rapa nui

1 1/2 oz Old Monk Rum
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
2 oz Blood Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a water goblet filled with crushed ice. Float a 1/2 oz of Lustau East India Solera Sherry on top, and garnish with an orange slice and cherry speared with a cocktail umbrella. Add straws.

On Christmas Eve, I decided to venture down to Eastern Standard for dinner and drinks. For my first drink, I asked bartender Hugh Fiore for the Rapa Nui off of their recently expanded Tikisms section. I had never heard of the drink before and I was correct in guessing that it was an original. The creator, bartender Kit Paschal, came by later to tell me about the genesis of the Rapa Nui. Kit had watched the movie "180° South" about a guy who retraces the "epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia... [and] along the way he gets shipwrecked off Easter Island" (IMDB's summary). The movie spoke about the Rapa Nui who are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island and their struggles, and he created this drink in their honor. Also as a fitting tribute, I was requesting a drink with Smith & Cross to help celebrate Eric Seed's (the importer of Smith & Cross and the rest of the Haus Alpenz line) birthday from afar.
The Rapa Nui possessed a rather fruity aroma from the blood orange and sherry with hints of rum poking through. As for the taste, a citrus sip was chased by Old Monk's richness on the swallow; moreover, the Smith & Cross was rather notable flavor throughout the drink. In addition, over successive sips, the cinnamon notes from the syrup built up and added a nice degree of spice on the swallow. Lastly, I was greatly impressed at how well this drink paired with the citrus and mixed greens and vinaigrette salad I had ordered.