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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
over 3 years ago
Appearance dark brownish red. Nice green around the edges from the aging. Initially smells like curry, with lime and vanilla. Tastes sweet and caramely with a hint of maple syrup. Lime comes through on the initial finish, transitioning to something more bitter on the lingering finish. Also tastes bit of tobacco on the finish, which gets stronger the more I drink. Slight creamy mouthfeel. Overall not bad for mixing.
Great Rum for cockteila like "dark & shadow", I just love this Rum.
Posted
almost 4 years ago
Taste from far, far away island of Bermuda, this is something special for me. I love it! Like real Rum, to speak so. Tried it in "Dark & Stormy" and that was a drink, like a very good medicine for me. Just a bit to sweet for the moment, I belive next one will suit even more. Will update after second try...
Recommend!
Unlike a Bacardi that brashly announces its presence, and overstates its strength, the Black Seal mixes quietly into a drink, adding a bit of sweetness to the flavor. Smooth enough to sip, excellent to mix, and most importantly: does not bring on a hangover the way that the more harsh rums will.
Posted
over 4 years ago
I was young, in Bermuda, drinking with a mixed bunch of young scientists. One of the asked if we wanted Dark and Stormies. I had no idea! Since then, rum has been a constant joy, so Black Seal has a special place in my heart (palate?)
Posted
5 years ago
Used Myers dark rum for years for mixer until my first dark and stormy in Key West. Still like Myers but this makes the dark and stormy especially if you like more dark than stormy. Molases sweet with bitters style back-note is perfect for this drink.
Posted
almost 6 years ago
Nothing I prefer as avec or for zipping, but perfect for my favourite rumdrink “Dark ‘N’ Stormy”.
Picture: My drink rum shelf
Posted
over 6 years ago
Ok for sipping but only bought for making Dark’n’stormy
Great taste for reasonable price. Great taste for reasonable price.
Posted
over 8 years ago
Nichts Besonderes. Für meinen Geschmack zu starker cherry Abgang.
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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!