Nosing reveals typical Bajan and Foursquare aroma’s. Vanilla, touches of caramel and some really well integrated notes of oak and bourbon like spice. It isn’t as “in your face” as some of the recent higher ABV releases but it is very pleasant and approachable. In 2019, Goslings introduced its ultra-premium Papa Seal Single Barrel Rum. “It’s dramatically different from anything we’ve ever done,” said Gosling. “It allowed us the opportunity to experiment with conditioning the barrel prior to aging the rum,” which is the most he will reveal about this special process. This extremely limited expression is aged for more than 15 years in the balmy Bermuda climate, with production limited to just 12 barrels annually. Goslings is now working on some other limited-release bottlings, like a special barrel-finished rum. “It’s sleeping as we’re talking now,” says Gosling. Rum had always suffered from an image in the minds of many consumers as a second class spirit. While vodka made great strides in the 1990s when a number of super-premium brands were introduced to the market, rum continued to be neglected. All that would begin to change at the end of the 20th century. Customers were looking for something different, and interest began to build in the aged rum and premium rum category. To take advantage of this growing interest, Gosling took a number of steps to better position itself as a premiere name in the world market for rum. The container should also indicate a recommended serving size and how many alcohol units that would contain. It should also indicate the total alcoholic units in the container. For example, a 125ml glass for wine along with the 75cl bottle of that wine. Moving on to the sip the rum is slightly drier than the nose might suggest. I don’t know if my palate has changed since I last tried this rum or it has become slightly fruitier but it isn’t quite as “oaked” and dry as I recall though.

The labelling of your product can include many details including information about the ingredients and their sources or the brewing methods for example. As a minimum, the following information should be grouped together on the bottle label for ease of location by the consumer: What’s that? Is usually the refrain I hear from my less rum orientated visitors (most people to be honest, unfortunately). My reply is that it is a bottle of fine Bajan Rum is often met with a rather dismissive shake of the head. Around the time Gosling made its entry in the U.S. market, the first female member of the family, seventh generation Nancy Lloyd Gosling, joined the business. Before going to college, she expressed her interest in the family business to her father, Malcolm Gosling, the company's chairman. He urged her to study accounting because the business was in need of a financial person. She then traveled to Canada where she studied accounting at Dalhousie University in Halifax. To gain seasoning she spent three years at Price Waterhouse and then went to work for the American International Insurance Co. Ltd. Offered a promotion 18 months later, she decided to make the transition to Gosling Brothers, rather than make a further commitment to American International. She started out as assistant treasurer in 1981 and over the next decade worked her way up through the ranks. In 1991 she became the firm's president and chief executive officer. She was especially aggressive in expanding the company's local offerings of beer, wine, and other spirits. Luscious aromas of treacle and butter cookie over wet oak precede a slightly musty earthiness and old leather. On the palate, dark banana, burnt sugar and butter notes turn slightly dry at mid palate leading to creamy vanilla and baking spices over big charred wood. Hints of balsamic, dark prune and leather fade slowly in the very long finish. Geographic DistributionWhat does a bat have to do with a decades-old Puerto Rican rum, you might be wondering? The story begins in 1862, when Don Facundo Bacardí Massó set up Bacardi’s first distillery in Cuba. It didn’t take long for his wife, Doña Amalia Bacardi, to discover that hundreds of fruit bats, following the sweet smell of molasses, were hiding out in the distillery’s rafters. A family business for over 200 years, Goslings Rum is Bermuda’s largest export product and the only company that blends and bottles rum on the island. First exported to the United States in 1980, Goslings offers five distinctive, award-winning rums. We have reviewed R.L. Seale’s Finest Barbados Rum in the past. As if Foursquare haven’t been releasing enough rum over the past couple of years Richard Seale also felt it was high time their “flagship” (you could argue the case for Doorly’s as well) rum received a bit of an update. So what we got was a red label on the bottle indicating this is now “Export Proof 46% ALC/VOL”. The previous incarnation was a not to shabby 43% ABV. Much the same as the equally iconic Mount Gay Extra Old. Mount Gay haven’t upgraded their offering to date. At one point this 10 year old rum was the oldest expression from the Foursquare Distillery available. With its distinctive old fashioned “flask” (similar to what Pirate/Privateers used in the 17th century) shaped bottle it is a “cult classic” if you like. The fabulous aged Barbados rum in the “wonky” bottle. It’s synonymous with Bermuda,” says Goslings Rum CEO Malcolm Gosling. Goslings is the island’s oldest business and has been a staple of Bermudian culture since it was founded by James Gosling in 1806.

So on with the rum. Despite my mishap with the cork, the rum still exhibits that classic fruity, floral and light bajan note when opened. When poured into the glass the rum initially strikes you as being very light almost straw like. It does exhibit a kind of whisky like appearance. Variety and Vintage – Naming the variety of grape is acceptable if at least 85% of the wine is made from that grape or 100% made from 2 varieties. Vintage wines must contain at least 85% of the vintage in question that meets the protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI) status. Drinking Guidelines Our obsession has always been with crafting the finest rums possible, not the most rums,” explains E. Malcolm Gosling, seventh-generation patriarch and CEO of Goslings International Limited. “With that mantra in mind, we proudly offer Papa Seal Single Barrel Bermuda Rum — the father of all rums — to our celebrated product line. We hope that dedicated Goslings drinkers and newcomers to super premium rum will have the opportunity to enjoy this special spirit.” Goslings Papa Seal Tasting Notes Such meticulous attention to detail is reminiscent of many of the more recent Central American producers (think Dictador or La Hechicera). However, such presentation is nothing new to Foursquare. They have been presenting rum in such a way that it practically jumps of the shelf at you for years. The key to R L Seale’s appeal is its simplicity. Much like the iconic MGXO R L Seale’s doesn’t do anything fancy. It’s a pot/column blend of rum aged in quality ex-bourbon casks for 10 years in a tropical climate. It’s beauty is in its balance and complexity rather than a huge ABV and an unusual second maturation or fancy finish.Cocoa and milk chocolate, touch of nutmeg and some nice sweet spicy “sour mash” like notes. Whether the extra 3% ABV is really making much of a difference I am not sure to be honest. As mentioned earlier by previous bottles of R.L Seale’s are long gone. Even with the ABV at 46% though it is still very pleasant to nose and you can enjoy doing just that for as long as you can resist trying the liquid. I’ve not even looked at my original review of this rum. My past bottles of R.L Seale’s are long gone. I’m actually quite keen to see how this stands up alongside some of the bottlings put out by Foursquare and Foursquare/Velier over the past couple of years. One of my peevs is that many of those that attempted to hoard and bottle flip the Velier Foursquare releases probably haven’t even tried this rum. Still I must stop grumbling about that…….