brown is the new black

1/2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
1/2 oz Dark Rum (Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva)
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Benedictine
1 Egg

Shake without ice and then with ice. Strain into a cocktail coupe containing 2 oz of chocolate stout (Harpoon). Stir gently and garnish with 5 drops of Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters (sub other aromatic bitters).
Last week for Thursday Drink Night in the Mixoloseum chatroom, the theme was "blackout" in honor of all the SOPA/PIPA protests occurring across the web that week. In thinking about black ingredients to work with the theme, my mind went quickly to the family of dark amaros. One drink in particular that stood out was Ben Sandrof's Battle Royal Fizz which pitted Fernet Branca against Cynar in the form of a Royal Fizz lightened with stout beer. Instead of shooting for something as intensely herbal, I split the drink into half amaro and half dark rum; with the amaros, I went with the less aggressively flavored Averna and Benedictine. The chocolate notes in Bénédictine made me reach for a chocolate stout to lighten the drink. When I lamented that the drink turned out brown instead, Andrea came to the rescue with the name.
The Brown is the New Black greeted the senses with a cinnamon and chocolate aroma. The rich, smooth sip offered up caramel and chocolate notes, and the rum, especially the blackstrap molasses notes, joined with the herbal flavors on the swallow.