Our family has never been one to pursue volume at the expense of quality. For nearly two centuries our rare Black Seal Bermuda Rum has been aged slowly in restricted quantities.
Gosling’s Black Seal has a rich, intricate flavour, well balanced and nuanced with butterscotch, vanilla and caramel. Impressive enough to earn the Beverage Testing Institute’s highest honour, the Platinum Medal. We were pleased, but hardly surprised. After all, we’ve been at this awhile.
Today, unlike most spirits, Black Seal includes products of both pot stills, as used in fine Cognacs, and continuous stills, as used in grappa. One imparts flavour, the other yields a subtle elegance. Together they work wonders.
We aren’t averse to offering occasional variations on our classics. In typical Gosling fashion, we didn’t just dash out a new product. It took several attempts and repeated blending and tastings (tough work, but someone had to do it). We proudly arrived at a muscular, but refined 140 proof rum that not only won praise from homeward bound visitors, but also from competition judges. Gosling’s 151 proof Black Seal Rum enjoys the same great popularity through its inimitable flavour, characteristic taste and unique quality. This lip-tingling spirit makes an ideal complement to any exotic, sun-drenched libation and is excellent in desserts that call for flaming.
Black Seal has become synonymous with Bermuda. It’s the national drink and the island nations most widely exported product.
Over the years Black Seal® Rum has become synonymous with Bermuda. It is an essential ingredient in Bermuda fish chowder, adds the island flavor to the Bermuda Rum Swizzle, and is the tempest in Bermuda's favorite cocktail the Dark 'n Stormy®.
The history of Black Seal Rum® and the Gosling family began long ago. In the spring of 1806 James Gosling, the oldest son of William Gosling, wine and spirits merchant, set out from England on the ship, Mercury, with £10,000 of merchandise, bound for America...
After ninety-one desperate days on a becalmed sea their charter ran out, and they put in at the nearest port, St. George’s, Bermuda. Rather than pressing on for America, James opened a shop on the King’s Parade, St. George’s in December 1806.
In 1824 James returned to England and his brother Ambrose rented a shop on Front Street in the new Capitol of Hamilton for £25 a year. The Gosling’s have maintained a store at this location for 127 years.
In 1857 the firm was renamed Gosling Brothers by Ambrose’s sons. Three years later the first oak barrels of rum distillate arrived in Bermuda. Three years later, after much trial and error, the distinctive Bermuda black rum destined to be Black Seal was formulated and offered for sale. They didn’t call it Black Seal at first. In fact, up until the First World War it was only sold from the barrel, and most folks brought in their own bottles for a “fill up”. Eventually the black rum was sold in champagne bottles, reclaimed from the British Officer’s Mess, and the corks sealed with black sealing wax.
Pretty soon people began to ask for the “Black Seal”. Many years later the idea of the little, barrel juggling “Black Seal” was born.
Over the years Black Seal has become synonymous with Bermuda. It is the essential additive to Bermuda fish chowder, adds the island touch to Bermuda Rum Swizzle, and is the tempest in Bermuda’s favorite cocktail – the Dark ‘n Stormy®.
A family business for over two centuries Gosling’s is today the only company that blends and bottles in Bermuda, and is the largest exporter of a Bermuda made product.
Rum is fermented from naturally sweet molasses, a by-product of processing sugar cane. Yeasts ferment the water thinned molasses, which is converted directly into ethyl alcohol without creating the aldehydes and ketones that are found in grain fermentation. When rum is distilled, it produces 97.5% alcohol and 2.5% water.
Super-premium Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda Rum is made from a Gosling’s family recipe dating back nearly two centuries and comprises of independently aged distillates aged in once-used, charred, American oak bourbon casks. The smooth, full flavour is the result of a careful blend of aged pot and continuous still distillates. One imparts flavour; the other a subtle elegance.
