Literally a few days ago, as I was already planning on posting my Gosling’s Black Seal review, I went to a friend’s house, and he had 151 there. So, of course, with permission, I helped myself to some and did a back and forth between regular Black Seal and the 151.

Unfortunately, I failed to snap a picture of the bottle. Maybe some of you with a keen eye might have noticed something off about the image. Yes, it is an edited picture of the regular Gosling’s Black Seal that I took and posted with my previous review. No, I didn’t use AI, though it looks very convincing. I had to dig deep into my art skills to recreate the look of the 151 bottle.

Note: The exact formula is a trade secret, but most likely all sugarcane molasses. Fortune.com says that the distillate for Black Seal comes from Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad, and the same may be true for Gold Seal. Blend consists of several rums from several Caribbean islands are distilled variously in pot and column stills before being shipped to Bermuda. Does not make an age statement, but the company claims that the blended product is aged in re-charred once-used American oak bourbon barrels.

Review

Smell

When I described the regular Black Seal, I remember it smelling strongly of brown sugar. I was expecting 151 to be basically the same, but even the smell immediately throws me off. I get the smell of those cheap fake lemon candies, and nothing else.

Taste

It’s quite bold, but surprisingly sippable. That’s not to say it’s pleasant. It’s very strong, but it’s not completely overwhelming like Bounty 151 and Forres Park Puncheon are. Of all the dirt cheap 151 proof rums, this one might be the easiest to tolerate neat, even though I don’t imagine it’s really meant for that. The primary taste that I am getting continues to be fake lemon candy, but after it fades away, it melts into a warm vanilla butterscotch, with a hint of bitter nail polish remover. It is far from Jamaican, though. I am getting zero jamaican notes from the 151.

I tried making a daiquiri, and it was basically impossible to balance it. I ended up using equal parts rum, water, lime juice, and syrup, and it still didn’t come out quite right. I made a daiquiri with Black Seal as well, and side by side, they’re quite similar, but again, Black Seal just has that nice Jamaican funk, and 151 leans more into fake lemon. 151 is also just not as fun to drink when it’s watered down to normal proofs. Maybe I should have made a zombie with it. Regardless, I dropped a bit into some pepsi zero, and it was good, which is the only cocktail that really matters. In Europe, they even sell Pepsi Max with a fake lemon taste, and it’s alright.

Verdict 5/10

(Edited from 6/10 on 1/21/26)

I can’t say that I thought it was great, but I’ll say that it’s probably the tastiest 151 that I have tried. Maybe that’s not saying much. I am still on the hunt for Hamilton and Lemon Hart 151. Black Seal 151 is not worlds different from Black Seal 40%, but it’s different enough to matter. The fake lemon taste and the lack of a Jamaican funk really threw me off, and honestly, I am glad that I didn’t buy this bottle and instead tried a bit at a friend’s house. Planteray OFTD is in the same category and even sub-category, and it just completely blows Goslings 151 out of the water.

January 21, 2026 Update:

Yeah, it’s literally high octane lemon drops. Maybe it’s someone’s vibe. Maybe in some coke. But it’s really mid at best. It’s a 5/10 now.