A hybrid of two classics.

Why you are pouring this tonight

This drink exists because I was making Mojitos for a balcony dinner at the start of an ugly Sydney winter and the only rum in the cupboard was a half-finished bottle of Bundaberg Black, which is dark, spicy, and not what the original Cuban barmen had in mind. The first sip happened. The second sip happened. The third sip happened with the kind of speed that suggests a recipe has accidentally invented itself while you were not looking.

What you have is a Dark and Stormy wearing a Mojito’s coat. Dark rum replaces white. Bundaberg Ginger Beer replaces soda water. Mint and lime stay because mint and lime are the moral compass of this whole genre. The result is darker, spicier, warmer, and slightly more grown-up than the original, like the Mojito has come back from a year working on a Cairns ferry and now smokes a pipe. Drink it on a balcony in May, when the air is just cold enough to make ginger heat feel like a generous suggestion.

What changes from the Mojito

White rum out, dark rum (Appleton Estate) in. Soda out, Fever-Tree ginger beer in.

What to pour it alongside

Slow-cooked Caribbean food: jerk chicken, curried goat, roast pork.

The recipe