Latest / Into The Barchive / Dark ’n Stormy — Rum, Ginger Beer, and Bermuda’s Signature Cocktail
Transcript
- ITB: Into the bark eye where the past comes alive. Welcome ⁓ in Barkabist to this week's episode of Into the Barkhive. Today's episode is Dedicated to a drink that sounds less like something you'd order at a bar and more like something you try to avoid while trying to cross the Atlantic. The dark and stormy. Yeah, I mean it's dramatic, it's refreshing, and one of the few classic cocktails whose name is actually trademarked. Really? Like Circle. Yeah, TM, TM, right? But you know, more importantly, it's a drink with deep maritime roots. One that connects Bermuda, ginger beer, and darkrum. Into one of the simplest and most satisfying highballs ever created. And I guess since coming up, we've got a national holiday. Yeah, June 9th is international dark and stormy day, so why not explore it ⁓ in anticipation of this holiday. All right, then along the way, let's ⁓ go into some of those deeper origin stories and maybe what made it what it was and potentially of Some of the distill distillates history. Yeah. And of course, we'll always make two versions of this drink. Alright. So as we make our two different versions, I'm gonna go classic. And I'm gonna do something a little off the beaten path. Let's go ahead and head over to Into the Bark Ive. Let's do it. For the classic dark and stormy, it's all built in the glass. So, first thing we're gonna do, ice her down. Get yourself some fresh ice. And fill your collins or highball glass, whatever you have available to you. Let's go one more spec. And on this one, it's an odd presentation because what we're gonna do is actually start with the citrus. Half ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice. Drop her into your glass. And next, just top with ginger beer. And as you top, make sure that you leave enough room for about a two-ounce float. No support slightly off the side of the ⁓ the ice so it helps mix up that ⁓ that lime juice that's at the bottom. ⁓ these fever tree b ⁓ cans, about five ounces, perfectly poured, but leave enough room for that ⁓ two ounces for our floater. And now we're going to use a nice dark ⁓ I guess Jimerera based from Yeah, so that one is eighty percent Guyanese rum, so it's gonna give you a lot of those cool brown sugar flavors. ⁓ most people in this ⁓ in this realm would use something like a gossling, but we're going for something with maybe a little bit more flavor profile in this since again very limited into the ingredients that you use, so those ingredients do matter. And on this one, as you pour, ⁓ try to actually float it on the ice cube that's at the top so you don't Poured directly in so it goes ahead and splashes. So the reason that the dark and stormy has its name is because of the separation that you have here. You have the gingerbread, the lime down below, and then that dark piece up top. So now we have our dark and stormy. For this, you're going to garnish with some extra lime. So we put one of those lime wedges that we had mentioned in previous episodes. It's not there for just garnish, but it serves a purpose to have in with your cocktail. Go ahead and add that to the side because maybe you want a little extra citrus. And for from here, add your spo ⁓ your straw and you have your dark and stormy. It looks sexy. Don't drink it like this. Before you go to drink, make sure you do give it a little thumbnail pause and now stir. And now we have a drink that's supposed to be consumed, our dark and stormy. For our second cocktail, we're going to make a miso dark and stormy. This is a variation from Tokyo Record Bar in New York. And what's interesting about their bar is all of their cocktails are like low ABV. So everything's made with sake or shochu or Amari, so no vodka, gen, rung, tequila, things like that. So a little lower ABV here. We're gonna do the same building glass approach. So first step of course is let's ice down our glass. I'll get a few more cubes in there. Alright, first ingredient is shochu. This is the most consumed spirit in Japan. For this cocktail, they recommend using a sweet potato-based shochu. So you can have shochu from sweet potato, barley, rice, green tea, all sorts of things. But this ⁓ is only 25% ABV, so a little lower on the ABV compared to the rum. Gonna give you maybe some earthy sorts of notes. From there, we're gonna do three quarters of an ounce of Yuzu juice. And I've got some Yuzoko Yuzu super juice. Because Yuzu is a Japanese citrus where it doesn't extract a lot of juice. They ⁓ have created super juice. To lengthen that flavor profile so it's intensely aromatic on the profile. So we're going to add that next to our glass, followed by an ounce of miso syrup. So this is like eight ounces of simple syrup, and you combine a quarter cup of white miso paste. So again, leaning into those Japanese flavors. So this is essentially going to be the ginger of the ginger beer, more or less. And from there, instead of a ginger beer, this is hearkening back to the Paloma episode. Instead of like a straight soda, we've kind of created that. Now we're going to add some club soda. I want to leave a little room up top. And the final ingredient. Which makes it a