Light n Bright
Why Make It?
Light n Bright is refreshing and filled with ginger flavor. Three common ingredients make it approachable and simple to throw together.
The pairing of lemon, ginger and blanco rum just works. Each brings something to the party.
Author Thoughts
Light n Bright is a cocktail I created in 2020. The drink is inspired by the classic Dark n’ Stormy. The original Dark n’ Stormy is ginger beer topped with dark rum. The dark rum is floated on top giving its name and classic look. It is typical to see Dark n’ Stormy recipes with lime juice but purists will just serve it with a lime wedge.
Light n Bright has the same decision to make. Do you add lemon juice or just serve it with a lemon wedge? I chose to add both. I think the lemon juice adds balance and the lemon wedge allows the drinker to decide how much lemon and acidity they want.
One final note, the addition of lemon juice means this cocktail could benefit from being shaken. Shake if your heart desires. I think the simplicity of building in glass outweighs the small textural improvement from shaking with this cocktail.
Keys To Success
The key here is to use a good ginger beer. There are too many brands to mention. You are looking for something with a strong ginger flavor. How strong is your choice. Brands like Fever Tree and Q have the advantage of higher carbonation that can handle dilution better in cocktails.
With built drinks like this, the temperature of the mixer has a big effect. The colder the mixer, the less dilution there will be. If you have the time and forethought to chill the ginger beer, I think you will appreciate the result.
Equipment
jigger - bar spoon
Light n Bright
Makes: 1 Drink | ABV: 7.5% | Total Time: 5 min | Glassware: Highball
Ingredients
- 1 oz blanco rum
- 3 oz ginger beer
- 0.5 oz lemon juice
- lemon wedge
Garnish
Instructions
- Measure: Measure: Juice a lemon with your choice of citrus juicer. Measure the lemon juice, and rum into a highball glass.
- Build: Add ice to fill the glass and stir with a bar spoon until chilled. Add the chilled ginger beer to top.
- Serve: Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Substitutions
Lemon: Consider omitting the lemon juice from the recipe and serving with just a lemon wedge.
Rum: Try experimenting with the rum. Wray & Nephew, cachaça, and rhum agricole would make interesting substitutions.
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
This nutrition information is calculated in a database; it is an estimate.
Wikipedia - Dark ‘n’ Stormy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_%27n%27_stormy
VinePair - Tara Nurin, The Differences Between Rum, Rhum Agricole, and Cachaça - https://vinepair.com/articles/what-is-rum-rhum-agricole-cachaca/