Gosling's

The Gosling family arrived at Bermuda by chance. In 1806, James Gosling sailed to America with £10,000 worth of goods for sale. The sea was so calm that after ninety-one days the ship was forced to dock at the port at St George’s at the very north of the island. Gosling established a shop in December on King’s Parade, St George’s. James Gosling returned to England in 1824 and set up a shop on Front Street with his brother, Ambrose. In 1857, the company was named Gosling Brothers and a few years later the very first barrels of spirit arrived from Bermuda. Originally, the rum was sold straight from the barrel and the customers would often bring their own bottles. In a bid to cut costs, ex-champagne bottles were salvaged and sealed with black wax, thus Black Seal came into being. Gosling’s has become the biggest exporter of any Bermudan product.