Gosling Brothers Ltd., Hamilton

Geschichte

Gosling’s BLACK SEAL® Rum and the establishment of the Gosling family in Bermuda began long ago. In the spring of 1806 James Gosling, the oldest son of William Gosling, a London wine and spirits merchant, set out from England on the ship Mercury, with L10,000 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. Rather than pressing on for America, James opened a shop on the King’s Parade, St. George’s, in December 1806. By 1824 James had returned to England and his brother Ambrose rented a shop on Front Street in the new capital of Hamilton for L25 a year. In 1857 the firm, know as Ambrose Gosling and Son, was renamed Gosling Brothers. Three years later the first oak barrels of rum distillate arrive in Bermuda. After much experimentation in the blending process, the distinctive black rum destined to be Black Seal was formulated and offered for sale. At first they didn’t call it Black Seal, in fact up until the first world War it was sold from the barrel, and folks brought in bottles for a fill up of “Old Rum” or so called because of its distinctive smoothness. Eventually, the black rum was sold in champagne bottles, reclaimed from the British Officer’s Mess, and the corks sealed with black sealing wax. Pretty soon people began to ask for the “Black Seal”. In 1949 a play on words and images gave birth to the little, barrel juggling “Black Seal”.

In the spring of 1806, London wine and spirits merchant James Gosling set out from England aboard the chartered clipper Mercury with L10,000 of merchandise bound for the Virginias. The voyage was a difficult one. Ninety-one consecutive days of calm left the crew and passengers in dire straits and the charter of the Mercury was fast running out.

The ship eventually made port in St. Georges, Bermuda, where Gosling and his family decided to set up shop rather than press on to America. James Gosling opened a shop on the King's Parade, St. George's in December 1806.

In 1824 the enterprise was moved to Front Street in the new capital of Hamilton. By that time, Ambrose Gosling - James' brother - had joined the firm, and in 1857 the name of the business was changed to Gosling Brothers. To this day the company remains the oldest surviving business in Bermuda and is still a family concern.

Gosling Brothers Ltd. imported its first barrels of Caribbean rum into Bermuda in 1860. Numerous different blends were tried until one was formulated and deemed ideal.

The result was a well-aged, extremely dark rum, which the firm dubbed "Old-Rum". For over 50 years the rum was sold only by draught, with local patrons bring in their own bottles to be filled. The rum continued to be sold exclusively out of the barrel until the First World War, when the company began filling champagne bottles reclaimed from the British Officer's mess. The corks were secured in place with the use of black sealing wax, prompting people to refer to the brand as "Black Seal."

It wasn't until many years later that Gosling Brothers adopted the image of the barrel juggling "black seal" on its labels. To this day, Gosling's Black Seal Rum is created according to the original family recipe from a premium blend of three-year old rums.

Bermuda has no sugar cane, no distillery, but still, proudly, has its own rum: Goslings Black Seal.