Aroma visualization from community tastings
Goslings Old Rum („Family Reserve“)
Sipped neat or over a couple of ice cubes, this leans dark and dessert-like: dark chocolate, coffee, raisins and brown sugar, with wood and baking spice underneath. One taster called it "pleasantly surprising and complex." The catch several people flag is that at 40% it thins out toward the finish, and a few pick up an odd bitter, chemical edge that also shows in the standard Goslings.
The community says- Dark chocolate & coffee
- Raisin sweetness
- Contains added sugar
View price history
Secure payment Sold by Excellence Rhum Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
The look inside the bottle
How does Goslings Old Rum („Family Reserve“) taste?
Aggregated from 87 community reviews.
Dark, chocolatey sipper that thins out Most find it a pleasant dark, chocolate-and-coffee sipper that's better than average. The recurring gripes: too thin at 40%, a touch of bitterness, and it's noticeably sweetened.
People who like dark, chocolatey, gently sweet sippers
Anyone avoiding sugar or wanting big body and punch
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
30 of 87 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Goslings Old Rum („Family Reserve“) rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.5 sits in the “Good” band. 71% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 1% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
78% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 87 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Anonymous
Most helpful positive review
Love the normal gosling and enjoyed the family reserve.
Review by Campbell
Most helpful critical review
I’m mixed on this one. The presentation is great, and the rum itself has notes of chocolate, spice, a little bit of dried fruit—all nice things, but it also has an odd chemical property (which I find in the standard goslings), giving it a bitterness and odd mouthfeel that make it a little unpleasant to sip neat.
Review by Arjan91
A while since I had drunk it, but what a tasty dark rum this remains! Tones of Coffee, chocolate, sweetness of raisins and brown sugar.
Review by Stefan Persson
A very dark and complex rum with Christmas spices. The nose is complex, spicy and woody with scents of vanilla, clove, oak and caramel. At the palate and during the medium long finish it’s complex, fruity, spicy, sweet and a little sharp with flavors of plum, cinnamon, clove, caramel and oak.
Review by seefarr
Man! I expected that to be "fine" but it's really good.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
really good Bermuda rum! very complex, fruity, spicy, fresh, slightly bitter, well woody and simply very balanced. one of the better drinking strength Bermuda rums! Certainly cuts a fine figure in corn n oil and in the Bermuda yacht club.
Review by Timo Groeger
The last one for today. But not at all wrong. Nice nose consisting of chocolate and vanilla etc. On the palate there is some wood, otherwise a really good rum, better than the average. Recommendation.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4292 07.10.2023 this was a 7 hour long event with 3 friends and it was a nice day. This one was a huge surprise. Despite the low ABV it still carries a lot of flavours. Fruity and well balanced with great ABV integration. The palate is sweet, medium dry and fruity. The finish is medium long and fresh. Love the caramel touch it has. The empty glass had light chocolate and a faint coffee note. Price to quality is very good in my mind.
Review by Johannes
Dark molasses, coffee, some chocolate, overall a little bitter and thin.
Review by TheJackDrop
"Obviously at Malmö's Sky Bar it's expensive, but overall a pretty straightforward rum. To sum up, my tasting notes: On the nose: Chocolate, Vanilla, Caramel, Brown sugar On the palate: Caramel, Woody, Spicy, Barrel, Dried fruit Finish: Coffee, Woody".
Review by Alexander Rasch
I was quite pleasantly surprised. Very dark profile with lots of chocolate, mocha and then a little too much sweetness. A little too thin at the back. But the nose is quite convincing.
Review by Jarek
Dies hier war ein Kauf noch zu Beginn meiner Rum-Reise, zuerst der Black Seal für einen Dark&Stormy und dann bin ich auf den Family Reserve neugierig geworden. Die Nase finde ich sehr lecker, schwer und dunkel. Eigentlich geht es ähnlich weiter am Gaumen, mit viel Holz und rostigen Noten. Nur leider machen sich die nur 40% zu stark bemerkbar. Und beim Abgang baut der Rum komplett ab. Schade…
Review by Tom 1968
Blend aus verschiedenen alten Rums, welche in Bourbon Fässern lagerten. Gosling gibt es seit 1806 nun in der 7. Generation auf den Bermudas. Für mich leicht unausgewogen, der Alkohol überlagert die Aromen ein wenig. Aber dunkle Schokolade und Röstaromen kämpfen stark dagegen an.
Review by Dave Dahlgren
Lot of raisins dark sweet
Review by Michael Janek
3.5.2024 vůně nijak výrazna, mírňounce káva snad i čokoláda chuť silnější, stopy kávy rozeznatelnejsi, na konci snad i hořký ale není na něm pro mě nic zajímavého, kromě uzávěru lahve
Review by Blaidor
Smell 6,5/10 Taste 6,5/10 Aftertaste 6/10 Image 6/10 (info about rum, bottle, carton-box, sugar free, marketing....) Total impression 6,5/10 ------------------ BTL Added sugar 👎👎
Review by Reiner Jarmer
Unconventional, powerful, sweet, peppery rum, but harmonizes excellently as a whole. Brings new flavors with every sip and has a long, dry finish.
Review by High Ester Maitai
Dark chocolate rum. Intense nose, dark chocolate, cacao and spices (nutmeg, allspice) with wood. Taste give more of what you can smell, beside same notes there are really dark carmel, some melases, leather and dried plum. Finish is short with toasted taste and something like alcohol notes (maybe whisky) Overall it is a pretty dark rum, dark chocolate is main theme, surprisingly not too sweet, but definitely have some sugar added. Closes thing to this is demerara rums
Review by DruNierer
Pleasantly surprising and complex, nice sipper, sugary nose opens up over ice
Review by Ondra RumRunner
The smell of liquorice, Taste of cherry, caramel Heavier, herbal rum
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →I'd probably opt for a cooling Dark N' Stormy with plenty ice. For that I would use the Black Seal rather than this. This is a nice enough rum but you could probably get the same kind of experience from less expensive rums and as a sipper it is one...
Details about Goslings Old Rum („Family Reserve“)
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Bermudas, bottled by Goslings, at 40%.
Community purchases
158 bottles logged by 148 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
38% opened, 14 emptied and repurchased.
What does Goslings Old Rum („Family Reserve“) cost?
Community paid 37–71 €.
Current best price: 77.00 € – above the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
158 purchased · 95 tasted · 32 wishlist · as of
You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Abuelo Centuria
Abuelo CenturiaSweet, smoky Panama sipper, syrupy finish
Goslings Black Seal Rum
Goslings Black Seal RumSweet, dark molasses rum built for mixing
Goslings 151 Proof Black Rum
Goslings 151 Proof Black RumMolasses-heavy 151 for Zombies and dark rum cocktails
Pusser‘s Rum Gunpowder Proof (Black Label)
Pusser‘s Rum Gunpowder Proof (Black Label)Dark, spicy navy-strength Demerara sipper
Flor de Caña 25 Años
Flor de Caña 25 AñosSmooth, sweet coffee-and-caramel sipper
Versailles El Dorado Single Still Versailles 2009
Versailles El Dorado Single Still Versailles 2009Fruity, gentle Versailles, thin at 40%
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
What began as my digital tasting diary is now the world's most comprehensive platform for rum fans, today carried by a small team with Jakob, Lukas and Katharina, with Robert supporting us as a freelancer. We combine the collective intelligence of our community with an integrated marketplace, so you can choose with confidence, without paperwork, detours, or expert jargon.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →
