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Gosling's Black Seal rum

Gosling's Black Seal

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
533 ratings
Tasty, but not quite great
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533 Gosling's Black Seal Ratings

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ChameleonSkin πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ | 18 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

I do love a dark & stormy with homemade ginger beer, and in that context the Black Seal is good. It won't impart a ton of flavor to the drink, but it won't distract from it, either. For a relatively cheap rum it doesn't have a strong alcohol burn, but it doesn't have much in terms of a particular character to recommend itself, either. Decent but not overpowering sweetness, with a clear molasses flavor. Heavy and flat with a syrupy mouthfeel.

I've yet to try Coruba or one of the substitute recipes for the currently-unavailable Kohala bay, but I'd suspect those would do you better than this one. Still, as the only officially-allowed rum in a dark & stormy, if nothing else this is branding at its finest.

jepoycat πŸ‡΅πŸ‡­ | 49 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

You understand why this is the recommended rum for dark n stormy cocktails. The sweetness will balance out the ginger and spice notes.

Hotelecho πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 17 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

I must say I think the rating is a little low for this, not an amazing rum but I do enjoying a lot

Stuart πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 8 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

I got this on a whim, needing a dark rum for some cocktails. Upon tasting for the first time, I was surprised how smooth this was. I now have this on my go to list when need an everyday drinking rum.

mmt πŸ‡΅πŸ‡± | 54 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Weird, kind of sweet, kind of bitter, salty without the taste of salt. Won't ever buy it again but glad I've experienced it.

Ml89 πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 15 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Decent dark rum, but of spice so perfect for a dark n stormy.

TheAesthete πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 9 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Drinking a glass of this neat was an experience, but not one I will repeat. It has all the subtlety of a wrecking ball. Pure petrol on the nose and equally unpleasant on the palate with an almost medicinal flavour and viscosity. I can imagine it was a big hit with thirsty pirates back in the day ...

Dave2522 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ | 28 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

I purchased the Gosling's on an impulse after reading about their rather famous patented Dark & Stormy cocktail. The ingredients appealed to me--Lime is my favorite citrus juice and ginger beer is one of my favorite fizzy mixers. The trademarked cocktail includes 2oz of the 80 proof rum and there's no burn at all, the lime and ginger beer effectively mask the taste of the black rum, which (to me) is mostly a good thing...taken neat it's kinda like straight molasses and not so good, though I wouldn't call it ghastly. Like Pusser's, it's not what I'm accustomed to in "good" aged rums, though it's interesting. One thing bugs me, though it has nothing to do with the rum itself...in photos the bottle design is attractive, but they've now switched to a wrap-around plastic label with a multi-colored Caribbean carnival theme, it's simply ugly. I guess their marketing team wants to appeal to young party-freak customers, which might be the most appropriate niche for this stuff, but they should fire their graphic designer. Gosling's is cheap and you might give it a try if the Dark & Stormy sounds appealing to you...or perhaps for you, Gosling's will stand on its own merits.

chasles22 (PREMIUM) πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ | 84 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

Tried it blind. I'm no taste expert but ya. I immediately noted it as something cheap and designer. Tastes of something like burnt green grass and a little rubbery. I get some raisin too but it's all buried under what I assume is tons of adjunct flavorings. This stuff is a mess and is honestly bottom tier rum.

classic.cocktails (PREMIUM) πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ | 3 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

No other option for a Dark 'n' Stormy, and not just for legal reasons. I'm annoyed at Gosling's for sweetening their ginger beer with HFCS and for that reason Bundaberg is my first choice. BTW, this is also great in a classic Painkiller.

s_simov πŸ‡§πŸ‡¬ | 7 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

I tried only Sailor Jerry so this one was much more flavorful. I loved it. Smoother than the saylor.
Also better for cakes in comparison of the sailor, as it gives much more and more complex flavor (which was the main reason i bought the spiced rum in the first place)




Brand Details

Type: Dark
Company: Gosling's
Country: Bermuda
Name: Black Seal
ABV: 40%
Raw Material: Unknown
Process: Pure blend (1 distillery)
Distillation: Unknown
Women Led: No

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