Back in 1806 Englishman James Gosling set sail for America. After a few months at sea, Gosling ended up in Bermuda, of all places. It was there he devised a recipe for a dark rum, that he sold in old British champagne bottles he sealed with black wax—and this became Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. The spirit appealed to navy officers, who added ginger beer (apparently to help with seasickness).
So legend has it, one such sailor observed that the results looked “the colour of a cloud only a fool or a dead man would sail under.” The Dark n’ Stormy was then such named. Of course since, the drink has been gentrified with ice, a lime wedge (some say lime some say never). We say lime, and we say what the hell - add a sprig of fragrant mint while you’re at it.
Mick Clarke created your visual and he says this: “Despite knowing the Dark & Stormy has its roots in post WWI Bahamas (dark rum and stormy ginger beer) I can't get away from the idea of a dark and stormy sky, this time expressed through a sodden city seen through a rain soaked lofty bar window. The drink brings all the warmth to the picture (and the drinker).
Well, it makes me very thirsty Mick. I’m always surprised though, how many friends or people I have come across, have never heard of the drink let along tried it. I attended a ‘Rum & Reggae’ party late last year, and ended up mixing Dark & Stormy’s far longer than I intended to, but they go down so well.
The cocktail recently became the subject of legal shenanigans! (the connections between booze and music are multi-layered). Gosling’s actually has ownership of the term Dark n’ Stormy (is the n’ important?) or thinks it has. And yet more connections between the D&S and music? Well, as the summer - and Glastonbury - approaches, look out for the number of bars and stalls mixing up a Dark & Stormzy. Yep, James Gosling vs. Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr may be the legal battle of 2019! We do hope not, but it would be great to think of Stormzy enjoying the drink.
Listening or drinking, thanks for being discerning….
(Written from Berlin, where the cocktail bar of the month has to be Schwarze Traube. Please go there as soon as you possibly can…)