Goslings Black Seal Rum

Rating: 9/23 I'm finally sampling this well-known rum, which has a name quite different from the animal depicted on the bottle. Nose: Sweet, with cola notes, a bit thin yet still syrupy. There's a touch of minerality and the faintest hint of dry terroir. The nose isn't particularly intriguing, but it does smell somewhat appealing. The cola note might be slightly metallic, but it's not too unpleasant. I detect faint notes of actual licorice and vanilla, along with a bit of salted and peppered meat. Palate: This is less sweet than the nose suggested, but the cola flavor is definitely present. There's also a much more pronounced spicy burn, which is regrettably a bit harsh. Actually, it's quite harsh given the proof. It's really unpleasant to drink. Yes, I get the black licorice notes, but they are overshadowed by how this numbs the taste buds. I'd say there are some tannins, but that might just be the harshness. There's a fair amount of burnt sugar, though thankfully a little vanilla is present, and occasional hints of tropical banana appear. The minerality is also more bitter and pronounced. I suspect there are some bitter herbs present. This is not the sweet rum I had anticipated. Finish: Dry and tannic, in a somewhat baffling way considering the limited tannins on the palate. It's bitter to the point of being slightly medicinal. The herbal notes emerge somewhat here, including allspice and anise. There's also a faint chocolate note. - Conclusion - This is peculiar. It's not very good, but not in the way I expected. I anticipated it would be sugary and watery with a generic dark rum bitterness. Instead, it's bitter, dry, and burns. It still manages to be thin and uninteresting. And it burns. While not as intensely burning as my bottle of Ry3 (9/23), it's far less balanced and engaging. Despite the intense burn of the Ry3, this might not be the superior of the two spirits. This certainly doesn't warrant a 12 or even an 11. One of the main questions now is whether this or Ry3 is less interesting. I believe the Ry3 has better fundamental flavors, but a stronger burn. This is weaker with more trivial core flavors. I can't see this scoring higher than a 10 under any circumstances. It's unpleasant enough that it could score as low as a 7. I'm surprised to admit it, but I might favor the Ry3 here. I spent considerable time thinking this was around an 8. The flavors and body here are quite poor, and it also burns surprisingly much. It's not agonizing to drink, but it's not an enjoyable experience (though it might perform well as a mixer). Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star (a low 12/23) is definitely more palatable and burns less. This serves as a good benchmark to cap this one at a possible 10. This can be rated a 9. Many thanks to for this sample.

Nose: Brown sugar, molasses, caramel. It's dominated by cooked-sugar aromas with no discernible nuance or complexity. Palate: The initial taste is full of blackstrap molasses and treacle. As it develops, it loses some of its heavy initial characteristics and settles into caramel, butterscotch, and gingerbread flavors. There are some pleasant lime and cinnamon notes, but it seems somewhat flat. The texture is neutral, but at least it's not overly sticky. Finish: Medium length. Molasses and brown sugar, fading to demerara sugar. An acceptable but rather ordinary dark rum. Good in a dark and stormy, but that's its primary strength. It lacks nuance and refinement in its profile and doesn't have much 'hogo' (funky aroma), but it does lean towards the drier side of the spectrum – if it were sweet, it would be dreadful. I've tried it in various ways, but nothing has particularly impressed me yet. It's not a sipping rum due to a lack of character, and as a mixer, it tends to fade into the background, which was unexpected. Ginger ale is its best mixing partner. I actually purchased this to use as the base for a batch of crème de cacao liqueur I'm making and have been tasting it neat and experimenting with the 200ml I didn't need for the infusion. It's not terrible value as an all-rounder, but frankly, this is the first and last bottle I intend to buy. It's simply... bland. However, if I were a pirate in 18th century Bermuda, I'd probably have survived on this stuff. "Average": 77/100 (2.5 stars)

Smell - molasses, burnt brown sugar, rich vanilla, butterscotch, creme brûlée, overripe banana, raisin, coffee, boozy chocolate, nutmeg, allspice, coconut, light smoke, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - molasses, coffee, brown sugar, caramel, butterscotch, overripe banana, chocolate, coconut, cola, overripe banana, raisin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with butterscotch, smoky molasses, overripe fruit flavors. The Old Rum offering from Gosling is considerably better, but this isn’t bad. It’s very thick and full flavored, but a bit young and bright, more appropriate for mixing. I bought it mainly for making Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktails, at which it performs admirably.

A truly solid, versatile spirit to keep on hand. Perfect for Dark 'n' Stormys, rum and cokes, rum cake, fried plantains, and more. It has numerous applications due to its flavorful and easy-drinking nature. Nothing groundbreaking, just a rich, clean, and approachable rum. A gallon typically costs around $25. Good value.

The nose has a burnt caramel aroma. It initially presents a strong molasses character, followed by banana on the palate. It's sweet, but not excessively so. The finish reveals more molasses and burnt sugar, with hints of leather and tobacco. It goes down very smoothly over ice and would likely make a fantastic dark and stormy.

The aroma presents notes of molasses, espresso, baking spices, a subtle prune, and roasted almond. The palate reveals more baking spices, espresso, and almond, alongside cola and vanilla. It has a very rich, full-bodied texture. The finish is short to medium in length and quite smooth. Rating: 3.00/5.00 – Good (consumed neat)