The Dark 'N Stormy

A drink born of stillness

As the Mercury lay becalmed, the shimmer of the sun's relentless heat made the rigging shiver. James Gosling stood on the deck. His eyes scanned the horizon, desperate for any sign of a breeze. The sails hung limply, yearning for the slightest breath of wind to fill them and carry the ship to salvation. The ship's deck was nearly silent, save for the occasional creak of timber. The crew's hunger grew with each passing day, their spirits worn thin by the endless days of rationing and the oppressive stillness.

The sailors, clad in their sweat-stained linen shirts and tattered breeches, walked around, their faces haunted by starvation. One started to whistle in the hope of calling up the wind, praying it would hear their plea and return to them. Others joined in, their whistles piercing the air. One grizzled sailor talked to Daniel, the ship's boy, a young lad of ten whose infectious smile had faded as the weeks dragged on.

"Daniel, start whistling. We need to bring the wind back, and whistling will do it. It attracts the storms, but we'll take one right now to get us to Savannah."

Daniel pursed his chapped lips and feebly began to whistle a haunting sea shanty, joining the melancholic chorus of the old salts. The sky remained listless, and the heavy, stifling heat stretched into the evening, laying on them like a wet blanket.

As the days wore on and the Mercury remained becalmed, James noticed the crew's superstitions growing more fervent. Some refused to speak certain words, fearing that even a whisper of "still" or "quiet" might jinx them and condemn them to this fate forever.

James found himself drawn into these rituals and beliefs. He knew these superstitions were born of desperation and fear, a way for the men to feel some control over an uncontrollable situation. Yet, as the days turned into weeks and the rations dwindled to mere crumbs, he found himself clinging to these superstitions like lifelines, praying that just one of them might be the key to their salvation.

The seasoned mariners, men who had faced countless challenges on the open sea, now looked haggard and defeated. They moved about their duties, dejected, their eyes glazed and their faces gaunt from the relentless sun and the dwindling rations. The very same men who once regaled their crewmates with tales of past adventures and battles now sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts and fears.

The veterans whispered amongst themselves, their conversations taking on a grim and superstitious tone as they spoke of curses, ill omens, and the ever-present specter of death.

It was on the sixty-third day of their becalming that the whispers began to take a darker turn. James heard some of the crew, their minds addled by hunger and despair, beginning to speak of curses and hexes, of dark magic that might have been worked against their ship.

"I can't take this anymore, Mr. Gosling," whispered a grizzled sailor, his eyes hollow with hunger. "The heat, the rationing, the endless waiting. It's enough to drive a man mad."

James nodded, understanding the sailor's frustration. "I know it's hard, Mr. Smith, but we must stay strong. We're all in this together, and we'll find a way out. Have faith in yourself and your crewmates."

As the days turned into weeks, the crew withered, their skin stretched taut over increasingly prominent bones. Daniel, the ship's boy and the youngest and most vulnerable among them, succumbed to the ravages of hunger and disease. His tragic death was a stark reminder of the fate that awaited them all if the winds did not soon return.

A group of sailors gathered near the bow, their faces solemn as they whispered a prayer. Daniel's body lay stretched out on the deck, his young face pale and gaunt. The sailmaker leaned over the body, sewing it into a simple canvas shroud, the final stitch passing through the nose to ensure the boy was indeed dead.

The crew assembled on deck, their faces grim and weathered, their eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and resignation. Daniel's body, weighted with shot to ensure its swift descent to the depths, was laid upon a plank, a final, lonely bier for a soul who had shared their labors and their joys.

Captain Harding stood before the assembled men, his voice low and steady as he intoned the words of the burial service. "We therefore commit his body to the deep," he said, "to be turned into corruption, looking for the resurrection of the body, when the Sea shall give up her dead, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

With those words, the plank was tilted, and the body slipped into the waves, a final splash marking its passage from the world of the living to the realm of the dead. The men stood in silence, heads bowed, as the ship continued on its course, the vast expanse of the ocean stretching out before them, a reminder of their own mortality and life's fragility.

"Mr. Gosling, I fear we're cursed," whispered the old sailor, his eyes wide with fear. "The calm, the hunger, the death of young Daniel... it's a sign of ill fate." James placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "We mustn't lose hope, Mr. Turner. We are men of reason, and we shall weather this trial together."

As the days dragged on and the sun continued to blaze overhead, James felt his own resolve beginning to waver. The hunger gnawing at his belly felt like a living thing, a beast demanding to be fed, and he knew that if they did not find wind soon, they would all be lost.

A gaunt, haggard sailor approached. "Mr. Gosling, the captain requests your presence in his quarters."

"Thank you, Mr. Jones," James replied.

