dark_and_stormy_cocktail

How to Make a Dark and Stormy

It tastes even better with lime.

The key to nailing a Dark and Story is the precise ratio between the spice of the ginger beer and the richness of the rum. Depending on which brands you use, you may want to play around with the proportions. No true Bermudian would put lime juice in his D&S, but here in the States, that's how it comes. (Perhaps we picked up a thing or two from the citrusy Moscow Mule.) Frankly, we prefer it with the lime, so dump it in for an extra layer of flavor.

Dark and Stormy

It was a dark and stormy night… and so starts the sailor’s tale, whether it be of vengeful ghosts or monster whales. Thus the aptly named “Dark ‘n’ Stormy” cocktail, a favorite of the sailing set from Bermuda to up and along the coast of the eastern states.

It consists of rum and ginger beer, and maybe, just maybe, a splash of lime. But it can’t be just any old rum. Dark rum is a necessity, and if you want to make the drink true and proper, it must be Gosling’s black rum.

The rum is often served floating on top, mimicking a stormy sky. The first thing any seasoned Dark-n-Stormy drinker will do, however, is stir it up. It is also officially served in a highball glass, though for those of us who love the drink, any glass will do.

If you’ve spent any amount of time with me, you’ll know I’m not much of a drinker. (Cheap date!) But I find it very hard to turn down a Dark n Stormy.

I had one for the first time several years ago visiting my friends Ann and Nick in Annisquam, Mass, a village outside of Gloucester, right on the water by Lobster cove. This is a drink for breezy days by the ocean, with sailboats and salty air.

Do you like Dark n Stormy’s? If so, with lime juice or without? (I prefer it with.) And do you have a favorite brand of ginger beer to go with it?

Dark and Stormy Recipe

• Prep time: 1 minute
• Yield: Makes one drink

The official Dark 'n' Stormy uses only Gosling's black rum. If you don't have Goslings, use a dark rum.

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1/4 lime, cut into two thick slices, one for garnish, one to squeeze over the ice (optional)
• 2 ounces Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda black rum
• 4 ounces ginger beer (Gosling's makes one just for this purpose)

Fill a tall glass (preferably a highball glass) with ice. If using lime, squeeze a slice over the ice. Add the ginger beer. Top the ginger beer with the rum (for effect) and place a slice of lime on the rim of the glass for a garnish.

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The Right Stuff (by Law) - All about the Dark and Stormy in the New York Times

Showing 4 of 34 Comments

• Izzy

Ahh love this! May actually have to try some of this one out – it looks like it would be so good! I love love love trying out recipes like this – makes for such a good saturday night! To be honest I’m just a massive sucker for any kind of cocktail learning thing! Ooo cocktail classes are great if anyone has done one before? Honestly though if anyone hasn’t been to one and loves cocktails as much as me – then I’d definitely recommend it! Plus it helps with recipes like these – my cocktail repertoire is probably embarrassingly large now haha. I’ve done lots of them now but my favourite was probably the Rofuto one ( http://rofuto.co.uk/cocktail-bar/masterclasses/ ) but to be fair it was at a sushi restaurant and I am slightly obsessed with sushi so it makes sense that was my favourite I guess haha. Honestly though they are really fun! Still – can’t wait to try this out on Saturday – looks like my boyfriend is going to have to sit through another taste test aha! Thanks for putting this up!

• November 17, 2017

Tom

While the variations are fun and interesting, I found this interesting article about what can or cannot be called a Dark & Stormy and how it can be made. I had the pleasure of attending an event where Malcolm Gosling spoke about the history of the drink and the proper way to make it (Ginger beer first, rum floated on top, over ice). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/fashion/05shaken.html?_r=0

I first had this drink n Vancouver, B.C. where it is made with lots of lime juice. I make it with lots of rum, cock & bull ginger beer (my favorite for over 40 years (and I’ve tried many brands) and 1-2 oz lime juice.

No lime and it’s gotta be Barritt’s Ginger Beer from a true Bermudian!

Try it with Old New Orleans Spiced Rum and Ginger Beer.

You might also enjoy.

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Dark and Stormy

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Ingredients

1. • 2 ounces Gosling's or Myers's dark rum
   • 5 ounces ginger beer
   • Lime wedge

Preparation

1. 1. Pour the rum over ice in highball and fill with ginger beer. Squeeze in the lime wedge.

