Tag: Oahu

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Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao

Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao is a modern version of Hawai’i’s first distilled spirit, originally distilled from a mash made from Ti roots but these days the product also includes spirits distilled from Hawaiian cane. There are historical references to ʻŌkolehao being referred to as “Hawaiian Moonshine” so Island Distillers of Honolulu are embracing that heritage by offering the product unaged at a robust 100 proof, packaged in a bottle reminiscent of moonshine bottles.

I tasted this product years ago as part of the late Kon-Tiki Oakland’s rum expedition, finding it curious but pleasant and sweet. Since then, I’ve tried a lot more rums made from sugar cane juice and syrup, so I’m more familiar with some of the flavors present here. There are some earthy flavors in Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao, which I assume are attributable to the Ti root components but nonetheless this is a very pleasant sipper that has mild flavors.

Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao works quite nicely in a 1944 Mai Tai, though isn’t quite the flavor bomb you’d get from rums of Jamaica or Martinique. As with the neat pour, it offers some mild flavors that pair well with the rest of the traditional Mai Tai ingredients.

I was able to purchase my bottle directly from Island Distiller’s website, though you can sometimes find it at retail as well, and this is widely available in Hawai’i.

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The Essential Ingredient in the Halekulani Mai Tai

Everyone is getting geared up for Mai Tai Day on August 30, including the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. This is the home of one of Waikiki’s best Mai Tais, made in a fashion very similar to the original Hawaiian Mai Tai that was introduced in 1953 by Trader Vic.

Earlier this year we covered the evolution of the cocktail based on published recipes that the Halekulani has made available over the years. The current version is pretty good and like that 1950s original Hawaiian Mai Tai it uses the sweeteners in equal portions, plus a dark rum alongside a lighter rum.

Every great Mai Tai needs a signature rum, and the Halekulani’s Mai Tai is no exception. The key ingredient here is the float of Lemon Hart 151 rum, which adds savory smoky notes to the cocktail along with the layer of color that tourists expect in Mai Tais in Waikiki. It is truly essential to the success of this cocktail, and mild low-proof dark rums simply don’t cut it. Other brands that are suitable for the float here would be Hamilton 151, Planteray OFTD, or any dark Guyana rum.

The recipe is not quite an original 1944, nor is it a “Tourist Tai” with tons of pineapple and OJ. The Halekuani Mai Tai is its own thing, and it is delicious.

Favorite memory at the Halekuani: relaxing in the shade to the sound of waves lapping on the shore, sipping an amazing Mai Tai that’s unlike any other on Waikiki.

Halekulani Mai Tai

1¼ oz Lime Juice

⅓ oz Orgeat

⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup

⅓ oz Orange Curacao

¾ oz Bacardi Select/Black Rum

¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum

Combine ingredients over crushed ice

Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum

Garnish with lime wheel, sugar cane stick, and vanda orchid

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Kō Hana Distillery on O’ahu

One of the highlights of the Tiki in Waikiki weekend event was a tour of the Kō Hana rum distillery in Waipahu. We took comfortable buses our about an hour out of Waikiki and were greeted by the friendly folks from Kō Hana.

The tour includes four components, with about ten minutes in each spot. Our group started with the distilling area with the pot and column stills, where we learned about how they take the wash and turn it into fine Hawaiian rum. Our next stop was the aging room where we saw that some of Kō Hana’s expressions are aged in a variety of barrels including a few made with native Hawaiian wood. There’s a lot more capacity in that aging room, where I hope we’ll get even longer aged expressions of Kō Hana rum in the future.

We also learned about the sugar cane and the dozens of varietals that Kō Hana is using. These varietals are on the grounds of the distillery for reference, but the farms are on the north end of O’ahu. At each stop the experts in each field were available for detailed questions about Kō Hana’s production process. A breezy tour for rum newbies and super cool for the rum nerds to dig into the details.

The last stop was the tasting room where we got to sample three Kō Hana expressions: the unaged Kea, the aged Koho, and the Kokoleka which is made with Kō Hana rum along with pure cacao and raw honey. This liqueur is bottled at 30% ABV and Mrs. Mai Tai was such a big fan that we walked home with a bottle. There’s also samples of Kō Hana’s fine bottled cocktails and some other branded items available for purchase.

Kō Hana is becoming one of my favorite rums thanks to the myriad excellent cocktails I’ve been having lately that are made with this fine spirit. I honestly don’t love their unique square bottles but they’re quite distinctive on the shelf and traveled well in our suitcase.

