Hurricane Sandy hits this weekend, meaning you can a) panic and hoard canned/bottled items, or b) use it as an excuse to spend the day in a bar with good friends and a strong drink. We’re choosing the latter, and plan on sipping a tasty Dark and Stormy cocktail in honor of the weather. The classic combination of dark rum, ginger beer, and fresh-squeezed lime is perfect for easing the pain of inclement weather, and the sweet-spicy flavor profile makes it an ideal gateway cocktail between this oddly summery weather and fall. Here are a dozen to try this weekend (points and free Advil if you get to them all).
Head to this laid-back Atlas District joint for a well-made Stormy, which the bar has touted as the house drink since 2005.
Ride out the storm like the Old Man and the Sea in the dim lights of this Hemingway-themed spot, which serves up a delicious Dark and Stormy over crushed ice.
In the mood for a nonalcoholic version of the classic? One of our favorite mocktails in town is the West Indian Limeade, a refreshing sip with lime, ginger syrup, bitters, and sparkling water. (They might spike it if you ask nicely.)
The name of 14th Street’s newest watering hole makes you think beer, but the bar serves up a tasty Gosling’s-based libation.
Both the DC and Rockville locations offer a Stormy made with spicy-sweet house-made ginger beer.
Conquer the storm like a king with a classic Dark and Stormy, served here in a goblet.
Possibly the priciest Stormy on our list at $15, but you’ll fare the bad weather in a plush, subterranean hotel bar with a potent drink and complimentary nibbles such as wasabi peas and mixed nuts.
While the classic Dark and Stormy is no longer listed on the menu, all the ingredients for the popular cocktail are stashed behind the bar for those in the know: fresh lime for muddling, Gosling’s Black Seal rum, and Fentiman’s ginger beer.
Dance until the rain stops at this U Street spot, which serves Stormies alongside island beats and Jamaican patties filled with jerk chicken, beef, and goat.
Happy hour continues on the weekend at this Bethesda Row spot, meaning you can accompany your Dark and Stormy with $5 plates of spicy potstickers or mini lamb burgers in the bar (Saturday 4 to 7 PM).
Watch the rain fall at this window-walled restaurant as you sip this version of the Stormy, concocted with house-made ginger beer.
Cocktail mastermind Todd Thrasher is behind a spin on the Stormy called There’s No Cause for Alarm, a beery hoptail with rum, ginger beer, Bass red ale, smoked sugar, mezcal, and spicy bitters.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
