Cranberries are a classic symbol of the autumn season, often complementing rich and unctuous meats to celebrate the harvest of the fall andthe togetherness of community and family. Warm spices and cranberries are a match made in heaven, making them a natural choice for a Dark ‘n Stormy. The tart cranberries and lime with the spicy and rich ginger beer take this cocktail to a cozy and autumnal place. So, cozy up by the fire, set up a board game (maybe not Monopoly), and enjoy this cocktail with friends and family.

What’s a buck?

A buck (also known as a mule) is a type of cocktail made with a spirit, lime juice, and ginger beer. Like most cocktail recipes, the buck is a blueprint and has many variations with different base spirits as well as the addition of different fruits.

Some popular buck variations include:

• Dark 'n Stormy: The inspiration for this recipe. This variation features dark rum.
• Moscow Mule: A classic buck recipe that uses vodka.
• Irish Mules: A buck made with Irish whiskey.
• London Mule: This variation uses gin as the base spirit.
• Kentucky Mule: Thisis a buck made with bourbon, strawberry, and lemon juice.

The possibilities are endless, so play around with different options and soon you’ll be making (er… drinking) bucks.  

Simple syrups

As the name would suggest, simple syrups are an easy component of many cocktails. Made by simmering equal parts water and sugar, simple syrups are a great opportunity to make any cocktail recipe your own. You can use a variety of fruits, herbs, spices, and sweeteners to personalize your favourite cocktails and play with flavours.

Some of our favourite flavours to use in syrups include:

• Apple
• Rosemary
• Cinnamon
• Pistachio
• Rhubarb
• Thyme
• Cardamom
• Honey
• Jalapeno

In this recipe, we’ve replaced the ginger beer with soda water and our homemade cranberry ginger syrup. Making our own syrup allowed us to add cranberries to this cocktail and control the ginger flavour to our liking. You can also use a store-bought cranberry ginger beer or ginger ale if you would prefer, but you may need to adjust the amount of lime juice to balance out the sugar.

How to make it

Make the syrup

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat then add sugar, ginger, and cranberries, and simmer for 10 minutes. Set the saucepan aside and allow it to cool, then strain out the solids. Feel free to adjust the amount of ginger to your liking or add different spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or cloves. The syrup should keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

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Make the cocktail

Add the rum, cranberry ginger syrup, and lime juice to a cocktail. Shake with plenty of ice until it is well-chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top the cocktail with soda water then garnish with fresh cranberries or a lime wedge.