Gosling's Black Seal

From time to time I come across a rum that is not that easy to rate. This is one of those times. It is like a hybrid liquor and rum for me. Great mahgony color. Aroma bit of banana, and coffee for me. Taste the same with added spice and alcohol burn though. Will not use as a sipper though after today as just something not right. Hard to say though exactly what it is. Final note, that under $20 certainly not feeling ripped off but not feeling that found the best value rum on the market.

The overwhelming black liquorice flavour makes it a worthwhile experience and might be interesting mixed but as a sipper it is a one time experience.

It’s the standard for many drinks calling for black rum and does fine as a baseline, but nothing special here.

Good for mixing only, not a great rum. Not expensive though, especially if you buy it in Bermuda.

Thus will do with coke and lemon if no nice rum available

Tasted at Laka Lono on 10/17/21. Pours a dark brown color. Aroma of brown sugar and synthetic caramel coloring. Slightly roasted with just a hint of mint (?). A dessicating finish. Whaler's Black is far better.

I got a bottle cheap on a whim and I really enjoyed it. Drinking it neat, Black Seal has an excellent flavor with a lot going on - fruits, nuts, spice - like a fruit cake. It's relatively smooth but with just enough burn. Not "alcohol-y" at all, and not overly sweet. Description is "well balanced" and I definitely agree with that. For an inexpensive dark rum, this is one of my favorites.

Gosling's is perfectly acceptable, and I get that they have the copyright but when making your Dark n' Stormy... you can do better. Far more bland than the color would suggest, Gosling's makes a perfect companion to top-quality ginger beer... since it tastes like hardly anything. For when you want the ginger to shine through. This is one that will live on my bar for a long, long time, as it's one of the last rums I'd grab.

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

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.