Home-Brewed Dark and Stormy Cocktail Recipe

I confess I get a little obsessive about classic cocktails. The traditional Dark and Stormy—rum, ginger beer, squeeze of lime—is a perfectly good drink. But I had to tinker with it.

Truth be told, I’m not the only one. When mixologists “improve” this Bermudan cocktail, they usually fixate on rum, invariably recommending Gosling’s, a fine rum from Bermuda.

I like Gosling’s. But I also like a Dark and Stormy mixed with Meyers or even—go ahead and call be plebian—Carabaya Dark.

Because for yours truly, a wicked Dark and Stormy doesn’t hang on rum. It’s all about the ginger beer. (Yes, beer. Whatever you do, don’t make a Dark and Stormy with ginger ale.)

Connoisseurs call for Barritt Ginger Beer, made in Bermuda. But Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew or Goya Ginger Beer also does nicely.

But nicely isn’t what you want with a Dark and Stormy, a concoction that resembles nothing so much as a tall glass of ice-chunked bilge water. You want this murky drink to run hot and cold: Its coolness from tall, icy presentation and effervescence. Its heat from ginger.

The cocktail must have enough fiery ginger to leave a little burn at the back of your throat, followed by slight peppery after notes.

Home-brewed ginger beer apparently works well. Perhaps I’ll add root beverage brewing to my New Year to-dos. But for now, I found a simpler solution with Ginger Simple Syrup—mixed with seltzer.

I use a full half-cup of fresh grated ginger in my Syrup. Additional kick comes from powdered ginger and a pinch of black pepper. The spicy goodness is steeped in a syrup of Demerara sugar and lemon juice.



Note: As it sits, you’ll notice the syrup separates, with gingery solids settling at the bottom of the container. Simply shake up the syrup before measuring into drinks.



I mixed my first Home-Brewed Dark and Stormy with San Pellegrino, usually my preferred effervescent water. Mistake. The Italian water’s soft, refined bubbles weren’t right for this drink.

I suggest seltzer water or club soda for tingly bubbles that leave a little burn as you swallow.

Home-Brewed Dark and Stormy Cocktail Recipe

1 jigger (1 ½ ounce) Ginger Simple Syrup, recipe below
2 ounces Gosling’s or other dark rum
Seltzer water or club soda
Ice
Lime wedge and an extra for garnish, if desired

1. Run a wedge of lime around the rim of a tall glass. Squeeze and dump the lime into the glass.
2. Pour the rum over the lime and add Ginger Simple Syrup.
3. Add 8 ounces of seltzer. Stir gently.
4. Fill glass with ice to bring drink to rim of glass. Yes, I know it’s traditional to add ice before adding mixer, but I find it difficult to completely blend the heavy simple syrup in a glass crowded with ice. In any case, garnish cocktail with a lime slice.

Serves one.

Ginger Simple Syrup

½ cup coarsely grated, peeled ginger
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup Demerara sugar
1 cup water
Juice of one lemon
Pinch of black pepper

1. Peel and coarse-grate ginger root.
2. Combine ginger root with remaining ingredients in a small pan.
3. Bring syrup to a boil. Lower flame and simmer for one minute.
4. Turn off flame and let mixture cool to room temperature.
5. Strain syrup, pressing ginger root into sieve with a wooden spoon—I squeeze it with my hands—to capture all the gingery flavor.
6. Store syrup in airtight container in refrigerator.