Cocktail hour

My word, we're already on to D in Hans' A to Z cocktail adventure. And, spurning the undoubted but overfamiliar attractions of the daiquiri, Hans has chosen instead the Dark'n' Stormy, which just happens also to be the name of one of the louche nighttime establishments he frequents. According to Hans - who to be fair, is an expert on naval officers' clubs of the world - the D'n'S was invented more than 100 years ago when members of Bermuda’s Royal Naval Officer’s Club added a splash of the local rum to their spicy homemade ginger beer. They described its ominous hue, so the story goes, as “the colour of a cloud only a fool or dead man would sail under.”

Anyway. Add two measures of rum - Goslings is traditional - to a tall glass with plenty of ice in it. Add ginger beer to taste, and some slices of lime, with a little extra fresh lime juice if you're the type of person who relies on his Sunday cocktail to provide part of his Five A Day pieces of fruit and veg. Stir, and then I suggest gulping rather than sipping; for this is a drink for when you need refreshment. Like Hans after he's been dancing on the bar at the Dark'n'Stormy in Vauxhall.