Rum Connoisseur Interview of the Week GARY L. ROGALSKI President & CEO, Pusser’s Rum LTD
Rum Connoisseur
Interview of The Week:
GARY L. ROGALSKI
President & CEO, Pusser’s Rum LTD
1. Who is Gary L. Rogalski?
Unlike most of my peers, my professional experience is primarily financial. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in economics, I then earned a Master’s degree in Finance and went to work for the consulting division of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an international group of consultants and accountants. After five years of challenging assignments with them, I was given the opportunity to climb my career ladder with several large full-service chain restaurants in the US, spending most of time (almost a dozen years) with Darden Restaurants where I served as the Chief Operating Officer of one of their divisions. Because of my background, my “spirit” orientation has always been oriented toward placing our storied rum products “on-premise” or “on-trade”, as this was the world I lived in and knew for many years.
I came to Pusser’s almost 25 years ago to run their Hospitality and Retail operations. At that time, Jim Beam Brands owned the Pusser’s Rum Brand and for reasons I never really understood, senior management at Beam decided not to allocate the resources required to grow the Brand, and Pusser’s case sales started to rapidly decline. Thanks to funding from the Jim Jackson Family, Pusser’s Rum Company founder, Charles Tobias, was able to repurchase and again control the Brand. After several years at the helm, Tobias decided to retire from rum business, and I was handed the reins. That was seven years ago. During that time, we have managed to hire an outstanding management team, strengthen relationships with our critical suppliers and convince world-class distributors around the world to sell our best-in-class products. As a result, our sales have been on a meteoric power curve from what was clearly an integrated team effort.
2. What does the rum mean for you? What made you fall in love with rum and when did it happen?
Like most of our consumers, my love for the Brand and its Rum resulted when my first taste of a Painkiller ™ Cocktail hit my lips, and that was before I joined the Company more than 25 years ago! As I became more familiar with the Rum, it became clear to me that what we were really selling was “liquid history,” a rum not only steeped in Royal Navy history and tradition, but also a blend of rums so good that they take gold and are best-in-class in every blind taste competition they enter.
3. Three essential characteristics that define the rum according to your perspective.
What defines Pusser’s Rum is its versatility. There are few rums you can drink (or shoot) neat; sip, brandy-like, out of a snifter; or mix with your favorite cocktail (like a Painkiller ™, Island Mule or (Royal) Rum & Coke ™). Consistency of what’s in the bottle also defines the rum. Thanks to extraordinary efforts by Demerara Distillers to maintain the integrity of the vintage Port Mourant wooden vat stills, the taste and quality of Pusser’s Rum has been unchanged for decades. And finally, Pusser’s Rum is all natural. Our Blue Label, Gunpowder Proof and 15 YO products are blended without the addition of flavorings or sugars. Our 15-year-old blend is truly that. Every ounce/ml in the bottle has been aged a minimum of 15 years, not a “Solera” or mixed-age blended product. All of our other products have been aged a minimum of three years.
4. What is the most important contribution you have made in the rum industry?
My time in the Spirits/Rum industry has been relatively short. However, along with my team, we have made tangible progress in building a strong foundation from which this historic and storied Brand will continue to grow. In a sense, we have supplied oxygen into a space for aged, dark rum and given definition to what might be called “Navy” or “Naval” rums, all of which have high counts of esters and congeners with taste profiles far exceeding white or golden column-stilled rums.
5. Benefits that the rum industry has given you.
Undoubtedly, the biggest benefits I have received are the friendships I have made on a worldwide basis. As a relative neophyte in a very competitive industry, I have felt embraced by suppliers, our distributors and even by our competitors. There is great compassion by all those in and associated with the industry for all its members to succeed.
6. What´s another thing you are passionate about, in addition to rum? Why?
I must say that I am most intrigued (not necessarily “passionate”) about Vodka. I am intrigued by the ways in which brand owners go about trying to differentiate a product that basically tastes the same regardless of how many times it is “distilled” or what products are used to make it!
7. What is your favorite place for drinking rum?
I would almost be derelict if I didn’t say a boat or a beach! The only worry I want is the rising tide!
8. Favorite drink + Recipe
Again, it is hard to suggest anything but a Painkiller (2 parts Pusser’s™ Rum, one-part OJ, one part cream of coconut and four parts pineapple juice over ice with grated nutmeg). A close second would be our Ginger Sea Dog or Island Mule (four parts regular or diet Ginger Beer, one or two parts of Pusser’s ™ Rum, squeeze from a hearty lime wedge, a quick shake and served over ice with a good dash of Angostura ™ Bitters).
9. Why is it important to educate the rum consumer?
Rums are more complex than any other spirit and they can all serve a purpose depending upon the goal of the consumer. Education allows the consumer to match his/her goal, whether it is building a world-class Tiki cocktail or slow-sipping a brandy-like rum from a snifter. Rums used for those purposes will be different than those used to build your bar-rail mojito or standard rum and coke! It is all about educating the consumers whether they are off-trade end users or those on-trade who provide the craft service to the hospitality industry.
10. Any tips to train the palate and taste a good premium rum?
I believe a little water always helps. A drop or two in whatever you are about to sample always seems to open up the flavor esters and settles the fusels.
11. Who would like to meet in the rum industry? What would you say to him/her?
I would like to spend more time with Matt Pietrek, spirit historian. I am envious of his knowledge and would truly enjoy picking his very educated brain! I would also like to spend some time behind the bar with Georgi Radev, one of the owners of Laki Kane in London, who also happens to be one of the best mixologists in the world. Gleaning a little of his cocktail knowledge would put a smile on my face!!
12. What are your next goals in the rum industry?
My time left in the industry will be relatively short, a few years, not decades. My goals therefore are focused on continuing to build a strong foundation for our Brand and to mentor a team of professionals that will keep our “spirit” of liquid history alive for generations to come.
13. Plans you have when you leave the rum industry.
Family and rum will always be important me so I hope to have time for both when I retire. I reside on the water, so I have the perfect environment to sip on Painkillers for as long as I am able!
14. Why is the role of the bartender important in the rum industry?
Bartenders are truly the “hub” of the hospitality wheel. Owners and Managers of restaurants and bars benefit significantly from those who are well educated and creative. Without their recommendations regarding cocktails and the spirits that go in them, companies like ours go out of business. That is why we strongly support and honor them and their craft.
15. What is your advice for new generations in the rum industry?
Get educated! It’s a complex spirit, but not overwhelming. Once you understand it, you will have a hard time not falling in love with its products and the those who contribute to its success!
