"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow. You Shall Not Pass!"
This cocktail was inspired by Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The Flame of Udûn, Durin's Bane, the Balrog of Moria, Morgoth's corrupted Maiar is the inspiration for this behemoth of a cocktail. It's bold, it's boozy, it's warming, and you get to light it on fire. What's not to love?!
The Flame of Udûn is incredibly complex. It starts with a split base of aged rum and bourbon and it's further augmented with Fernet Branca, because I love it so much. The rum and bourbon build the body and heat of this cocktail, while the Fernet adds an herbal backbone to help balance out the amount of sweetness that comes from the three different syrups used in this beverage. Angostura Bitters round out the bitter and boozy portions to really drive home how big this drink is.
Beyond the booze, this features honey, maple syrup, and a brown sugar vanilla simple syrup. The brown sugar vanilla simple is 2:1 sugar to water and a couple drops of vanilla extract (I'd use real vanilla but had none on hand). I used grade B dark maple syrup for this, as well, since it is far more robust and flavorful than the standard plastic bottle maple syrup available at grocery stores.
Recipe
- 2oz Aged Rum (I used something not available in the US that was a gift)
- 1oz Bourbon (Your pick, but I'd advise something smoother)
- 0.25oz Fernet Branca
- 0.5oz Honey
- 0.5oz Maple Syrup
- 0.25oz Brown Sugar Vanilla Simple Syrup
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
To build this drink, add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into Collins glass with smashed or pebble ice. Garnish with a dehydrated lime wedge and maraschino cherry. Using a bar spoon, fill the lime slice with over-proof alcohol and light it on fire.
Enjoy this drink whilst gathering your Fellowship or fighting Orcs or something. Just avoid gold rings.
