ctbeck11
Goslings Black Seal Rum
Dark Rum — Bermuda
Reviewed
December 12, 2020 (edited July 10, 2021)
Nose - 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 significantly 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.
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@bigwhitemike Thanks for the information, Mike! I haven’t put much thought into different ginger beer options, but I’ll keep some of these recommendations in mind if/when I run across them.
@ctbeck11 Not quite sure if you were referring to other ginger beers or dark rums. Still exploring the rum options but always come back to Goslings. As far as ginger beers go, Barritt's (Bermuda) is most similar to my tastes and fits nicely in a D&S in that it also is on the sweeter end, but with a very pleasant creaminess. Not superior to Gosling's, but a subtle change of pace. I made a run through commonly available ones this summer to look for better options and generally came up empty-handed in improving the Dark & Stormy. It's possible that other rums will like other ginger beers better. Fentimann's and Bundaberg were good and balanced, but not better or worth the premium price. Reed's was very strange, with pineapple & lime juice mixed in. OK to sip like a high-end soda, but don't recommend in a cocktail: unpredictable and usually "off" tasting. Two spicy ones I liked and prefer to Gosling's for mules (Moscow or mezcal, usually) are Powell & Mahoney and ALDI's ginger beer (which clearly wins on affordability between the two). There ya go - an abundance of unrequested info. Welcome to the internet!
@bigwhitemike Absolutely. I always have some Gosling’s ginger beer on hand. I’ve heard some others are even tastier, but have never tried a different brand.
Agree. Despite their obnoxious trademark of the equivalent to a rum and coke (which I happen to love, FWIW), I’ve never had a D&S that tastes better than goslings ginger and goslings rum. My main knock is that it isn’t very assertive and I find myself wishing for a bit more than smooth molasses in other cocktails (primarily tiki ones), and typically reach for other options when I can for that purpose.