I was at a Halloween party two weeks ago, and I stopped at a nearby liquor store just to see what I can see, and I saw Gosling’s Gold rum. I’ve never seen this before! I had already tried Black Seal and had not yet tried 151, so I expected basically something akin to Black Seal, but a bit lighter and crisper. It was also only $20, so I figured that it was worth the experiment. And once again, I could have sworn that I took a picture of the bottle in a nice place before it was opened, but I can’t find the picture now, so I just quickly took another one in front of my dresser. Man, I miss the summer, when I used to take my rums out on a photo shoot at the beach or the park…

Also, it’s called Gold Seal, and the sealion on the label is gold, which further reinforced my mistaken idea that they just think that seals and sealions are the same thing.

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

I’m pretty much just getting very basic vanilla and coconut rum notes, much like with Bacardi. It’s nowhere near as sweet smelling as Black Seal.

Taste

It has a good, strong taste of lightly aged Spanish-style rum. Sweet, vanilla, coconut, and still tastes kind of young. It finishes with notes of butterscotch and bitter cough syrup. It has a slight bite to it, but it’s nowhere near as rough as Bacardi Gold, while also being much more flavorful. However, I am missing basically any funk that I recognize. I tried it against Havana Club 3 and Gold Seal was not as fruity and flavorful, and I tried it against Diplo Planas, and it didn’t have as deep and rich a taste of oak aging. So, it sits somewhere in between those two rums and Bacardi gold.

Verdict 5/10

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

I am just kind of getting disappointed trying anything from Goslings, after how much I enjoyed Black Seal. Sure, I only spent $20, but for $22 I could have gotten Diplo Planas or Havana Club 3 and have been much happier with the bottle. It’s not a complete dud— I prefer it to Bacardi Gold. But this is solidly relegated to being a forgettable mixer, and even at $20, I feel like it’s not a good value when you have much better white rums in the same price range.

January 21, 2026 Update:

Yeah, it’s basically Bacardi Gold with just a bit less burn. Meh. 5/10.