The 8 best dark and stormy cocktails in Los Angeles

Part barber shop, part bar, Blind Barber is a spacious speakeasy in Culver City, adorned with old wood paneling, yellow fading wall-paper and leather booths. Their dark and stormy uses Blackwell Rum as a base, then is finished off with ginger beer, lime and a candied ginger as a garnish. Pair with one of their 15+ grilled cheeses (yeah, they have options) and you've got yourself a complete meal.

Exposed brick, sexy lighting and plenty of studded leather sofas—the Chestnut Club is just as pretty as it is classy. Traditional cocktails dominate the menu—they have a great sazerac and old-fashioned here—but their dark and stormy is another standout beverage. Dark rum fades into fresh ginger beer, lime juice and angostura bitters, while a sliver of both lime and ginger is used as a garnish.

At the end of a long line of auto shops on Lankershim Boulevard sits Tiki No, a darkened tiki bar where North Hollywood regulars come to smoke on the outside patio or chat up the dive's waitress while she concocts a tropical drink. While the most popular drink here is the Toasted Marshmallow, the dark and stormy is just as enticing. Gosling's Black Seal Rum is mixed with Gosling's Ginger Beer for a perfect marriage between sweet and tangy. An umbrella garnish is all you'll need to make this drink complete.

It's no surprise that Downtown's Caña Rum Bar, which charges a yearly membership fee of $20, serves up a fantastic dark and stormy. The bar has an immense rum collection; for this particular drink, Gosling's Rum is mixed with fresh ginger, raw sugar and fresh lime juice. A simple wedge of lime is the only garnish used in this straightforward version.

Every log cabin winter experience you've ever endured will come flooding back when you step through the doors of this engaging spot. From the fireplace to the signage (rendered in that quaint '50s National Park font) Bigfoot Lodge didn't miss a beat when trying to channel the wilderness in Atwater Village. Yet while this cocktail bar may be far from the ocean, it still serves a standout dark and stormy. Made with Kraken rum, fresh lime and ginger beer from the 1933 Group, the only thing that could make it better is the price—and at $5 during happy hour (5-9pm daily), that's a pretty hard price to beat.

While the Village Idiot's dark and stormy is no longer listed on this Melrose bar's specialty menu, its reputation as being one of the best in town still spurs patrons to ask for it on a regular basis. Made with Kraken dark rum, ginger beer and lime, it's a definite crowd pleaser, and a great starting point to a long, blurry night.

In Los Angeles, with its year-round warm weather, Sunset’s Polynesian-themed tiki bar never goes out of season. Jam-packed with blowfish, tribal masks and faux tropical foliage, entering Tiki-Ti is like taking a tropical vacation without the plane ticket. The drink list here is massive, and includes a well-made dark and stormy served in a highball glass. Of course, you could always spin their famous drink wheel if you're more flexible on your choice of beverage.

Chef David Lentz’s contemporary culinary outpost in both Hollywood and Santa Monica is where date night and brunch crowds pile in for quality seafood and cocktails. The dark and stormy has been on the Hungry Cat's menu since 2005, when the Hollywood location first opened, and is a favorite of Lentz's. Gosling's Black Seal Rum, house ginger syrup and fresh lime are combined in a tall glass with ice—perfect for day drinking.