Dark N' Stormy - Part 2

The title of this post may seem like a bit of a misnomer when juxtaposed with the picture above, but you will get it in a minute. Before getting to the explanation, I would first like to state that this has easily been the most fun post to create so far, as evidenced by the fact that I somehow managed to publish a post with the originally intended title, only with no content. I think it had something to do with hitting the ENTER key instead of the TAB key. Rather than correct the botch, I thought it appropriate to leave it as is for all of my loyal readers to see and instead give this post the designation of 'Part 2'.

The picture at the beginning of this post, a personal favorite of mine, was taken from the front porch of The Crow's Nest Cottage at The Coral Beach and Tennis Club located in the Paget Parish of Bermuda. As you may recall I mentioned a trip with the Kyles to Bermuda in my 'Pork Tenderloin Straight From The Isles' post. This cottage was our residence during that trip.

At the time this was only my second trip outside of the United States and I learned a number of things on this trip, including but not limited to:

1) Bermuda is only a little over 2 hours from our home by air.
2) I am still able to place and receive phone calls on my Verizon Wireless cell phone in Bermuda.
3) Bermuda is not one island, but is actually comprised of over 100 individual islands, though I will refer to it as a singular island for the remainder of this post.
4) There is a distinct difference in flavor between grass fed and corn fed beef.

My favorite thing I learned on this trip though was just how much Bermuda means to my in-laws. Neither Julia or I had ever been to Bermuda before this trip and her parents loved showing us around the island, which had apparently been an escape for them when Julia and her brother were still very young. As I recall they had not been back there in at least 20 years before this trip and they clearly loved being able to share the island and their memories of it with their daughter and son-in-law, who could not have been more grateful for the opportunity to share in it. In an effort to show some of his gratitude, The Newtster commissioned a painting of the picture above from his great aunt, Bonnie Culler. The painting came out beautifully and is currently hanging in the guest room of the Kyles' home. I will try to remember to take a picture of it for comparison when we are there for Thanksgiving. Seeing it is always a nice bonus when we visit.

Now, since I owe you an explanation as to why the tropical looking picture would appear under the title 'Dark 'n Stormy', I present to you with my second favorite thing I learned about in Bermuda, namely the Dark 'n Stormy. The Dark 'n Stormy is reported to be "Bermuda's National Drink", though the Rum Swizzle can also lay claim to this designation in certain circles. The drink itself is very simple to prepare and its greatness lies in the ingredients that comprise it. Here's is my recommendation on the recipe:

- 1 Part Gosling's Black Seal Bermuda Dark Rum
- 3-4 Parts Ginger Beer
- Splash of lime

The Dark 'n Stormy is traditionally served over ice in a highball glass. It strikes me that for such a simple drink, there seems to be a wide range of opinions as to the ratio of rum to ginger beer, especially when you consider that the size of the recommended vessel for this drink is relatively fixed. Given that The Newtster stands at above average height, he generally likes to enjoy his Dark 'n Stormy in a bit of a taller glass, usually a pint glass. I just "eyeball" the amount of rum and then top off the rest of the glass with ginger beer to taste. Therefore it was a bit difficult for me to nail down a recipe as my eye for the proper amount of rum in a glass will undoubtedly differ from yours. After multiple attempts in different sized glasses (hence the errant post earlier and the lengthy delay between the two posts), I have determined that my ideal ratio is within the range listed above. I would guess that when served in a pint glass, I am usually using 3 oz. of rum (or roughly 2 shots) to one 12 oz. bottle of ginger beer.

Despite the differing ratios, let me be clear that a Dark 'n Stormy should not include any rum other than Gosling's Black Seal Bermuda Dark Rum. There's no way around that. Similarly, if you are in Bermuda, apparently Barritt's is the only brand of ginger beer you should choose. I don't know what brand we had in Bermuda as it was all from behind the bar, but I have not found Barritt's here at home. The best ginger beer I have found is Saranac. I have also tried Goya's offering and it was not good at all. Additionally, ginger ale will not work as the ginger flavor is not strong enough. If you cannot locate Saranac, then try anything other than Goya.

Enjoy responsibly and don't try to publish blog posts.