dark and stormy is a floater of Chennar, which is an Italian Amaro base that is made from artichokes. And so just like Tim, I'm going to try to pour that on top of the ice so you get the nice layer and the float. And because of the higher sugar content and the Amaro, you kind of see that it's gonna sink more than the spirit. And there's no garnish here, but I am going to add my straw and then kind of just give it a nice little puncture down to combine it all together for the miso dark and stormy. Now that we've built the cocktails, let's build the context. The dark and stormy. Bermuda. Rum. Ginger beer. Discuss. Alright, well, like many classic cocktails, the dark and stormy emerged from a combination of local ingredients and practical drinking habits. And of course, the story for this drink is set in 19th century Bermuda. So at this point, Bermuda sits at a strategic crossroads and Atlantic shipping routes. Okay. British naval vessels, merchant ships, and trading vessels are moving in and out of the colony constantly. And of course, where sailors go, rum inevitably follows. Of course. I mean, I need something to do on my track across the ocean and then also in my downtime. Absolutely. And One of the key figures in Bermuda's rum history is the Gosling family. I mentioned them about having that floater as a traditional, but I choose to go with something a little bit more, I would say, robust in flavor as my floater. Sure. And so this story with the Gosslings begins in the early 1800s when James Gosling, who is an English wine and spirits merchant, Set sail for the Americas. Okay. And after spending months at sea looking for a suitable port, they land in Bermuda, and that's where Gosling sets up shop. And over time the family developed a distinct dark rum blend that eventually becomes known as Gosling's Black Seal Rum. Yes. The the quote unquote Trademark, not trademark signature of the Dark and Stormy. Yeah, and and the whole, although it's got an actual seal on the logo, the name Black Seal comes from the black wax that was originally used to seal the bottle. Okay. And it was rich and molasses-forward, slightly spicy, perfect for mixing with all sorts of carbonated ingredients. But of course, rum is only half the story. The other key ingredient is ginger beer. Yeah, and ginger beer was extremely popular among British sailors at the time. It's refreshing, spicy, and historically it was fermented, meaning it had both carbonation and a little bit of alcohol. I mean I I still come across individuals that we serve ginger beer to and they're like, wait, that in like that kid can't have it. That's b no, it's not beer anymore, kids. It's we we we in the States don't have access or readily access to ginger beer that is proofed. Yeah, I mean I g aside from like some craft breweries, there was like a place I went in Asheville called Ginger's Revenge. ⁓ but for the most part, whatever you buy in a grocery store is non-alcoholic and alcoholic or not, sailors believe that ginger help with digestion and seasickness. And so from there you get the dark and stormy, right? When you've got sailors, dark rum, ginger beer, the dark and stormy is like the inevitable outcome. Yep. And the the invention of this Definitely hawk harkens back to, again, most cocktails of some sort. There's a practical medicinal purpose, but also a boozy extra incentive on the end, right? ⁓ for sure. And the dark and stormy, again, is not one of those cocktails where we can be like, it was created by such and such on this day or at this occasion, but a drink that just evolved among sailors, docks. workers and other s in the mid to late 1800s. So the name then. Well, legend has it that a sailor once described the appearance of the drink as quote, the color of a cloud only a fool or a dead man would sail under. And as I was making mine, right, like again, ⁓ until the moment we poke down the booze on top, it does. It looks like a storm cloud ready to burst. Yeah, I mean And the name itself, when you think about the terms of that sailor, I mean it's poetic almost. Definitely. Okay, so let's talk about a trademark of this rare cocktail. So, and that's the other unusual aspect of the dark and stormy that sets it apart from most classic cocktails. The name Dark and Stormy was trademarked by Goslings in 1991. So, according to the trademark, a true dark and stormy. must contain Gosling's black seal rum and ginger beer. So that is not a dark and stormy. Well, okay, so I have a rum and ginger then. So so sue me. Please don't. But again, it's more of a preference, ⁓ you know, a creative liberty, but at least Gosling did give us the specs to make what we would consider this cocktail. Absolutely. And now it's one of those things that they are a touch litigious about their ⁓ recipe. In 2015, they filed a lawsuit against Pernault Ricard for including a recipe for the cocktail on the company's website for Malibu Island Spice Swim. And according to the US Patent and Trademark Office, you cannot Patent a recipe that seems obvious. Yep. Rum lime and ginger beer, right? ⁓ Goslings was successful in trademarking the name. So, you know, you can use the specs, but maybe not the name. Yeah. It's synonymous with nowadays, like we say when we're going