James proceeded below decks, where the crew's quarters had become a suffocating den, reeking of sweat and despair. Men lay in their hammocks, some fitfully sleeping, others staring at the wooden beams, consumed by hunger and fear.

James rapped his knuckles against the weathered oak door of the captain's cabin, the sound echoing through the narrow passageway.

"Enter," came the gruff reply. Inside, the captain, a greying man in his fifties, sat hunched over a map, his navy coat hanging loosely after weeks of rationing.

"Mr. Gosling, you commissioned my ship to transport your goods to Savannah. However, our charter is limited to 90 days, and has expired. I've been contemplating our alternatives, but I fear they are scarce."

"Captain, if I may," James began, his voice steady despite the gnawing hunger in his belly. "I understand, and like all aboard would desperately like to see land. The men are growing restless. They whisper of curses and dark magic, their minds clouded by desperation."

The captain sighed, his weathered face etched with concern.

"Indeed, Mr. Gosling. I, too, have heard the whispers. However, we must serve as the voice of reason, the guiding light in these troubled times. We shall set course for Bermuda and pray that Providence guides us to safety."

Together, they pored over the yellowed parchment chart, a tiny landmass promising salvation in the vast Atlantic. The captain calculated silently, his fingers tracing the lines of latitude and longitude. "If the currents hold and we catch the slightest breeze, we could reach land within a week."

James felt a flicker of hope in his chest, tempered by the knowledge of the hardships they would face in the coming days. "A week," he repeated, his voice a whisper. "Can our rations sustain us for that long?"

The captain's eyes darkened, the weight of responsibility etched in the lines of his face. "We'll have to make do, Mr. Gosling. We've no other choice. I'll inform the crew of our decision and implement stricter rationing. Every morsel counts."

As James turned to leave, the captain called out, his voice a mix of weariness and resolve. "Mr. Gosling, we'll see this through. Bermuda will be our salvation, and your rum will be the balm that soothes our weary souls when we reach those shores."

James managed a small smile, the captain's words a glimmer of light in the darkness. "Aye, Captain. We'll weather this storm together, and Bermuda will be our reward."

The next day, a gentle breeze, no more than a whisper at first, began to caress the sails. The crew, their eyes wide with disbelief and wonder, watched as the canvas began to fill, the ship creaking and groaning as it stirred to life beneath their feet.

"The wind! The wind has returned!" exclaimed a young sailor, his voice brimming with joy.

James felt a smile spread across his face as he watched the crew embrace one another, their laughter and tears mingling in the salty air. "We've made it, lads," he called out. "Through the darkest of times, we held fast to hope, and now, the wind is our reward."

As the wind strengthened and the Mercury began to move, the crew erupted in cheers and shouts of joy. Some fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces as they offered up prayers of thanks to the gods of sea and sky. Others danced and laughed; their hunger momentarily forgotten in the sheer euphoria of the moment.

The Mercury surged forward, the wind at her back and the promise of land on the horizon.

In the days that followed, as the Mercury navigated towards Bermuda, James was filled with a sense of gratitude and decided he would change his plans and take advantage of the opportunity that Bermuda presented for his future endeavors.

The Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda.

The Dark 'N Stormy will always be associated with the island of Bermuda. Its two traditional ingredients, Goslings Black Seal Rum and ginger beer, are both tied intimately to the island.

Bermuda is a small, picturesque archipelago located in the North Atlantic, approximately 650 miles east of North Carolina. Despite its proximity to the United States, Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory with a rich history dating back to the early 17th century. The island is known for its stunning pink-sand beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters, and colorful colonial architecture. The island's unique blend of British and African influences and historic fortifications speak to its strategic importance in the past.

Bermuda played a supportive role for the British Empire during World War I. The island served as a military outpost and a naval base due to its strategic location in the Atlantic Ocean. This was crucial for protecting shipping lanes, especially against the German U-boat threat.

In the early 1800s, William Gosling was selling liquor in London. But the New World beckoned. So, in 1806, his son James chartered a ship named the Mercury and set out for America with 10,000 pounds sterling worth of wines and spirits. To put this in context, the UK Office for National Statistics calculates that £10,000 in 1800 would be the equivalent of £786,000 in 2017 — that's a lot of booze. 

The voyage of the Mercury, however, did not exactly go to plan and the ship never arrived in America.

Instead, in an interesting contrast to the arrival of Bermuda's first English settlers, the Mercury was becalmed in the Atlantic for so long (91 days) that the ship's charter expired and the beleaguered crew put in to Bermuda. The expected time for a voyage from England to America in the early 1800s varied hugely, Columbus took only five weeks to get across the Atlantic in 1492 and the Mayflower got to Plymouth Rock in just 66 days. Any way you look at it, the Mercury had spent a long time at sea and they were still 700 miles short of their destination.

