Gosling's Black Seal

I recently started to stock rums for tiki cocktails. While I need a dark Jamaican, I also wanted to try a dark & stormy that was authentic. Since I already had Whaler's, I wasn't going to buy two more dark rums.

This smells of hickory smoke and tastes bitter and, well, that's it. The bitterness and sharp heat covers up anything else I could possibly taste.

Ginger beer is spicy and ridiculously sweet so the bitterness is a good counter point I suppose.
Unfortunately, both are hot in different ways making me feel like there is no reason to ever try this or a dark n stormy again.

Edit: So trying this in other drinks that required a dark rum and I've changed my mind and upgraded my rating. The rich dark character really helps an overly sweet drink and makes it comforting.

A retro bottle. Smells like ethanol and spices. Tastes like ethanol, sugar coloring and the industrial revolution. Hope it tastes better in cocktails than it does neat.

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.

This is a good dark rum and excellent mixer. Obvi must have for Dark'n Stormy. Good starting point for dark rums.