he was eventually given the permissions he needed, along with the blend of rum issued by the Royal Navy. The only restriction was in the name. Charles wanted to name it Royal Navy Pusser’s Rum, which was denied due to legalities and replaced with British Navy Pusser’s Rum.

With the newly acquired recipe, Charles headed to Trinidad Distillers Ltd. where he worked with Robert Wong, a master blender at the time, to source and blend the distillates required to meet the Admiralty's specifications. At the same time, he formed Pusser’s Ltd. on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands where he could blend and bottle the formula. After perfecting the process, he began blending and bottling, and the purser's rum became commercially available for the first time in history.

The Pusser's Brand

Along with a growing rum company, Charles went on to open several Pusser's restaurants and company stores around the world, some still in existence today. In 1990 Pusser's Rum was sold to Jim Beam, but Charles continued bottling for them until the plant burned down. The fire put an end the bottling business and was never rebuilt.

In 2002 there was an opportunity to buy the brand back from Jim Beam. It was bought by Jim Jackson with some encouragement from Charles and is still owned by the Jackson family today.

Laying Ashore

Today, Charles has settled with his wife in Florida. With a museum-like collection of Pusser's and nautical history, everything he's ever accomplished is documented, photographed and some even videotaped. He has lived a life of many men with a story to tell each step of the way. Although Charles plays a smaller role in the brand today, he still embodies the heart of Pusser's Rum.