When James eventually arrived in Bermuda, he liked it so much that he decided to stay and set up shop on King's Parade in St. George's. His brother Ambrose joined him, and in 1824, the James Goslings shop was relocated to Front Street in Hamilton (where they still have a store).

1857: The firm, known as Gosling and Son, was renamed Gosling Brothers. Three years later, the first oak barrels of rum distillate arrived in Bermuda. After much experimentation in the blending process, the distinctive black rum destined to be Black Seal was formulated and offered for sale.

Up until 1914, consumers of Gosling's rum would refill used bottles straight from the barrel. However, during the First World War, the Goslings began distributing their rum in champagne bottles collected at the Royal Navy Officers' Mess. These bottles were sealed with a particular black wax, eventually giving the rum its distinctive name.

For centuries, ginger was one of Bermuda's most valuable exports. The high-quality ginger grown on the island was prized for its flavor and potency. Today traditional Bermudian gingerbread is a staple. Historically, ginger has been used in Bermudian folk medicine to treat a variety of ailments, such as nausea, indigestion, and colds. This traditional knowledge has been passed down through generations. Today, although ginger is no longer a major export crop for Bermuda, it remains an essential part of the island's cultural identity and culinary traditions.

The introduction of ginger beer in Bermuda is closely tied to the British colonial period. The British tradition of brewing ginger beer, a practice dating back to the mid-18th century, was brought to Bermuda by settlers. The traditional method of making ginger beer in Bermuda involves a fermentation process similar to early British methods. This involves fermenting a mixture of water, sugar, ginger, and a fermentation agent, called a ‘ginger bug’ to produce the drink's characteristic fizz and flavor with the strong, spicy kick of ginger. Some Bermudians still prepare ginger beer at home using traditional methods, especially during the Christmas season.

During the early 20th century, Bermuda became renowned for its ginger beer production. Today, the island is known for producing some of the finest ginger beers available on the market, particularly in the craft beverage market and among cocktail enthusiasts.

The Dark 'N Stormy cocktail was created sometime after the First World War. Bermuda experienced several significant changes, the economy, traditionally reliant on agriculture and maritime industries, began to diversify. Tourism started to take off as air travel became available. The boom was fueled by American prohibition-era tourists seeking leisure and alcohol unavailable in the United States.

The Dark 'N Stormy is believed to have been created at the Royal Naval Officers' Club, which operated a ginger beer factory in the dockyard. The cocktail's invention is said to have occurred when a group of sailors added a splash of dark rum to their ginger beer. They observed that the rum floated on top, forming a cloud-like layer above the "stormy" ginger beer beneath. This distinctive two-layer appearance evoked the dramatic, cloud-filled skies frequently seen over the island, inspiring the remark that the drink resembled "the colour of a cloud only a fool or a dead man would sail under."

Thus, a legend was born. It's a remarkable twist of fate that the descendants of passengers from a once-becalmed ship would go on to create a world-renowned cocktail named the Dark 'N Stormy.

The Dark 'N' Stormy is celebrated as Bermuda's national drink and enjoys popularity worldwide, embodying a perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and strong elements, much like the history it carries.

But with success comes imitation, and other rum producers started to suggest mixing their rum with ginger beer to produce a drink of the same name.

So in 1991, Gosling Brothers Ltd. filed and won two trademarks on the recipe. This was no easy trademark to acquire; of the thousands of cocktail recipes on bar menus around the world, only three others are similarly protected — the Hand Grenade, The Painkiller, and Sazerac. Since earning the trademark, the company has defended it on several occasions, taking action against other rum producers and even a rum blogger.

In essence, the Dark 'N' Stormy is a delicious blend of dark rum and ginger beer that is simple to create yet carries the weight of centuries of Bermudian history and culture in every sip. It is the perfect cocktail to enjoy on a warm summer evening, evoking images of the island's stunning beaches, turquoise waters, and the dramatic stormy skies from which it derives its name.

Here's how you can make this iconic cocktail at home:

Dark 'N Stormy

- 6 oz. Barritt's Ginger Beer from Bermuda (the classic) 

- 2 oz. Goslings Black Seal Rum

- Lime wedge

Method

1. Into a tall glass filled with ice, pour the ginger beer and float the rum on top. 

2. Stir until it looks like a storm cloud.

3. Optional garnish: Lime wedge.

Lime Juice (optional): Some bartenders add lime juice as well, but it really isn't needed. In fact, if you want this drink in its true Bermudan style, skip the citrus. Or try it both ways and see which you prefer. If you do include it, make sure to use freshly squeezed lime juice.