Pirates Love the Dark 'n' Stormy

I was introduced to the Dark 'n' Stormy a few years ago by Chris and Ben in Castine and was immediately hooked.  The ingredients (ginger beer, black rum, lime, and ice) are quite simple but can be hard to find in sustainable quantities and quality.  Particularly difficult to source are a really spicy ginger beer and a black rum so terrible you can picture the only people drinking it neat are pirates (NYTimes: "as dark as motor oil and with a distinctively charred flavor").  Well, times have changed and the Dark 'n' Stormy is alive and kicking in Tanzania.

As I said the extra spicy ginger beer is the key and Tanzania has a product called Stoney Tangawizi that fits the bill.  Tangawizi is the Swahili word for ginger and the product is made by Coca-Cola in East Africa (though not Rwanda).  It is probably one of those drinks I tried at The World of Coca-Cola tasting room as a child and couldn't imagine someone actually drinking it.  Well, I was wrong.  It is delicious!

There is no Gosling's Black Seal available in the Duty Free of any of the five airports I have been in of late (though my guy at Duty Free in Kigali says he will order some and have it by November) so Bacardi Black was substituted (the Captain Morgan's Black was terrible).  Note: Like with a "Bacardi & Coke" (I learned this in Puerto Rico), Gosling's has trademarked "Dark 'n' Stormy" so if someone orders one in a bar it is required that only Gosling's Black Seal is used (NYTimes: The Right Stuff (by Law)).

Limes/green lemons are readily available in the markets and ice is being made in a very nice refrigerator with ice cube trays in our new apartment.

I imagine I am the only person having the Dark 'n' Stormy in Tanzania, but you should try them at home!  Lime optional, enjoyment mandatory!

• NYTimes: Case Study - Cloudy, With a Chance of Ginger
• Ginger Beer Recipes for home brewers (Morgan)