June 06, 2020

Dark And Stormy

Bermudas history is filled with sailors, rum, hurricanes and ginger beer. Many ships sailing the Atlantic feared and revered the pink sand island. Needless to say, many bottles of rum have been drank on the shores and ports. Ginger beer arrived from the British shipping industry that is a fermented mixture of ginger from trading with Asia and sugar from Caribbean. These two ingredients were fated to meet on the tiny island known as Bermuda. 

More than a century ago the spirits industry was very different. Gosling's Dark Rum would be stored in barrels at the companies headquarters where sailors would bring their own glass bottles to fill up straight from the barrel. Imagine today having to go fill up your bottle of whiskey straight from the distillery, that'd be something. There isn't typically a plethora of ingredients on a tiny island so it make sense that shortly thereafter they found out that it tasted great with ginger beer, and it sure as hell does. 

Now the Dark and Stormy is expected to be layered fantastically with minimal mixing until served which gives it a beautiful appeal. Originally it was just tossed in a glass and the color was supposed to be that of a cloud that only a fool or dead man would sail into. Have too many and you can bet your head will feel like a storm hit it the next day.

The Importance of Proper separation 

Gosling's has been a part of Rum and Ginger beer for over a century and have since Trademarked the cocktail. To enjoy a true dark and stormy you must combine the likes of Gosling's Dark Rum and Gosling's Ginger Beer. To achieve the proper separation of ingredients as eluded to earlier there are several ways. Factors to consider are the type of ice, crushed or cubed, placement of the garnish and steadiness of the hand that pours. Fill glass with ice, smaller cubes the better, add ginger beer leaving room at the top for a heft float of dark rum that is slowly poured (sometimes with the help of a bar spoon.) Garnish and enjoy! Head to @myshiftdrink IG page for videos that help shed light on how to make great cocktails from home.

Time to Enjoy...

This beverage can be drank all day and goes with almost any type of food because of the brightness of ginger beer and the sweetness and strength of dark rum. I would stay away from very delicate foods like sushi because the drink will slightly overpower the palate which won't do the accompanying dish justice. Other than that,enjoy responsibly and drink as many as you want cause this cocktail is truly delicious!

Cheers 

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