K is back with his guest spot on go Meat Yourself where he shares with us his favorite cocktails and recipes on how to get crunked. Thanks K for your invaluable lessons cause without them, we’d be stuck drinking SunnyD and Rum.

HEAVY ON THE BEVVY: DARK ‘N’ STORMY

Yes – yes, summer is over, and this, in the opinion of many, is a summer drink. But I will contest that a dark ‘n’ stormy is drink for ANY season, and summer just happens to be the ideal one by which to optimally enjoy it. For those in the southern or western states, you still have some weather left to totally lounge this cocktail out on your back porch. For this east-coaster, I am happy to drink it within the confines of my Brooklyn apartment, and pretend to be on a back porch.

Now, let’s get to it. The dark ‘n’ stormy comes to us originally from the sunny beaches of Australia and Bermuda, where it is considered the national drink. The “dark” part of the name comes from one of the 3 main ingredients, dark rum. The “stormy” comes from I don’t know where. What’s most important however, is that this refreshing cocktail is super easy to make, and super delicious to drink. Here’s how you do it.

WHAT GOES IN:

Dark Rum – Gosling’s seems to be the most traditional choice, but you can use any brand, as long as it’s “dark” or “spiced” rum. Do not use white or light rum. On the trivial side, light rum makes the name irrelevant, and on the critical side, it completely changes the flavor combination.

1 Ginger Beer – For those who don’t know, ginger beer is a bottled, carbonated drink naturally flavored with ginger and sugar, and comes mostly from the Caribbean. It’s non-alcoholic even though it’s called “beer”. (ginger ale can be substituted in a pinch, although it lacks the bite of real ginger, so do yourself a favor and get the real thing if you can. Almost any bodega in NY will have it.)

Lime

Ice

WHAT YOU DO WITH IT:

Use a pint glass or a traditional highball glass. Fill it ¾ of the way with ice. Pour in 2 oz. of dark rum. Squeeze in a ¼ or ½ of lime. (now, a lot of folks in the tropics will merely garnish with a slice of lime, and you can by all means stick to that if you feel like not fucking with things, but there is also an equal amount of people who take it with a full squeeze of lime, and trust me, that extra ounce or two of lime juice really kicks it up.) Finally, fill the rest of the glass with ginger beer, and stir. You can mess around with the proportions if you feel that you’d like a little more sweetness, or a little more tartness, but this should pretty much be right on.

And there you have it. Now turn on the heat lamp, drag the kiddy pool into the living room, and tether your hammock to the steam pipe. You’re on vacation.

Thanks K!