flickering ember

1 1/2 oz Appleton Reserve Rum
1 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
3/4 oz Burnt Sugar Syrup (*)
2 dash Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a couple glass. Top with 2 oz Kenwood Sparkling Wine.
(*) Put Demerara sugar cubes in a sauce pan, douse with El Dorado 151 Proof Rum, and light on fire. To the remnants, add an equal part of water to dissolve the caramelized sugar into syrup.

On Sunday right after Christmas, Andrea returned just in the nick of time to make it into Boston before the blizzard made driving impossible. Soon it was time for dinner and we went foraging for food in Central Square and had the often traditional Christmas Indian dinner, albeit a few days late (in fact, bartender Hugh Fiore was surprised two nights before that I dined at Eastern Standard instead of India Quality in Kenmore). After dinner, we realized that most places were closed due to the extreme inclement weather; however, we determined through either Facebook or Twitter that Russell House Tavern was indeed still open. After we went in through the side entrance so we did not track snow and salted slush into the restaurant, we were glad that we made their early last call. For a drink, I asked head bartender Aaron Butler for the Flickering Ember.
The Flickering Ember had a dark aroma from the blackstrap molasses-laden rum and the maple bitters that was lightened by orange notes from the second bitters in the drink. The sip was incredibly rich with blackstrap and caramel notes, and the swallow was crisp and rather orange from the sparkling wine and Angostura Orange Bitters, respectively. With the pervasive orange note, I commented that the Flickering Ember reminded me of a less bitter (rum) Seelbach Cocktail.