Cocktails

Dark and Stormy

Dark and Stormy is a ginger-led rum cocktail with a bold, refreshing profile and a darker spiced edge. Served cold, it fits relaxed occasions where a lively highball-style drink makes sense.

Reviewed by the WhatDrink Editorial TeamHow we calculate nutritionSuggest a correction

Cocktailalcoholic14.6% ABV2 ingredients

At a Glance

165 kcalCalories

14.6%ABV

5gSugar

7gCarbs

1.23Std Drinks

Estimated from parsed ingredients and typical ingredient nutrition.

On this page

How hard is it to make?

Easybuilt drink

Why: 2 ingredients

Estimated from the ingredient count and technique.

Ingredients

5 clDark RumBase Spirit
10 clGinger BeerMixer

How to Make It

In a Highball glass filled with ice add 6cl dark rum and top with ginger beer.Top
Garnish with lime wedge.Garnish

How to Serve

Glass: Highball Glass
Temperature: Chilled
Ice: Ice

Served Chilled

Taste profile

Primary flavours

Ginger Caramel Molasses

Supporting notes

Spice Vanilla Spicy Sweet

Flavor tags are derived from ingredient-level flavor mappings.

Estimated sensory profile

StrengthLight – Strong

BodyLight – Full

SweetnessDry – Sweet

BoldnessDelicate – Bold

What do these dimensions mean?

Practical notes

Variations

Easy ways to adjust Dark and Stormy

For a cleaner version, focus on better ice, better dilution and a suitable glass. For a softer version, add a small modifier rather than changing the whole structure.

When to choose it

How to decide if Dark and Stormy is right for you

Dark and Stormy is a simple drink where the main ingredients are easy to notice. Choose it when you want clarity, not a layered or highly decorated cocktail. The listed serve is about 14.6% ABV, so strength is part of the decision.

Skip if

Skip Dark and Stormy if...

Skip Dark and Stormy if you want a layered drink with many modifiers. Simple spirit-led cocktails put the main ingredients on display and leave little room to hide imbalance.

About this drink

The Dark and Stormy is strongly associated with Bermuda, dark rum and ginger beer. Its history is unusual because the drink name has trademark issues around the Goslings spelling, so generic versions are often described more cautiously as rum-and-ginger beer highballs.

When to serve

BBQ / CookoutSuggested from pairing with bbq and grilled meat.
Winter / CozySuggested from its spice notes.

Occasion tags are inferred from drink style, serving format, flavour profile, food-pairing theme, recipe metadata, and strict multi-signal supplemental rule matches.

Food pairings

BBQ Steak Grilled Meat

Food pairings are derived from the drink flavour signature, mapped to one dominant pairing theme, then limited to coherent public suggestions.

Diet & lifestyle

Compatible, based on the listed ingredients

Vegan Vegetarian

May be limited

Low-Sugar

Not compatible

Gluten-FreeKeto

Not enough information

Low-Carb

Find gluten-free-compatible cocktails

Diet tags are ingredient-level and nutrition-estimate based. Product brands, preparation methods, quantities, and substitutions may change compatibility.

Alternatives to try

Choose an ingredient to see reviewed substitutions, or filter for a different preference.

Reviewed ingredient substitutions

Dark Rum5 cl

Aged RumWorks, with a noticeable change

How much to use: Use the same amount; taste before changing sweetener.
What changes: Aged rum can replace dark rum when a somewhat drier, oak-led profile is acceptable.

Light RumWorks, but changes the drink

How much to use: Use the same amount; expect less depth and dark sugar character.
What changes: Light rum can replace dark rum only when a lighter, cleaner result is acceptable.

Vegan-compatibleVegetarian-compatible

Ginger Beer10 cl

Ginger AleWorks, but changes the drink

How much to use: Use the same amount; add lime if the drink loses bite.
What changes: Ginger ale can replace ginger beer when a softer ginger profile is acceptable.