hawaiian war chant

2 oz Plantation Original Dark Rum
1/4 oz Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (1/2 bsp Kübler)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I began flipping through Amanda Schuster's New York Cocktails and spied the Hawaiian War Chant. The recipe was crafted by Mikey Diehl at Ward III as a Rum Old Fashioned variation that utilized a few elements from the 1934 Zombie including the Don's Mix (here with grapefruit liqueur instead of grapefruit juice), Angostura Bitters, and absinthe. The drink might have been named after the popular American tune that was modeled after an 1860s piece by Prince Leleiohuku. The original song was "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" or "We Two in the Spray," and it was not a chant or battle tale but a story of two lovers sneaking off to meet. Diehl is a fan of Tiki but he worked in a bar that favored stirred whiskey drinks, so this was the menu item compromise to fit the clientele.The Hawaiian War Chant met the nose with orange, cinnamon, and dark rum aromas. Next, caramel from the rum filled the sip, and the swallow bellowed forth rum, cinnamon, and grapefruit flavors with an anise and allspice finish.