Dark 'n' Stormy Cocktail Recipe
Dark rum floated over spicy ginger beer — Bermuda's stormy signature.
- Category: New Era Drinks
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 12%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~4 min
Ingredients
- Dark rum50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Ginger beer120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Fresh lime juice10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Add ginger beer.
- Slowly float the dark rum on top.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Garnish
Lime wedge
What it tastes like
There is a spiced warmth to it and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Layering. The liqueurs sit on each other by sugar density — the sweetest one goes in first, at the bottom. Each layer is poured slowly over the BACK of a bar spoon so it spreads instead of punching through. Rush it and the layers fold together, and there is no fixing that.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Dark rum
- Barrel-aged dark rum, with molasses, vanilla and treacle in it. Swap in white rum and the drink loses its body, so reach for gold rum instead.
- Ginger beer
- Ginger beer is non-alcoholic despite the name, which comes from an old fermentation tradition. It is far sharper than ginger ale, and ale does not replace it in a mule.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
The national drink of Bermuda, traditionally made with Gosling's Black Seal rum.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Dark 'n' Stormy mixed?
- It is layered and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Dark 'n' Stormy?
- Roughly 12% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Dark 'n' Stormy be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Dark 'n' Stormy hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.