Classic (but creepy) Cocktails - Perfect for All Hallows' Eve
As we move towards Hallowe’en, we will see many ideas for themed food and cocktails. Dry ice, eyeballs, purple drinks and cobweb stencils – great fun but for those who fancy a drink or two on Hallowe’en, we have put together some fabulous drinks with apt names that are a perfect tipple. We will cover Dark ‘n’ Stormy, The White Lady, Bloody Mary and the Corpse Reviver.
The Dark ‘n’ Stormy
Fiery, sharp, sweet and deeply delicious; the Dark ‘n’ Stormy is a long cocktail that can transport you from your armchair to the beaches of the Caribbean. I think we all need to sip on one of these and feel the warmth of sunshine on our skin and listen to the gentle laps of waves on our own private beach. I have clearly pimped my own daydream but the melange of rum, lime and ginger is a wonderful reminder of tropical heat but is also perfectly warming and comforting as a winter cocktail.
But what about the name? How can a glass of sunshine have a name that conjures up winters in Old Blighty?
Are you sitting comfortably, then I will tell you the tale of the Dark ‘n’ Stormy.
1806, James Gosling, the eldest son of wine and spirits merchant, William Gosling, set out from Gravesend in England on the ship Mercury bound for America. After 91 days at sea, the charter expired and they docked at the nearest port which just happened to be St. George’s, Bermuda. Fast forward a few decades and by 1860 the Goslings had created their own brand dark rum, called Black Seal. The name came from the fact they were selling it in old champagne bottles sealed with black wax. It became very popular and in much demand.
Over on another part of the island, a ginger beer factory had been set up by the Royal Naval Officer’s Club and it was brewing delicious ginger beer. Shortly after WWI, sailors soon discovered that a good dash of Gosling’s Black Seal rum was a delicious addition to this local ginger beer.
As for the name Dark’ n’ Stormy, it was coined by a sailor who, while enjoying the cocktail, commented that, “it was the colour of a cloud only a fool or a dead man would sail under.” You can’t patent a drink recipe but you can trademark a name and that’s what Goslings did with the Dark ‘n’ Stormy.
Here is the Madam Geneva & Gent’s simple but effective Dark ‘n’ Stormy recipe.
What you will need:
100ml ginger beer
50ml Goslings Black Seal rum
25ml fresh lime juice
Ice
A wedge of lime
Method
Fill a Collins or Highball glass with lots of ice
Add 100ml chilled ginger beer (a good fiery variety)
Squeeze 25ml fresh lime juice – about 1 lime’s worth of juice
Now comes the exciting bit, gently pour over 50ml of Goslings rum and watch the drinks mingle like a threatening sky
Garnish with a wedge or two of lime
Enjoy!