I’ve not even looked at my original review of this rum. My past bottles of R.L Seale’s are long gone. I’m actually quite keen to see how this stands up alongside some of the bottlings put out by Foursquare and Foursquare/Velier over the past couple of years. One of my peevs is that many of those that attempted to hoard and bottle flip the Velier Foursquare releases probably haven’t even tried this rum. Still I must stop grumbling about that……. Rum had always suffered from an image in the minds of many consumers as a second class spirit. While vodka made great strides in the 1990s when a number of super-premium brands were introduced to the market, rum continued to be neglected. All that would begin to change at the end of the 20th century. Customers were looking for something different, and interest began to build in the aged rum and premium rum category. To take advantage of this growing interest, Gosling took a number of steps to better position itself as a premiere name in the world market for rum. In 2019, Goslings introduced its ultra-premium Papa Seal Single Barrel Rum. “It’s dramatically different from anything we’ve ever done,” said Gosling. “It allowed us the opportunity to experiment with conditioning the barrel prior to aging the rum,” which is the most he will reveal about this special process. This extremely limited expression is aged for more than 15 years in the balmy Bermuda climate, with production limited to just 12 barrels annually. Goslings is now working on some other limited-release bottlings, like a special barrel-finished rum. “It’s sleeping as we’re talking now,” says Gosling. Nosing reveals typical Bajan and Foursquare aroma’s. Vanilla, touches of caramel and some really well integrated notes of oak and bourbon like spice. It isn’t as “in your face” as some of the recent higher ABV releases but it is very pleasant and approachable. This rum still stands up alongside the other Foursquare releases. If you haven’t tried a more “classic” style Foursquare such as Doorly’s 5 or 8, Rum Sixty Six or this you may wish to put one on your shopping list.

Goslings Rums, imported and distributed by Castle Brands, are available in all 50 states as well as North American and European Duty Free, the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, and most European markets. For those unfamiliar with this rum (which would explain why you are reading this revie) R.L Seale’s Finest Barbados Rum is a blend of pot and column distilled rums aged a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels. It is the every epitomy of Bajan rum production. What does a bat have to do with a decades-old Puerto Rican rum, you might be wondering? The story begins in 1862, when Don Facundo Bacardí Massó set up Bacardi’s first distillery in Cuba. It didn’t take long for his wife, Doña Amalia Bacardi, to discover that hundreds of fruit bats, following the sweet smell of molasses, were hiding out in the distillery’s rafters.A family business for over 200 years, Goslings Rum is Bermuda’s largest export product and the only company that blends and bottles rum on the island. First exported to the United States in 1980, Goslings offers five distinctive, award-winning rums. It’s likely that this rum has been overlooked a little recently. Obviously as a blogger I want to try and review rums that have been newly released or are getting talked about etc. Things that might interest. Even without a re-imagining of this one with a higher ABV I did feel a re-review was on the cards. I did once query the expense of producing such different bottles amongst his expressions but Richard assured me they didn’t add much to the overall costs.

R.L. Seale’s Finest Barbados Rum. Perhaps the most iconic and historically the most recognised product from the Foursquare Distillery. Especially amongst its longer aged rums. Alcohol can be very damaging to unborn babies and detrimental to women trying to conceive. A statement emphasising this should be included and may also be complemented with a logo of a pregnant woman drinking with a red line drawn through the symbol.It’s synonymous with Bermuda,” says Goslings Rum CEO Malcolm Gosling. Goslings is the island’s oldest business and has been a staple of Bermudian culture since it was founded by James Gosling in 1806. Alcohol abuse can lead to a number of health issues and public policy requires advice on alcoholic drink labelling to help people understand the perils of alcohol abuse. Traditional Terms of production such as Reserva, Grand Reserva or Chateau may be used to indicate the production method. In actuality it ended up mostly as sipping rum and was one of the highlight flavours over Christmas as we did not have much alcohol this season. Allergy declarations (See EU FIC regulations) NB Licorice is an allergen for alcoholic labelling purposes)

Luscious aromas of treacle and butter cookie over wet oak precede a slightly musty earthiness and old leather. On the palate, dark banana, burnt sugar and butter notes turn slightly dry at mid palate leading to creamy vanilla and baking spices over big charred wood. Hints of balsamic, dark prune and leather fade slowly in the very long finish. Geographic Distribution Cocoa and milk chocolate, touch of nutmeg and some nice sweet spicy “sour mash” like notes. Whether the extra 3% ABV is really making much of a difference I am not sure to be honest. As mentioned earlier by previous bottles of R.L Seale’s are long gone. Even with the ABV at 46% though it is still very pleasant to nose and you can enjoy doing just that for as long as you can resist trying the liquid. Variety and Vintage – Naming the variety of grape is acceptable if at least 85% of the wine is made from that grape or 100% made from 2 varieties. Vintage wines must contain at least 85% of the vintage in question that meets the protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI) status. Drinking GuidelinesIn the glass R.L Seale’s 10 Year Old is a vibrant golden to dark brown colour with an orange tinge. The container should also indicate a recommended serving size and how many alcohol units that would contain. It should also indicate the total alcoholic units in the container. For example, a 125ml glass for wine along with the 75cl bottle of that wine. Such meticulous attention to detail is reminiscent of many of the more recent Central American producers (think Dictador or La Hechicera). However, such presentation is nothing new to Foursquare. They have been presenting rum in such a way that it practically jumps of the shelf at you for years.

For those who aren’t aware R L Seale’s 10 Year Old Rum is produced by Richard Seale at the wonderful Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. Richard is the great-grandson of Reginald Leon Seale who founded the company in 1926.We have reviewed R.L. Seale’s Finest Barbados Rum in the past. As if Foursquare haven’t been releasing enough rum over the past couple of years Richard Seale also felt it was high time their “flagship” (you could argue the case for Doorly’s as well) rum received a bit of an update. So what we got was a red label on the bottle indicating this is now “Export Proof 46% ALC/VOL”. The previous incarnation was a not to shabby 43% ABV. Much the same as the equally iconic Mount Gay Extra Old. Mount Gay haven’t upgraded their offering to date. This article aims to help drink manufacturers and marketers ensure they label their product correctly for the UK and Irish market. Disclaimer: Please see legal advice for labelling regulations. We cannot accept any liability for the contents of this guide. The Government recommends including the guideline alcohol consumption to not regularly exceed 2-3 alcohol units per day for women and 3-4 units per day for men. Alternatively, 14 units per week for women and 21 units per week for men. There is also a move to recommend only 14 units per week for men rather than 21 units per week.