Reprinted with permission from The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes by Dale DeGroff, (C) © 2011 Clarkson Potter

Dale DeGroff has been called "the Billy Graham of the holy spirits" by the London Tribune and"a master" by Martha Stewart, and is widely acknowledged to be the preeminent mixologist in the world. He's been featured in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, Penthouse, Food & Wine, and Forbes; his television appearances include Martha Stewart Living and Today. For twelve years, Dale ran the bar at New York City's Rainbow Room and now serves as a consultant for such top restaurants as Balthazar. He has taught at the Culinary Institute of America (and starts in their bartending video) and the Institute for Culinary Education, among other venues. Dale grew up in Westerly, Rhode Island, and now lives on Long Island.

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Nutritional Info

• Calories 181
• Carbohydrates 13 g(4%)
• Fat 0 g(0%)
• Protein 0 g(0%)
• Saturated Fat 0 g(0%)
• Sodium 11 mg(0%)
• Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
• Fiber 0 g(1%)
• Monounsaturated Fat 0 g

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• 

Love this drink! I like it with Goya Ginger Beer, it's spicy and not sweet and available in most supermarkets (at least around here).

I use 1 oz ginger shrub instead of ginger beer and top with soda water. Dark rum and lime as above.

Best made with Barrett's ginger beer. That's what one gets in Bermuda.

First tasted a Dark & Stormy in Bermuda in late 80's - simply divine. I live in Canada and am able to get Goslings dark rum but couldn't find a good ginger beer. Goslings makes its own ginger beer, but won't ship to Canada. Because I'm determined in areas like this, when ever I drive to the US, I get a case of Gosling's Ginger Beer shipped to my hotel, and I pay the duty to bring them back. Where there's a will there's a way.

For a smooth variation, try Saranac Ginger Beer. Delish. Be careful publishing any of this. Goslings owns the trademark for "Dark and Stormy" and it specifies their Black Seal rum, ginger beer, and lime. Anything else, while perhaps delicious, is technically not a Dark and Stormy.

Some ingredients are missing to make it truly awesome. Add vermouth and bitters. Reduce sweetness of ginger beer with Perrier. Don't use spiced rum. Use Lemon instead of Lime.

These are tasty and refreshing. We use only "Ginger People" ginger beer --More ginger-y than sweet. Assertive and full of tasty ginger sediment. Yum

I love this recipe, but last night I had a dark and stormy at Silo, a restaurant in Nashville, and they used light rum, topped with ginger beer then topped with a splash of dark rum and a slice of lime. The light rum gives it a light refreshing twist.

Yeah!! Beauty in Simplicity. Thanks!

A refreshing and easy cocktail. I liked that it didn't require a complicated bar to make this delightful drink. It will be even better on a hot, sticky summer evening.

I am now a HUGE fan of this cocktail, but have difficulty finding it when dining out. I agree with the general consensus that ginger ale should not be substituted for a good, strong, ginger beer. However, my one exception is also my favorite - Blenheim Hot Ginger Ale. I highly recommend it - give it a shot!

this one is great.. I add a slice of fresh ginger, smash it, toss in with the lime wedge, gives it that extra zip. For summer I like to use Captain Morgans Spiced Rum.. Lighter and refreshing.

Vernor's ginger soda also works very well with this!

I love a dark & stormy and have tons of requests for them at my house. The kind of ginger beer you use is crucial to the outcome of this recipe - i recommend Natural Brew which they carry at Whole Foods, Stewarts - which has become harder and harder to find as this drink became popularized, and oddly the Archer Farms ginger beer at Target packs a good ginger bite. The Reeds ginger brews simply don't cut it! And don't even try with ginger ale - that's not even remotely close to a dark & stormy.

had this when I was in Bermuda. Its awesome

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Dark 'n' Stormy

Ingredients (4)

• Ice
• 2 ounces Gosling’s Black Seal rum
• 6 ounces ginger beer
• 1 lime wedge

It only takes two ingredients—dark rum and ginger beer—to create this easy-drinking, refreshing classic cocktail from Bermuda.

What to buy: A Bermudan classic, a real Dark ’n’ Stormy should be made only with Gosling’s Black Seal rum. If you can’t find it, substitute another dark rum such as Myers’s, but don’t let your Bermudan friends know you’re using Jamaican rum!

If you’ve made your own Ginger Beer (and we think you should), use it here. Otherwise, look for a ginger beer that suits your taste. We prefer those with a nice note of sweet and a good kick of ginger, like Barritt’s.

This recipe was featured as part of our Make Your Own Soda Pop project.

For a twist on your Dark ‘n’ Stormy, try making spiced rum, as Jeffrey Morgenthaler discusses in his Morgenthaler Method video here.

