Now I must admit I've only tried rum on a couple of occasions so didn't know quite what to expect, Steve did mentioned that these were a good cross-over drink.
Goslings is a Bermuda based drinks company and tonight we were trying their some of their Black Seal range of rums.
In the spring of 1806 James Gosling, the oldest son of William Gosling, wines and spirits merchant, set out from Gravesend, Kent, England on the ship Mercury, with £10,000 sterling worth of merchandise, bound for America. After ninety-one desperate days on becalmed seas their charter ran out, and they put in at the nearest port, St. George’s, Bermuda. And the rest, as they say, is history. Delicious, deep, dark history.
My thoughts:Appearance: very dark treacle colour in the glass, swirls cling to the glass and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: golden syrup, malt loaf, dark brown sugar, blackberries and raisins mix wonderfully. There's some vanilla custard just to cover it all.
Palate: strange arrival thick and treacly but with a watery note. Flat cola with a bite, a lovely sweetness and a nice gingery spice. Hints of tropical fruits and treacle.
Finish: drying icing sugar notes with that ever present treacle. A nice ginger spice lingers. Lovely dram!
Other tweeters' thoughts:
Next up was the Gold Seal again at 40%
My thoughts:Appearance: a lovely pale gold in the glass, swirls don't cling like the Black but fall straight back into the glass as thin legs.
Nose: Battenberg cake - loads of sugary marzipan almond niceness! There's hints of gingerbread, cinnamon and some tropical fruit - mango?
Palate: Similar treacly watery combination on the palate, a little smoother than the Black? The gingerbread and tropical fruit come out more than the cake but there is some sugary almond goodness in there too!
Finish: sweet and spice balanced to start with then the sweetness lingers.
Other tweeters' thoughts:
Third of the evening was Family Reserve Old Rum at 40%
Appearance: back to a dark treacle colour in the glass. Swirls again stick to the glass and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: lots of oak, treacle and dark brown sugar. There's hints of dunnage warehouse about this one - almost sherry and dried fruits.
Palate: matches the thick treacly mouthfeel that it's colour suggests - mouthcoating with treacle, oak and dark fruit. There's a citrus note, not quite the sweet orange from the nose. This isn't as sweet as the first two - yummy! Shares some of the drying notes from it's younger Black Seal brother. Icing sugar and dark chocolate?
Finish: drying and sweet with treacle and tropical fruit notes - none of the spice from the palate.
Other tweeters' thoughts:
Final dram of the evening was 151 Proof at 75.5%
My thoughts:Appearance: Another dark treacle coloured dram, gravity defying swirls which just hang around forever!
Nose: Oak, oak and more oak followed by a little more oak. This needs a little time to open up in the glass. The air brings hints of cola cubes, dark chocolate, prunes and black cherries.
This isn't a dram to rush!
Palate: thick treacly arrival, coats the mouth and tongue with a sweet and spice mixture whilst the ABV strips away at the layers. Wow - this is strong! The sweetness of it's siblings is there and some tropical fruit. Some orange, brown sugar and ginger notes but wow this needs some dilution - a little water to be added. What's left of my mouth is crying out for relief! Adding 50% water to this dropping it down to a more respectable ABV and it's not half bad. The oak is still there but the spice has been reduced, Lots of tropical fruit notes and that ever present brown sugar - nice!
Other tweeters' thoughts:
No comments:
Post a Comment