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The James Gosling family business first produced Gosling Black Seal rum in 1806, and it is now the oldest surviving business on the island of Burmuda.
Gosling 'Black Seal' rum received it's name from the black wax originally used to seal the bottles. It is Bermuda's most widely exported product and considered the nation's national drink.
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Posted
1 month ago
While there may be better rums out there, sometimes you just have to stick with tradition when it works.
Is this the best dark rum? No.
Can you make Dark and Stormy’s with something else? Sure
How did this become the go to rum for that venerable cocktail? Who cares! They’re good!
If you use a good quality, spicy ginger beer, you will more than likely overpower any other rum. Sometimes you just stick with tradition and marketing gimmicks and have a drink.
Do yourself a favour and buy this even if you only use it for the one cocktail.
Posted
4 months ago
It is comparable to Diplomatico mantuano. An ok rum that doesn't disappoint
Posted
6 months ago
Treacle, butterscotch, toffee, caramel, etc. Definitely one-note. Makes a decent enough dark and stormy, if you want one of those. But if I'm mixing with ginger ale, I'm probably reaching for something else regardless. One of those "starter rums" that eases people into something beyond Bacardi or Captain Morgan, but doesn't have much staying power once you branch out past it.
Posted
9 months ago
I'm a relative newbie wrt sipping rum. But you cannot beat Goslings for dark n stormies. I also like Goslings ginger beer. Other ginger beers put me off. Stick with the winning formula, plus 1/2 of a lime.
Posted
almost 2 years ago
Probably the most distinct nose of any rum I've had. It's just loud brown sugar. As a cocktail maker I love it for it's intended purpose. It's great in a Dark & Stormy TM lol. It works well in Martin Cate's Naked Ape.
When I need a Black Blended rum, this is in my bar. It's cheap and fits the note required in cocktails calling for that category of rum. Outside of that it's kind of a single note to be very interesting.
Yes, I always have Gossling's in my bar ready to go. Yes I use it quite a bit. No, I don't drink it neat.
Posted
almost 2 years ago
Probably wouldn’t drink neat but it’s an absolute must for dark m’ stormies.
I first tried this in Bermuda in a Dark N Stormy and I have used it exclusively for that drink. It has a distinct flavor that I have to enjoy in drinks including rum punch .
Posted
over 2 years ago
Goslings is a good rum with a good flavor and a fair amount of spice. While it is perfect for the Dark and Stormy cocktail, it's mellowed spice is somewhat of a blessing and a curse. It is good as a stand alone and works well with plenty of cocktails but the spiciness hinders it from being as versatile as Myers (which is ridiculously underrated on this website.) It's actually more similar to Kracken but a better rum overall than that. It's definitely a solid rum that should be tried during your next trip to get some liquor as it is also very affordable.
Posted
over 2 years ago
Gosling’s is the go-to for dark rum. The infamous dark and stormy wouldn’t be the same without it! A great mixer, primary or stand alone rum. There are better rums out there, but for the price and the flexibility of this dark rum, it’s a must have.
Posted
almost 3 years ago
It’s an ok rum as a mixer, I’ll give it credit for that. Definitely had that dark rum molasses flavour profile. FDC 5year is a similar price and better as a mixer in my opinion.
Most of the higher rated rums on this app are for higher quality and often more expensive ‘sippers’. This rum is not a ‘sipper’, but will be just fine for many to mix with their preferred drink.
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After trying a half ounce pour of Blackwell's Black Gold Special Reserve at a rum bar a few weeks ago, I read the reviews on here and many compared it to Gosling's Black Seal. This got my curiosity back onto it after more than 30 years. Back then, when I tried my only bottle of Gosling's, I did not have the palate that I have today, so I absolutely hated it.
When I bought my new bottle, I did the right thing and picked up a six pack of Gosling's Ginger Beer to make their authentic signature Dark And Stormy. The recipe from Gosling's web site seemed to have too little rum for my tastes, with 1 part rum to 3 parts ginger beer. So I kept searching through other recipes until one explained that it is all about getting the right balance between the rum and the ginger beer. Agree!!! It was suggested to use 2 parts rum to 3 parts ginger beer. I also added a bit of the optional lime juice. All I can say is that this is one very strange and unique drink that was never popular where I grew up. It strikes me as a wannabe Tiki drink that was created on the wrong side of the world. I had one recently at a favorite beach bar and thought WTF. The same goes for my home made authentic version. My response is still WTF. I also tried the Gosling's recipe, which tries to hide the taste of this rum.
So this all leads to my initial taste of sipping neat from a Glencairn glass. It is NOT a black rum at all. If you want true black rum, try Cruzan Black Strap. It is reddish mahogany in color, and the color almost matches my new bottle of Ron Zacapa XO. It is also semi-dry with 11 gpl of added sugar. The aroma and flavors are totally alien to me, maybe because Bermuda is way the hell out in the middle of the ocean. I don't hate it, but I surely don't love it. I will figure out what to do with the rest of the bottle and ginger beer. Thank goodness that my creative streak runs high. For right now, it starts out with my rating of a 6. I also have the feeling that I will develop a love/hate relationship with this rum. I have also found a better use for this rum in Bermuda Coffee.
If anything, this bottle finally was inspiration to try their ginger beer, which is non-alcoholic. Ever since my days of cruising in rough seas on craft of 110 feet or less, ginger ale was always present to avoid sea sickness. It is also a great mixer for many rums. Well, the flavors of Gosling's Ginger Beer make my favorite ginger ale seem pale in comparison. Now that I found this out, why mess up a good ginger beer by adding this rum?
Update 9 days later: I tried like hell to find the perfect drink for this crap, but it looks like my original judgment from 30 years ago still holds true to this day. I now drop my rating from a 6 to a 4. As bad as this rum is, I have actually come across quite a few rums that are even worse!