Dark and Stormy Julep Cocktail (With Ginger and Rum) Recipe

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

A Dark and Stormy is made with Gosling's rum, ginger beer, and lime, so the idea here is to loosely play with those flavors in the format of a mint julep. The result has the rich, round, sweet base flavors of rum and maple syrup, the freshness of the mint, and then that zesty spiciness of ginger, which wakes the whole thing up and pulls the sweetness into focus.

Why It Works

• Crushed ice chills the drink rapidly and keeps it cold.
• Freshly muddled ginger plays perfectly with aged rum, while maple syrup is an easy, deeply flavorful sweetener.

• Yield: Makes 1 cocktail
• Active time: 5 minutes
• Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 thin, quarter-size rounds peeled fresh ginger (about 1/8 ounce; 3g), see note
• 10 mint leaves, plus a generous bouquet of mint sprigs for garnish
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) maple syrup
• 2 ounces (60ml) aged rum
• Crushed or shaved ice

Directions

In a julep cup or large rocks glass, muddle ginger until it is well crushed and juices are expressed. Add mint leaves and maple syrup and muddle until mint is lightly bruised, then swab the glass's sides with the mint's aromatic oils. Add rum and stir well. Half-fill glass with crushed ice and stir to combine. Fill glass completely with crushed ice and stir until outside of glass frosts. Add more crushed ice, heaping generously, then garnish with sprigs of fresh mint. Serve, adding a short straw if desired so that the fragrance of the mint bouquet will greet the drinker with each sip.

Special Equipment

To make this drink even spicier, simply add more ginger.

This Recipe Appears In

Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. He spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Europe, where he harvested almonds and Padron peppers in Spain, shepherded a flock of more than 200 sheep in Italy, and made charcuterie in France. When not working on, thinking about, cooking and eating food, he blows off steam (and calories) as an instructor of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art.

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Dark and Stormy

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1/4 lime
• 2 ounces dark rum (recommended: Goslings Black Seal Bermuda Black Rum)
• 10 ounces of ginger beer (recommended: Milligan's Island Tropical Mango Ginger Beer)
• Lime wedge, for garnish, optional

Directions

Fill a 12-ounce glass with ice. Squeeze the lime wedge over the ice in the glass. Drop the wedge into the glass. Pour the rum into the glass. Add the ginger beer. Stir lightly and garnish with another lime wedge, if desired.

This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional. It has not been tested for home use.

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Dark N' Stormy: How to Make the Popular Rum Cocktail

• 3 mins
• Prep: 3 mins,
• Cook: 0 mins
• Yield: 1 Cocktail

The Dark N' Stormy is a popular drink from the tropics that is just as refreshing as those fruity rum drinks; it simply takes a different spin on what is considered tropical. It is very easy and if you have fallen in love with the Moscow Mule, then you need to give this one a try.

This is a very simple recipe and all you need to make a great Dark N' Stormy is a good dark rum and a nice ginger beer. Some bartenders will add lime juice as well, but it really is not needed. In fact, if you want this drink in its true Bermudian style, then you would skip the lime.

If you like, try floating the rum on top of the ginger beer to create a layered Dark N' Stormy.

What You'll Need

• 2 ounces Gosling's Black Seal Rum
• 3 ounces Barritt's
• Ginger Beer
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice (optional)
• Lime wedge for garnish

How to Make It

1. Build the ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice cubes.
2. Garnish with the lime wedge.

More Tips for Making a Great Dark N' Stormy

You will notice that this recipe uses two very specific ingredients and calls them out by name. That is because the Dark N' Stormy originated in Bermuda and Gosling's Black Seal Rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer are both produced on the island. For a real taste of this cocktail, go with these brands.

Apparently, Gosling's has trademarked the Dark N' Stormy and legally it should only be made with their rum. The rum producer even filed a lawsuit against Malibu Rum in 2015 for an "unauthorised" cocktail that was a play on the original recipe (mixologists and brand ambassadors beware!). That said, the Dark N' Stormy is also a great cocktail when made with any other combination of dark rum and ginger beer and there are endless possibilities available.

For the rum, make sure that it is a dark rum. One that is rich and flavorful and preferably from the Caribbean will be best. You want to give this cocktail some oomph and a white rum, even a golden aged rum, will simply not create the same background.

Do not use a spiced rum in a Dark and Stormy. The ginger beer already has the spice profile covered and there is no need to repeat that aspect. In fact, it produces a pretty bad drink and the one time someone gave me one, I could not get past the second drink and I love ginger beer!