Big thanks to the team Kō Hana who were super informative and also provided us with a great deal of hospitality during our visit. Mahalo, team.

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House without a Key at Halekulani Hotel Waikiki

We wanted to revisit House without a Key, having been able to score walk-up seats the pool bar on our last trip but wanting to sit closer to the performances that start at 5:00. Our reservation was for 5:30 and we saw that “drinks only” guests were seated up front in the sun and many used the provided umbrellas to shade themselves. When we were seated for dinner, we opted to sit in the shade under covering.

The performers sing a variety of Hawaiian songs and at 6:00 a former Miss Hawaii comes out to dance. This is a very nice and relaxing locale and once you’re in shade a little is quite pleasant, so consider a slightly later reservation.

I ordered the Mai Tai, made to a 50s style Hawaiian Mai Tai spec (no pineapple) but with a dark rum float. I normally love these but found it to be flat this visit, and they’re probably still not using Lemon Hart 151 for the float, a rum that I think is essentially for adding a lot of flavor. It most definitely not Bacardi 151 per the menu, since Bacardi stopped making that years ago and for sure the float had more of a smoky flavor (I’m guessing it was Myers’s). We enjoyed the rest of our dinner and desert with the Halekulani’s famous coconut cake.

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Skull and Crown Trading Co.

During our two nights were were convinced that Skull & Crown is one of the best tiki bars on planet Earth. We already discussed the amazing Mai Tais, but the craft cocktail experience at Skull and Crown is top notch.

Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Koloa Colada, a Pina Colada riff with Spiced Rum, Coconut Rum, Pineapple, Lemon, and Coconut Cream. Topped with a flower and Toasted Shaved Coconut. This was excellent both times we visited and is a wonderful example of the care the S&C team put into the cocktails. Toasting the Coconut shavings really added another aspect to the cocktail.

I also tried the Trader Noa’s Old Fashioned, a great Hawaiian Agricole cocktail. So very flavorful.

Koloa Colada and Trader Noa’s Old Fashioned

We must salute S&C’s dynamic duo, Trader Noa Laporga and Angelina Khan. We felt so welcomed to see these special people for the first time in months. Noa play host and welcomed us and introduced us to some fellow tikiphiles. Noa shared some historical cocktail recipes he uncovered, and we liked seeing Noa behind the bar as well. And Angelina made sure that the service was prompt and totally set us up for a relaxing experiencing. Mahalo.

Trader Noa

Food is available at S&C, and we enjoyed our food. We’d have preferred forks be issued rather than just chopsticks, but that was our only gripe. During our second night we celebrated Skull & Crown’s third anniversary with some live music from Don Tiki’s Kit Ebersbach (Perry Coma) along with local favorite Starr Kalahiki on vocals. Simply fantastic.

Skull & Crown is a jewel.

Making Friends
Skull & Crown’s Mermaid
75 year old tiki
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Skull and Crown Trading Co. Mai Tais

We had the pleasure of visiting the best tiki bar between San Francisco and Tokyo twice during our visit. Skull and Crown is located in Honolulu’s Chinatown and is a treasure, such a welcoming and immersive space that transports you to historic Hawai’i. The vintage elements and decor helps you feel like the bar opened in 1920 and never closed.

There are three Mai Tais on the menu, so we had to sample all of them.

Dagger Mai Tai
Developed in conjunction with Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco, this is a Mai Tai featuring some exotic spices and… well, that’s all we know. All the ingredients are redacted on the menu. Quite good.

‘Awa’Awa Mai Tai
Featuring KoHana Hawaiian Rum Agricole, Campari, Grand Mariner, Lime, Orgeat, and Lilikoi, this bitter Mai Tai is served flaming and is quite wonderful. The Campari for sure is the forward tasting note but this is still approachable even if Campari isn’t your thing.

Maunakea Mai Tai
Featuring Appleton 12, Clement Select Barrel, Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum, Dry Curacao, Lime, Orgeat, and Demerara Syrup. This was by far my favorite Mai Tai on the list, and obviously hews most closely to the classic 1944 Mai Tai recipe. It is so wonderful, a flavorful Mai Tai that allows you to savor the ingredients. Doesn’t make me sad that this leans into the Jamaican rums. I liked this Mai Tai in 2019, but love it this time. One of my Top 5 Mai Tais served anywhere. Really. This is truly excellent.