Review 120: Gosling's Black Seal Rum

Review 120

12/15/12

Gosling’s Black Seal Rum: 40% abv

We got back into the rum bandwagon and it certainly has been a while. This is Gosling’s  dark rum, and if you look at our first mixology post, it is the feature ingredient in the Dark N’ Stormy. Just like the mixed drink, this rum comes from Bermuda, and unlike Kraken it is not a spiced rum. But how does it compare? Well we can tell you first hand. 

On the nose, you start off with complex notes of wheat, cane sugar and brown sugar, molasses, allspice, slight anise, nutmeg, ginger, herbal notes, mild vanilla, mint, and  maybe even some coriander. The nose is pretty unique and spicy, and it was surprisingly enjoyable at this price point. The arrival provided big sweetness, with honey, caramel, cinnamon, and ginger. 

The body continued some of these notes with ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, honey, caramel, molasses, sweet fruits, mint, and allspice. After the addition of water, this body becomes mellower and sweeter, but does not lose its flavor. The finish contains brown sugar, molasses, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, slight bitterness, an undertone of sweet fruits, and mint. As you might be able to tell, this is a fairly complex finish, but is comprised of many spice notes. Overall, the finish evens out with a slight splash of water. 

Here are some general notes about Gosling’s Black Seal Rum for you. This rum is not terribly fruity, but contains a good mixture of sweetness and spiciness. The finish is dry in this, and a small amount of water will definitely smooth this rum out, as well as taking away a bit of the edge from the peppery bitterness of the finish. This rum is exactly what makes a Dark N’ Stormy a Dark N’ Stormy. This is a cheap rum, which makes it a great buy for the value, but the question becomes whether or not this competes with Kraken, at a very similar price point. The short answer is no. Kraken will probably be the better buy, but if you like the character of this better, or the bigger sweetness, this will not do you wrong. 

Score: 8.5/10