Rum: Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum
Bottle Number: A23/07
Price: $70
Region: Bermuda
Proof: 80
A certain someone at my New Year's party heard me espousing the amazingness of Zaya, and as he had been putting off buying my Christmas present until inspiration struck, he seized upon my apparent new Rumly Passion to pick up another bottle of fancy sipping rum for me.
Thus I came into posession of the Gosling Family Reserve, which loudly and proudly broadcasts that it is, indeed, an Old Rum. The bottle comes in a large wooden box with Old Rum stamped clearly on the side, and a metal ring aroung the bottle espouses the old-i-tude yet again. The bottle itself is hefty and matte black, with a gorgeous shiny (albeit polymer) wax poured over the top to steal the deal. The understated label is finished with a hand written bottle number - something I'd surely consider a good sign if the Pyrat hadn't just scammed me with a a similar setup.
When poured into a glass, the Gosling is a rich, dark amber - an intense color that looks as though a lighter colored rum has been super-saturated with brown sugar or infused with syrup.
The nose is primarily brown sugar, with a hint of something softer - my first impression was of flowers, but I think powdered sugar is a better descriptor after a second smell. The scent was very sharp with a final hint of citrus - lemony.
Neat, the flavor of the rum was smooth with a strong powdered sugar theme that matured into something like sweet cream. A little tangy around the edges. The finish was dry and lingering with a subtle caramel aftertaste - very delayed. There was just enough sting to keep you paying attention - more of a kick than the Zaya, but less than a strong scotch.
With ice, the tangy lemony flavor I mentioned above came out more clearly, and the rum mellowed quite a lot. The aftertaste shifted away from caramel and more to straight cream - very soft on the tongue. Once the ice melted I'd defnitely classify the flavor as "malty."
All in all, I'm very impressed with the Gosling - the whole experience was a bit like drinking a sweet scotch, much more enjoyable than the saccharine experience of the Pyrat Rum I reviewed last time. Definitely a must try - and yet another inevitable step down the path of giving me more expensive liquors to obsess over.
