What's dark, spicy and associated with the Ginger Bush? Hey, get your mind out of the gutter! What I'm referring to is the Dark and Stormy cocktail.Legend has it that this spicy, yet refreshing drink was originally concocted in Bermuda for a young sailor. The bartender poured the ginger beer and then, seeing that he had forgotten the rum, tipped the shot of dark rum on top. Upon seeing the clouds of liquor floating at the top of the glass the sailor remarked: "That's a storm cloud neither a fool nor a dead man would sail under!" The drink was originally made exclusively with Gosling's Black Seal Rum, and it remains one of the only cocktails in history whose formula has been trademarked. A traditional Dark & Stormy is made as follows.
2 oz. Gosling's Black Seal Rum
3-4oz Ginger Beer*
1/2 oz. lime juice (optional)
lime garnish
* Note that the recipe calls for ginger beer, not its lighter and less flavorful cousin: ginger ale so stay away from Canada Dry and the like for this one. I recommend something with some zing like Blenheim Hot (which is a golden ginger ale, more gingery and flavorful than the more common dry ginger ale)or Reed's Extra Ginger Brew.
Tradition (and trademark) aside, there are some very interesting variations of the Dark and Stormy. At Bradstreet Crafthouse, a Minneapolis go-to for classic mixology, I tried a variation that used a mixture of Matusalem rum (a Cuban style rum now produced in the Dominican Republic) and Cruzan Black Strap rum, combined with their house made ginger syrup and lime juice. In Hell's Kitchen's 'Calm Before the Dark & Stormy', the dark rum is foregone altogether and replaced with a house infused spiced rum. Another variation, the aforementioned Ginger Bush, replaces the rum with bourbon.
Whether you start with the traditional recipe or jump right into experimenting with different twists on this classic, this spicy summer classic is sure to delight!
Cheers from the Bar Fly!
