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Gosling's Black Seal rum

Gosling's Black Seal

JarkkoKoo avatar image had this rum recently

Bermuda | Dark | 40% ABV

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.

6.4/10
532 ratings
Tasty, but not quite great
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532 Gosling's Black Seal Ratings

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Paul B 🇺🇸 | 472 ratings
Posted over 5 years ago

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!

fiver6790 🇺🇸 | 3 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Perfect as a mixer as advertised.
Drinking neat no thanks but I appreciate the molasses, vanilla and cocoa flavors I pick out.

emphaze 🇧🇬 | 26 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Bought it with the single purpose to make Dark'n'Stormy with the original ingredients, but it turned out as an utter disappointment. A pretty flat and generic rum with better alternatives.

Roadking1997 🇺🇸 | 45 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Might be better chilled, but I doubt it. Tasted like curry.

cmcalpine 🇨🇦 | 9 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

My first <> black rum. I like the spice notes. A little too much added sugar. Nothing a couple of ice cubes can’t resolve.

TommAng 🇺🇸 | 25 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

This is the rum for the original dark and stormy. Very sweet and not a ton of depth. Overall decent stuff but not incredibly versatile.

RumDonkey 🇬🇧 | 20 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

Very pleasant. Have yet to to try it in a dark and stormy, but I imagine it will be very good. Neat it is quite heavy

DB 🇺🇸 | 69 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

Not intended for sipping, though you could do worse. Some nice notes of citrus, for me orange in particular, and baking spices, lightly sweet. Very pleasant on the nose, not the most flavorful on the palate, but it does mix well, and makes for a nice float in a lot of cocktails. Short finish, light body.Definitely worth the price.

RonRumHead (PREMIUM) 🇺🇸 | 33 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

Lost count of how many Dark & Stormy’s I had while in Bermuda. It’s a good novelty drink. Admittedly, I haven’t had one in years.

PapaKielbasa 🇺🇸 | 38 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

Dark N' Stormy has to Goslings Black Seal. I wish it were higher proof though.

Josifiend 🇦🇺 | 44 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

Do not Dark and Stormy without it!!!
(*The verb to Dark and Stormy)
(It's not new, it's old!)




Brand Details

Name: Black Seal
ABV: 40%
Type: Gosling's
Raw Material: Unknown
Process: Pure blend (1 distillery)
Distillation: Unknown
Women leading Rum: No

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