to go and use facial tissues, go grab me a box of Kleenex, right? Yeah. Kleenex is trademarked, but it's synonymous with. the facial tissue that we're going to use to either blow our nose or wipe off excess makeup or whatever the hell you use that thing for. Yeah, they can trademark the name, but the specs and the ingredients, no. Everyone owns that. Yeah, so in practice, bartenders often use other dark rums, but again, officially Gosling owns the name. And they're very few cocktails where a specific brand has that kind of legal ownership. Like the other one that immediately comes to mind is the painkiller with Pussers Rum. But in some ways the Dark and Stormy is both a folk drink created by sailors and a modern branded cocktail at the same time where you buy that bottle of gosling's rum and it has the recipe on the back label. I mean, I have a bottle of Goslings. We could have just as easily used that in in today's episode, but that's what we had in the studio was Dennis and Badad Darkroom. But but regardless though, it's of the legal details, the the drink is structured beautifully. Like it's simple. Yeah. I mean, it's a highball, right? So if you think about it, it's the same. Recipe from episode five, base spirit, carbonation, and then maybe some sort of acid, right, with the lime juice. So you got the spirit is the dark rum, something that has deep molasses notes, a little caramel, a little spice. Yep. Your carbonation. Ginger beer. Yep. Huge amount of flavor from ginger beer. A lot. Yeah, compared to ginger ale. Ginger beer is spicier and more intense. And really, that sharp heat from the ginger keeps the drink light and refreshing and doesn't feel quite so heavy. And again, not to poo-poo on the gossling brand, but they have their own ginger beer, branded beer. But we use the fever tree here because it's spicier. It has more aromatics that I would want in this specific cocktail. Not that there's not a time and place for both of those ingredients, but if we are making our own versions of things, I'm going to make the one that suits me best. And so I did get more intense flavors from a fever tree. Yeah. And then the final ingredient, of course, is lime. And although it wasn't originally a part of the drink, many modern versions include it, just because it brightens the cocktail. Okay, so the structure. is now different. It's a rich rum, ⁓ spicy ginger, some bright citrus, and then of definitely a form of carbonation that's delivering something else. Mostly time that that ginger, right? A ginger. So that balance now makes this drink incredibly refreshing. ⁓ but still delivering this like refin refined flavor, right? ⁓ absolutely. And beyond just the general highball template, the dark and stormy belongs to a larger family of gingerbeer highballs. That's the the the Moscow mule. Absolutely. Moscow mule, Vybkin ginger beer, Bel Diablo, tequila, ginger beer, cassis. ⁓ you could make this cocktail just as easily with like whiskey or mezcal. But of course the rum version is the iconic one. Okay, let's talk about the legacy of then the dark and stormy. Like enduring it going from maybe something like the classic to hell variations that if you put that on a menu, I actually would have not thought that that to be a dark and stormy template to begin with. Yeah. Walk through it. So on this one that I did, the Miso Dark and Stormy, you got your base spirit. Yep. Again. It's got the carbonated component, but unlike the ginger beer, the miso syrup is playing like the ginger role. Yeah, the spice. Let's take away ginger and use the word spice. So the miso is your spice. Instead of lime juice, you use yuzu juice. The Which again, Yuzu on its on its own is like lemon juice, lime juice, actually lemon, lime, and orange all kind of like had this Menaji tois of a and the sit the best components of all three come out in what uses. Yeah. Absolutely. And then you got club soda for the carbonated part of the ginger beer substitute, but it still rate retains that float with the channar on the Now definitely the higher sugar cont like content we talked about, you know, if we're ever getting to a ⁓ a cocktail, if we ever go into an episode where we talk about poos cafes, d don't. At me here, that's an actual thing, and it does spell a weird way. But if we go into the layering of cocktails, that's the reason that it doesn't because the sugar content does push down. Yeah. Yeah. And so what's fun about this is like the miso, of course, is kind of the star in place of the ginger. It adds umami, it adds a savoriness or salenity to the cocktail. Yeah. And The ⁓ shochu, your base spirit adds some nuttiness to it. So, I mean, it's again a very different flavor, but it's like taking that template and more or less like changing out all the ingredients. But it was intentional. Again, you were very specific that this recipe called for a sweet potato shochu, not like a barley base or a rice base or some some kind of grain. It said, I want a root. vegetable as the which adds if I remember correctly like the sweet potato kind of adds more of a creamier mouthfeel of a Sochu. ⁓ definitely more robust. So imagine if you're eating at the house right now a baked potato compared to a sweet baked potato, right? different