The Dark 'n Stormy recipe
for your table
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
Pour the ginger beer and, if using, the lime juice into the glass.
Carefully pour the dark rum over the rounded side of a bar spoon so it floats on top as a layer.
Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with a stirrer.
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The story
The cocktail originated in Bermuda in the late nineteenth century, where the Gosling family had been making their dark Black Seal rum since 1806, and Royal Navy sailors brewed their own ginger beer. The combination was inevitable. A sailor is said to have described the drink as being the color “of a cloud that only a fool or a dead man would sail under.” An interesting detail: Gosling's had the name legally protected. Officially, it's only a Dark 'n Stormy when made with their rum. The sailing world adopted the cocktail as an unofficial finish-line drink.
The right glass
The famous storm effect - dark rum floating above light ginger beer - only works in a clear, tall glass. Choose a highball glass holding 36 to 47 cl without too much decoration: the color contrast is the star here. A clean cylindrical shape makes the layered effect stand out most. If you want to serve it in a copper mug, see our Moscow Mule glasses.
Duralex Picardie Long Drink Glass 36 cl (6 pieces)
Onis Icon Long Drink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 56,90.
The right tools
For a Dark 'n Stormy, in addition to a glass, use a bar spoon for stirring, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer and long ice sticks. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our pick 01) + 4 bar tools together € 74,75.
What do you need to make a Dark 'n Stormy?
For a Dark 'n Stormy, you need the right base. Popular bottles include Captain Morgan and Don Papa. Each liquor page tells you the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in, and what glass you need.
Variations & twists
With golden rum and Angostura, it becomes lighter and spicier; with a splash of falernum, more tropical. The Stormy Weather, muddled with a slice of fresh ginger, is for true ginger fans. Officially, it calls for Gosling's, but any full-bodied, dark rum with character will do. Need more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Pour the rum slowly over a bar spoon for a clean separation between dark and light. Let your guests stir it themselves. The moment the storm breaks is part of the experience.
Good to know
The ratio of rum to ginger beer
Six centiliters of dark rum to ten centiliters of ginger beer is the standard ratio, about 1 to 1.7. That's deliberately more rum-forward than a Moscow Mule, because the ginger should support the molasses, not overpower it. In a 36 cl highball glass filled with ice, that comes to roughly 12 percent alcohol. If you like a spicier drink, use 5 cl rum to 12 cl ginger beer. The centiliter of lime juice is listed as optional in the recipe, but it noticeably lifts the whole drink by cutting through the sweetness.
Ginger beer or ginger ale
This is the difference between a good and a disappointing Dark 'n Stormy. Ginger beer is brewed or fermented with real ginger root and is sharp, cloudy, and quite spicy. Ginger ale is a soft drink with ginger flavor: sweeter, clearer, and much milder. With ginger ale, you get a drinkable glass, but it loses the counterbalance to the dark rum. Choose a ginger beer with a noticeable ginger bite and check the sugar content, as some brands contain more than ten grams per hundred milliliters. If it lacks bite, squeeze in a slice of fresh ginger.
Difference from a Moscow Mule
The two look very similar on paper, but the difference lies in the base and the preparation. A Moscow Mule is made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer, and is stirred together in a copper mug. A Dark 'n Stormy uses dark rum, which you float on top as the final step by pouring it over a bar spoon, creating two visible layers. In terms of flavor, the vodka lets the ginger shine, while the rum balances it with notes of molasses and caramel. That makes the Mule fresher and sharper, and the Dark 'n Stormy richer and warmer.
Alcohol-free with 0.0 rum
This recipe works better than most without alcohol, precisely because the ginger beer brings so much character. Use 6 cl of alcohol-free dark rum and follow the rest of the recipe, including the centiliter of lime juice. If you don't have 0.0 rum, a mix of 4 cl strong black tea, 2 cl sugar cane syrup, and a few drops of vanilla extract comes surprisingly close to the rum flavor. Preserve the layered effect by pouring that dark base just as slowly over the rounded side of a spoon as in the original.
The name Dark and Stormy explained
Officially, it's spelled Dark 'n Stormy, with the standalone n standing for and. Search for Dark and Stormy cocktail, Dark n Stormy cocktail without an apostrophe, or Dark en Stormy cocktail with the Dutch word for and, and you'll always find the same drink; you may also see the shortened form Dark Stormy. The name refers to its appearance: the dark rum hangs above the light ginger beer like a stormy sky. You only get this effect if you add the rum last and don't stir afterward.
Which dark rum to choose
Gosling's Black Seal is the rum associated with the protected name, but at home any full-bodied dark rum with molasses and caramel notes works. Note the difference from spiced rum: vanilla and cinnamon clash with the ginger's sharpness instead of supporting it. White rum, on the other hand, disappears completely behind the ginger beer and also creates no visible layer because there is no color contrast. Choose a bottle around forty percent ABV and pour it cold; six centiliters will hold its own against ten centiliters of ginger beer.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Dark 'n Stormy?
Dark rum and ginger beer, in this recipe 6 cl of rum to 10 cl of ginger beer, with an optional 1 cl of fresh lime juice and a lime wedge. Pour the rum in last over the rounded side of a bar spoon so it remains floating as a dark layer above the ginger beer.
What is the ratio of rum to ginger beer?
About one part rum to one and a half to two parts ginger beer, here 6 cl to 10 cl. More ginger beer makes it fresher and spicier, while less makes it stronger. Use real ginger beer, not ginger ale, or the cocktail will completely lack its sharp ginger bite.
What's the difference between it and a Moscow Mule?
Both contain ginger beer and lime, but a Moscow Mule is made with vodka and served in a copper mug. The Dark 'n Stormy uses dark rum and gets its name from its visible layered effect, which only comes into its own in a clear glass.
What glass should you serve a Dark 'n Stormy in?
In a clear highball glass with a capacity of 36 to 47 cl and a sleek cylindrical shape. Only then can you see the dark rum suspended above the light ginger beer, and that contrast is the whole show. Choose a glass without heavy decoration: see our highball glasses.
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