It was a bright and sunny afternoon when a blog headline caught my attention with the suggestion of clouds laced with ginger. It’s one of my favorite food blogs, I love ginger, and hadn’t seen a cloud in ages. Could this serendipitous SEO trifecta really be the come-on to a cocktail recipe? What drink could that be?

I discovered a Dark ‘n Stormy Cocktail recipe and an intriguing introduction to rum, ginger beer, and the cocktail’s sea-faring origin. Seems lovely Bermuda is the inspiration for the drink, concocted, claimed, and trademarked by the Gosling’s Brothers Limited, rum distillers since the 1820s that quickly dubbed the refreshingly zesty drink the official drink of the tropical island nation.

I wouldn’t rule out the idea of someday brewing up my own private batch of ginger beer (almost zero percent alcohol). The blog post that caught my attention included recipes for ginger beer and the Dark and Stormy cocktails, too, but I simplified that Dark & Stormy recipe for more frequent use by the average home bartender. My recipe keeps it simple with bottled ginger beer.

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Dark and Stormy Drink Recipe

Layer these ingredients in a highball glass over ice:

1 jigger (1.5 ounces) your favorite dark rum
1 pony (1 ounce) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

Top glass with ginger beer (about a half a can or bottle), drop in a fresh squeeze of lime, and let this invigorating concoction blow your cares away!

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Rum is native to the Caribbean Islands, where each island puts its own spin on rum making:

Barbados - Lively with a soft, gentle finish.

Bermuda - Dark and mysterious, perfect inspiration for a cocktail called a Dark ‘n Stormy.

Haiti - Brandy-like, with medium body and mellow style.

Jamaica - Dark and full of body, rich and pungent of flavor.

Martinique - Full-bodied and well aged, best sipped slowly.

Puerto Rico - Light, dry, and stylistically consistent from year to year.

Trinidad - Light, refreshing, and delicious.

Virgin Islands - Light and dry with nuances of molasses.

Cubans claim their island is King of Caribbean Rums but it’s impossible to find it in the United States these days (and all days of my life thus far). Can’t argue what you don’t know.

Another popular Caribbean rum is Demerara, from Guiana’s river of the same name instead of bearing the island’s name. Demerara is dark, robust, and quite bold.

Arrr! Don’t wait for rainstorms or blazing hot afternoons, either. Mark your calender for September 19, known in swashbuckling circles, matey, as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. In the meantime, salute the waning summer with a Dark & Stormy cocktail - it’s a mini vacation in a glass.

"Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest — Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island