Fig and Rosemary Dark and Stormy
The traditional Dark and Stormy has 3 main ingredients: lime, ginger beer and (dark)rum. With this cocktail, we take advantage of delicious fig jam and rosemary fragrance to make a spectacular drink. The fig jam I made myself and will include the basic recipe below, but feel free to substitute with any jam or preserve you have available if you don’t want to make your own.
Living in France you learn to make the most of the seasonality of ingredients, as they aren’t available year round like in other places. It was the end of the season for figs and I know I will be eagerly awaiting their return. The type of fig I recommend is the Black Mission Fig as it is the sweetest. Oh, and we have access to Cuban rum, so I couldn’t pass that up even though it isn’t the dark variety.
Ingredients :
(for Fig jam)
1 kg (2 lbs) of Black Mission Figs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
juice from 1/2 a lemon
(for cocktail)
ice
1.5 oz rum
juice from 1/2 a lime
4 oz ginger beer
1 tbsp fig jam
1 long sprig rosemary ( I removed about 1/2 the leaves from the bottom, 20 or so, and then the remaining stem for garnish)
Directions :
(for jam)
First trim off the stems, then cut the figs into quarters and place in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle the sugar and lemon juice across the top and let sit for 5 minutes. Then take a potato masher and pounce on the fruit to help break it down. Some people will put the fig in a food processor (I do not currently have access to one), so I can’t speak to its effectiveness, but feel free to do so instead of using a potato masher. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a light boil for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. After 20 minutes add the 1/4 cup of water and continue to lightly boil for another 20 minutes or so until jam is your desired consistency. You might need to boil for +/- 10 minutes depending on how yours boils, but keep in mind it will thicken a little bit after your done cooking it. Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes. I then passed my puree through a strainer to remove the shells, but some people choose to include the shells. The fig jam will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for about a month or you can pasteurize and can it for longer storage.
(for cocktail)
Fill a shaker half full with ice, then add the rum, lime juice, loose rosemary leaves and fig jam. Shake vigorously for a minute or so. Pour over a large ice cube into a tall glass. Top with 4 oz ginger beer, give it a quick stir, garnish with rosemary sprig and serve.