flavor profiles can come through. Oils will come through. Yeah, and one thing about shochu is because of its production method, It's single distilled. So that's part of the lower proof. It also means whatever your base ingredient is shines through more. Yep. Like when you think about a vodka. Like there's a difference between vodka is distilled from corn or wheat or rye or potato or whatever. But you distill it enough time where you're not necessarily tasting the difference. Maybe there's a textural difference. And shochu, because you're only distilling it one time, it's at a lower proof, so 50 proof, you're gonna taste a little more of whatever the base ingredient was. Okay. We've talked about the specs of your your ⁓ dark and stormy. Let's actually talk about that legacy again though. So over time, this dark and stormy becomes closely associated with like this selling culture because medicinal reasons or whatever. And I mean, if you go to Bermuda, it's everywhere, right? Beach bars, yacht clubs, hotel patias. It's the kind of drink that feels perfectly suited to warm weather and ocean views. Yeah, it I mean, this is refreshing enough for a hot day, but also soothing enough for a cold, windy day. Yeah. And the popularity of the dark and stormy quickly spreads beyond Bermuda. By the late 20th century, The drink was showing up in cocktail books and bar menus around the world. And during the modern cocktail renaissance, bartenders rediscovered how good simple highballs like the Dark and Stormy can be. Yeah, we got to this point of again, we talk about the dark ages of the cocktail culture where they're using some inferior ingredients. But the highball game during that time actually Came through and helped still serve as a good backbone of saving the cocktail industry because the highball still remains a good staple. It was one of our families of five, you know, from the very beginning. So as we talk about the what we would consider these highballs after all these years of maybe complicated cocktails, how does this come back to ⁓ you know, prominence? Yeah, so The Dark and Stormy is elegant, it's structurally simple, but it provides us a template, which we played on with ⁓ Tokyo Record Bards ⁓ Miso Dark and Stormy, right? We talked about all the components that you swap out along the way, and the flexibility is one reason that the dark and stormy has remained relevant for so long. It's not only both a historic cocktail. It's also a template for experimentation. Okay. So the experimentation that we're talking about now, ⁓ there will always be a debate over when taking the experiment is too far. Right? A previous episode we looked at ⁓ a a rift of what potentially could be a nod to a cosmopolitan based off of Satya's like. There will come a moment that individuals could look at this and go, that's gone too far. Like a darkest army has to have rum. Right? Or you swap out the basin green, but it has to have gin. Right? There's individuals that will be those hard no's, and we just say, Allow some grace, some creative liberties, right? Yeah. As long as it tastes good. So as we wrap up this episode of say dark and stormy, bring me home. So as we explored the story of the dark and stormy from its likely origin among British sailors in Bermuda to its modern reinterpretations in contemporary cocktail bars, it's a drink that proves c a cocktail doesn't need five ingredients or complicated techniques to become iconic. Sometimes all you need is good rum, a spicy ginger beer, and maybe a squeeze of lime. So if you're listening or watching this around June 9th, International Dark and Stormy Day, it's the perfect excuse to mix one up. So try the classic version or experiment on your own riff. Yeah, and as we bring this episode to a close, don't forget to like and subscribe on our YouTube channel. ⁓ follow us on Instagram or now TikTok. ⁓ I'm enjoying some of the comments that we're getting back on that. I'm not big on TikTok. I just finally started ⁓ lurking myself on there. As officially, I think I want to take a little deeper dive, but ⁓ it's good to see some of these feedbacks. So continue there. ⁓ and make sure that you are ⁓ if you're not into the video version of this, if you need something to do while you're Out on a walk on the treadmill at the gym or whatever the heck you're doing there, listen to us on podcast, ⁓ Apple Spotify right now. Like, subscribe, hit those bells. Every Thursday we're coming out with new episodes. So ⁓ continue to listen and thank you for your support there. next time on Into the Barchive. Well, we're leaving the stormy seas of Bermuda and heading to northern Italy. Mmm. So we're gonna explore the rise of a cocktail. That has become a global symbol for summer drinking. Bring it on. Bring on my Aperol Spritz. Yeah, from its origins in Venetian apertivo culture to its explosion in popularity around the world, we'll look at how a simple mix of Aperol, Prosecco, and soda three, or actually two, three, one in your order, but three-two-one. Yeah, we're gonna look at that combination. and how it becomes one of the most recognizable cocktails of the modern era. So until next time, keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, as we dive deeper into the bar cop.