Cocktail of the Week: Dark and Stormy

By RC Dean

The Dark and Stormy, the classic cocktail from Bermuda. This is an easy one, but as ever when cocktailing, there is the opportunity to make it a little more elaborate. I actually have two versions of this, depending on what I have for ginger beer and/or what I’m in the mood for. I think dark rum is absolutely essential for this – I prefer Pusser’s, which gives a really nice deep molasses flavor; Mrs. Dean prefers Pyrat XO, which is a tad lighter. It’s the combo of molasses and a serious ginger flavor that makes this one work.

3 oz dark rum (I use either Pyrat XO or Pusser’s)
6 oz ginger beer (see below)
Healthy splash of lime juice, w/optional lime garnish

Dark and Stormy (bottled ginger beer):

Pour ingredients over ice in a highball glass, give it quick stir, garnish. Pretty easy. The key is the right bottled ginger beer. Grocery store ginger ale (Schweppes or whatever), and even the Bermudan ginger beers are just too sweet and not gingery enough for me. I haven’t found anything in a bottle I like better than Maine Root’s Ginger Brew – it delivers the ginger. I get it at Whole Foods. If not available, I would probably fall back to Gosling’s.

Dark and Stormy (ginger beer syrup):

This is the one for impressing the ladies with your mixological mastery. I like the Pickett’s #1 Medium Spice Ginger Beer syrup – they make stronger #3 Hot ‘N Spicy also, but it’s a little overwhelming for me. BTW, these syrups can go into some very interesting meat glazes as well, if you like getting your meat all sticky and gingery.

Additional gear for this one includes a 16 oz. cocktail measuring glass (with all the measurements marked on the side), and a soda siphon to make the drink fizzy. The classic soda siphon is the 1 liter with the metal mesh wrap on it that takes standard CO2 cartridges, but there are cheaper alternatives. I’ve taken to throwing a little salt and baking soda into mine when I fill it – its almost a club soda, but I think it helps draw out the flavors. As with much else, gearing up for the Dark and Stormy means you are now equipped for a whole range of other drinks or upgrades to standard drinks (once you have had “real” tonic water made from a good syrup, you’ll never go back).

Pour the rum, an ounce or maybe a little less of the ginger beer syrup, and the lime juice into the measuring glass, add around 6 oz. of fizzy water from the soda siphon, and pour over ice in a highball glass. Garnish if you feel like it.

On a hot day, these go down fast and maybe a little too easy.

Bonus Cocktail – Mexican Moose. If you’re a tequila fan, you can substitute tequila for rum to make a Mexican Moose (our name for it at the Casa Dean; it’s basically a variation on the Mexican Mule). We use silver tequila, but I’m thinking an anejo would be good, too.

 

Derpetologist’s Spot the Not:

Round One: Donald Trump

1. Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money.

2. I was never in this for the money. But it turns out that the money was an absolute necessity for me.

3. The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.

4. When we go in church and I drink the little wine, which is about the only wine I drink, and I eat the little cracker.

5. Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest—and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure. It’s not your fault.

6. My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well been documented, are various other parts of my body.

 

Round Two: Mistakes were made…

All but 1 of the following are real quotes from American politicians.

1. Mistakes were made. Then, other larger mistakes were made.

2. Mistakes have been made, as all can see and I admit.

3. Serious mistakes were made.

4. It is quite possible that mistakes were made.

5. Mistakes were made in terms of comments.

6. Serious mistakes were made.