Gosling's

Gosling Brothers Ltd., established in 1806 in Bermuda, is a family-owned rum blending and bottling company now in its eighth generation.

Their flagship product is Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, a dark rum blend famed for its role in the signature cocktail Dark ’n Stormy. The name “Black Seal” originates from the traditional practice of selling rum in reused champagne bottles sealed with black sealing wax; customers began requesting rum with the distinctive “black seal.”

Gosling’s blends imported rums distilled from molasses. Aging occurs in charred American oak barrels under Bermuda’s humid, maritime climate, which influences the maturation and flavor development of the wood.

Some premium expressions include Gosling’s Gold Seal Rum, Family Reserve Old Rum (which utilizes the Black Seal blend aged longer), Black Seal Overproof (151 Proof), and limited editions such as Papa's Seal Single Barrel, which is aged for over 15 years.

Tasting profiles typically associated with Black Seal include rich molasses/treacle, vanilla, dark caramel, spice (such as nutmeg and cinnamon), toasted oak, dried fruit, and occasionally banana or butterscotch. More aged or premium variants (Family Reserve, Papa Seal) add deeper wood tones, leather, dark fruit, tobacco, more pronounced oak & spice.

Gosling’s is also renowned for its cocktail heritage (especially the Dark ’n Stormy®), its ginger beer and tonic mixers, and its status as a significant cultural symbol in Bermuda.