If you’ve never enjoyed a “Dark and Stormy” before boy are you missing out on something special. This is a perfect summer highball and it’s incredibly simple to make relying on a mere four ingredients: dark rum, lime juice, ginger beer and ice.

The name “Dark and Stormy” is actually trademarked by Gosling’s Brothers Limited which is a rum house based in Bermuda where it is so popular that it was declared the National drink  not too long back. Gosling produces a signature rum called “Black Seal” which is pretty much black in color. Ironically the name “Black Seal” refers to the black wax that was long ago used to cover the cork of the bottle rather than the color of the spirit.

There are a few other rums that work well in this drink  most notably Meyer’s and Cruzan’s Black Strap. However if you are making the drink with anything other than Black Seal it is illegal to call it a “Dark and Stormy.” I suppose that’s  sort of stupid but alright by me as Gosling’s is the superior brand for this drink.

As far as the ginger beer goes  you’re only limited by what you can or cannot get. I’ve tried this drink with a great number of ginger beers and any time I find a micro brewed ginger ale I’ll give that whirl as well. Grown Up Soda’s Extra Dry Ginger Ale makes a fine dark and stormy. However, after years of experimentation I find Fentiman’s Ginger Beer to be cut and dry the best. Fentiman’s isn’t the easiest brand to find and there are actually only a handful of shops in New York City that carry it (Dean and Deluca, Food Emporium and a store in Chelsea Market the name of which I’ve forget are the only places that I know of) and even the stores that do carry it never seem to have Fentiman’s Tonic Water which I am dying to try. If you can’t find Fentiman’s try Goya or better yet Regatta which is actually made in Bermuda. I would steer clear of Reed’s and Saranac as well. As you can see I used it to make the drink in the picture and was less than thrilled with the results.

As far how this drink got it’s  name goes supposedly a sailor in Bermuda remarked that when the dark Gosling’s mixed with the golden ginger beer in the glass it made the same color as a dark and stormy sky. Whether or not this is true I really don’t know but it’s a cool tale to tell people when you make the drink for them.

On a quick side note I have been to Bermuda five times in my life and have to say that  is a gorgeous island. It’s not too humid, the sand is pink, the water is green, the rum is cheap and spicy and the conch is fresh as can be. My dream is to one day open a tiny cocktail bar specializing in forgotten and classic drinks, that serves four sandwiches rotating on a monthly basis (one month Vietnamese, one month Cuban, one month New York Deli etc) so that you can get nice and tipsy and then instead of having to find a diner or whatever you can have a well made sandwich instead. Bermuda would be a wonderful place to do that in.

For this particular cocktail I decided to use Gosling’s other overlooked rum of a golden variety, also produced in Bermuda. Mainly because you can get two one liter bottles for $19.99 at the liquor and wine warehouse on Astor and Broadway.  If you’ve never checked that place out you should, the wine selection isn’t that great (though abundant) but they have a wonderful spirit department that houses a bunch of cool stuff (especially liqueurs and rums) at amazing prices.

I will always prefer a “Dark and Stormy” over a “Light and Stormy” but on a hot summer night they’re both pretty damn good. If you have a mason jar try serving it in that as I feel it makes a pretty cool presentation. Fill it up with cracked ice, squeeze a lime wedge over the ice and discard. Then add your rum, fill the glass up with ginger beer and garnish with an additional lime wedge.  It won’t be long before you think that you’ve got pink sand under you and a green sea ahead. Cheers!

The Dark and Stormy or The Light and Stormy (depending on your rum choice)

3 oz Gosling’s rum

a bottle of premium ginger beer

2 lime wedges

Build drink over cracked ice in highball glass or mason jar. Squeeze one lime wedge over ice and use the other as a garnish. Relax