First Impressions
The Spirited Seas concept is one of rum's most intriguing experiments. This Volume II was aged aboard a vessel travelling 59,920 nautical miles between Bermuda and the United States. The constant motion, temperature changes, and maritime environment are claimed to accelerate and enhance the ageing process, and having tasted the result, there's clearly something to it.
Tasting
The nose has a distinctive maritime quality. Sea salt and vanilla lead, with tropical fruit and oak adding depth. Caramel sweetens things, and the overall character is unlike any land-aged rum — there's a freshness and a saline quality that speaks to the ocean journey.
The palate is complex and maritime. Sea salt provides an unusual savory dimension, vanilla and oak spice add warmth, tropical fruit contributes sweetness, and caramel rounds things out. The ocean-aged character is genuine — this tastes different from conventionally aged Goslings.
The finish is medium-long with sea salt, oak, and a distinctive maritime close.
The Bottom Line
At £59.50, Goslings Spirited Seas Volume II offers a genuinely unique rum experience. Whether the ocean ageing is gimmick or genuine innovation is debatable, but the result in the glass is undeniably distinctive and enjoyable. Worth trying for the curiosity factor alone.
