Gosling Brothers has joined with an international producer and marketer of premium spirits brands to launch a new global export venture.

Castle Brands was already the exclusive US importer for Gosling's rums, and has recently launched the brands in the United Kingdom. The new venture Gosling-Castle Partners Inc. (GCP) will now hold the global export rights for Gosling's Rum including premium Black Seal Dark Rum, as well as its recently introduced premium Gold Rum and its ultra-premium Old Rum.

Mark Andrews, President of Castle Brands, said: "We see very significant growth opportunities for the Gosling's brands on a global basis, and are glad to join with the Gosling family to help accelerate the expansion of these outstanding brands."

President and CEO of GCP Malcolm Gosling said: "We are excited about the future for Gosling's rum, both in the US and globally. Castle Brands has a strong and experienced sales team and has proven to be a very capable partner. We look forward to working with them over the long term to maximise the potential of these premium brands."

GCP recently launched a multi-million dollar advertising and marketing campaign to elevate drinker's awareness of the brand as well as increase distribution of its spirits. The campaign is based on the family's "Seven Stubborn Generations" and the resulting historic scarcity of the products outside of Bermuda.

Gosling Brothers the oldest operating business in Bermuda and will celebrate its 200th anniversary next year. The company, which is also the producer of Bermuda's largest export, is currently expanding its blending capacity in here so that it can meet future growth requirements.

In a related transaction, Castle Brands has reached agreement with Mellon HBV, a subsidiary of Mellon Financial, whereby Mellon HBV will purchase up to $10,000,000 of five-year convertible notes from Castle Brands. This transaction funds the GCP investment and provides additional growth capital. Castle Brands expects in excess of 300,000 cases in sales in 2005, entirely in the premium category.