classic boat drinks

Refreshing. Easy.  A little spicy, and not too sweet.  My two long-standing favorite bluwater drinks always deliver for that “it’s 5:00 somewhere” moment.  Both are classic highballs and require specific rums…don’t even bother trying to make them with anything else. You will have some sort of cocktail – but it won’t be these drinks! 

I’ve learned the hard way not to order these at a restaurant or bar. Even though they are really easy, the bar rarely has the correct rum. Plus, I want crushed ice and the right garnish….which means either a lemon twist or a bartender’s wedge of lime, depending on the drink. A bartender’s wedge is cut horizontally across the fruit – not end to end, which would be an iced-tea wedge. Yes, there is a difference! And a twist is not wedge at all, but a very thin slice of citrus peel. Can’t tell you how many times I have asked for a drink with a lemon twist, and gotten a big, honkin’ ice-tea lemon wedge floating amongst blocky ice cubes. I never know if it is the bartender or the server who goes astray, but either way someone was absent the day they taught classic bar garnishes. I’m really not that hard to please…this minor rant not withstanding…anyway, back to the drinks.

The Dark ‘n Stormy is the national drink of Bermuda and can only be made with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. The rum has been made on the island since 1858, and Gosling’s has trademarked the drink…no other rum creates the distinct flavor in this cocktail. Gosling’s has introduced their own ginger beer mixer (non-alcoholic extra spicy ginger ale) and it’s very good. I also like a Jamaican ginger beer – and lime. The original recipe does not include lime, but that’s how my first Dark ‘n’ Stormy was served to me and I’ve stuck with it.

My introduction was in August 2005 on a visit to Bermuda, seated outside at a waterfront restaurant in Hamilton (latitude 32N 19’ 44.10” longitude -64W 42’ 14.32”) on a late summer evening. A true bluwater moment.

Dark n’ Stormy
2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
3 oz ginger beer – or extra spicy ginger ale
lime wedge for garnish – optional if desired

Fill a highball glass with crushed ice
Add rum and top with ginger beer
Squeeze lime into glass and stir briefly to blend

The Original Boat Drink is made with Mount Gay Eclipse Rum from Barbados. This rum has been in production at the Mount Gay Rum Estate since 1703, making it the oldest rum in the world ~~~ so the original rum for the original boat drink.

My introduction was in July 1989 when my friend Scott came back from a vacation in St.Augustine, FL (latitude 29N 51’ 0.62” longitude -81W 19’ 14.88” ) where he had mixed up “a great summer highball”. That’s what I called it for years, until I found the exact description as The Original Boat Drink in a recipe book. Who knew it had a real name? All that time I thought Scott invented it! I wonder how many I have enjoyed in the last 20 years? A true bluwater classic 🙂