Family Reserve: Old Rum

The Ultimate Bermuda Short – Goslings Family Reserve Rum

With rum wave showing no sign of breaking anytime soon and more consumers delving into the intricacies, provenance and versatility of this special spirit, Waitrose has rolled out Goslings much-revered Family Reserve Rum ahead of National Rum Day on the 16^th August.

Proudly independent and family run to this day, James Goslings beached in Bermuda in 1806 while on voyage to a new life in America. He decided to stay and his family’s rum and famous Dark n’ Stormy cocktail have since become synonymous with the tropical island.

Goslings Family Reserve

A sensational sipping rum for the liquor connoisseur, the Goslings Family Reserve was a deep, dark secret rum that the family enjoyed for generations but was never released. The historic rum was first made available to the public in the US in 2005 with small quantities of the special liquid arriving in the UK in the last few years.

Utterly unique, it is crafted from the same incomparable Bermuda blend use for their renowned Black Seal Rum but it is left resting in oak barrels, ageing it until it has acquired an extra luscious, nuanced complexity much like a rare Scotch or Cognac.

A spirit this unusual deserves more than the usual bottle and label so the Family Reserve bottle is labelled, corked, waxed and numbered by hand before being presented in an artisan straw-filled wooden box. The same way the family packaged their Bermuda rum in the early 1900s.

Goslings Family Reserve (70cl) is available from 16 Waitrose stores and online via Waitrose Cellar priced at £61 and has an ABV of 40%.

Tasting Notes/Serving Suggestion

Complex nose with variety of flavours such as leather, chocolate and a hint of pepper along with a smooth, elegant taste with traces of smoke, vanilla and cigar.

The silky smooth rum is great after dinner with a rich dessert and the recommended serve is neat or with one cube of ice, in a snifter or rocks glass.