Barritt's is (according to the brand) "Bermuda's Favourite Soft Drink" and is the choice for an authentic Dark N' Stormy. It is a sweeter ginger beer and really is best as a cocktail mixer than on its own. However, it can be difficult to find and you may have to look hard to find it locally.

It is interesting to note that in Gosling's official recipe (complete with trademark symbol) they use their own ginger beer called Gosling's Stormy Ginger Beer. There is no mention of Barritt's.

I have had many Dark N' Stormy drinks with many ginger beers and, quite honestly, you cannot go wrong with any of them.

For me, the rum is far more important here. Barritt's is great but I enjoy that hard spice of the Jamaican ginger beers. It is also a nice drink with the newest ginger beers that are designed for mixing like those from Q Drinks and Fever-Tree.

What Is the History of the Dark N' Stormy?

So many of the stories behind the great drinks we enjoy are a little hazy and the Dark N' Stormy is no exception. Like Navy Grog, it does have something to do with the British Royal Navy and sailor's rum rations of the 1800's.

Much of this rum was among the blackest Caribbean rums they could get a hold of and when Gosling's began marketing their version around 1860 it became one of those favored. For some odd reason, the Royal Navy also began producing their own ginger beer around this time and as David Wondrich puts it on Esquire, 'The swabbies, given the choice between Demon rum and temperance beverage, said, "Fanx, gov, we'll take both'".

How Strong Is the Dark N' Stormy?

If we were to mix a Dark N' Stormy as prescribed with Gosling's and Barritt's and no lime juice, then it is a relatively mild mixed drink. Gosling's may be dark, but it is still just 80 proof, so the finished drink would weigh in at right around 15% ABV (30 proof).

Dark N Stormy

It was a dark and stormy night…so the seafaring tale has it. And many people will tell the tale of that Dark n Stormy cocktail recipe you mixed at your house party , bringing rum and ginger to life.

About this recipe

Ingredients

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Derived from Caribbean sugar cane, Captain Morgan Original Rum is blended according to an age-old recipe to give an intense dark colour and mellow, the rounded caramel and vanilla notes that make it recognised around the world.

How to make

Add cubes of ice so a Collins glass is ¾ full.

Pour in 50ml Captain Morgan® Original Rum and a dash of ginger beer.

Stir the mixture thoroughly using a bar spoon until well combined.

Using a sharp knife and a chopping board cut a segment of lime and place in the drink to garnish.

Grab a bite

Get some grub in before or while you’re drinking – it slows alcohol absorption.

Dark and stormy cocktail

The Dark and Stormy cocktail may seem like a very simple drink to make, but like all cocktails it’s also very easy to mess up. There are only three ingredients, but each is equally important.

The featured spirit in this glass is dark rum. Dark rum is the key to its rich flavor and deep color. You can substitute light or clear rum but then you will not be making a dark and stormy. As for the ginger beer- this is NOT ginger ale. Ginger beer is not beer in the sense of say a lager. It is labeled beer because it is brewed and fermented but is non-alcoholic. It pours up an intense ginger flavor unlike ginger ale, which is a sweet soda that lacks the kick of ginger beer.

Lastly, like when making all cocktails, squeeze juice whenever possible. Avoid the use of bottled lime or lemon juice. They often have added preservatives and chemicals that alter the taste and lack the freshness of hand- squeezed juice. So grab your glass, these three ingredients, some ice and a stirrer and you’ll be sipping a delicious drink in no time.

• • 2 ounces dark rum
  • 3 ounces ginger beer
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
  • Ice
  • Lime wheel or wedge, for garnish

In a tall glass filled with ice, add the dark rum, ginger beer and the lime juice and stir to combine. Add a lime wheel or wedge and serve.

Dark and Stormy

Great stories have invariably started with a Dark and Stormy night, but this classic cocktail is so refreshingly delicious it’s perfect for a mild and sunny afternoon too! It’s the national drink of Bermuda and just quietly we think it’s the cocktail of choice for Australians too.

Probably because of the dark rum – long associated with sailors, Dark and Stormy is also the official drink of the yachting fraternity. Another reason might be because it’s so easy to make..

Like most cocktails, the composition of Dark and Stormy depends on the temperament, taste and resources of the Mixologist. What’s 100% essential though is the quality of the ginger beer used. Bring your ‘A’ game and insist on Bundaberg Ginger Beer. It offers depth and complexity, so do your Dark and Stormy a favour and go for ginger beer with flavour!

Ingredients

• 50 mL Dark Rum
• Bundaberg Ginger Beer
• 20mL Lime juice
• Lime wedge to garnish

Combine ingredients into a shaker

Strain into a rocks glass and top with Bundaberg Ginger Beer