| I recently visited Maui with my family – everyone’s of drinking age – and we went on a quest to check out bars and restaurants around Weilea, a resort area of Maui. We fully expect to find menus full of sugary Tiki drinks and highballs filled mostly with sweet and sour mix. We were happily surprised to find almost nothing but craft cocktails in virtually every bar and restaurant we went to. Sure, there were a few that primarily mixed vodka with juice and soda, but most were innovative and different – Mai Tai with an egg white floating on top anyone? Seriously. I’ve listed some of my favorites here. At the Lobby Bar in the Four Seasons hotel, there was a great list of cocktails. I had a Hook, Line and Sinker which used Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, Averna Amaro, Combier Orange Liqueur and Graham’s LBV Port to make a semi-sweet drink that packed a punch. I’m glad we were walking back to our hotel from there. |
| We sat and watched the sun setting over the Pacific a few times at the Lobby Bar in the Fairmont Kea Lani, which became our go-to bar. A great drink list and fabulous snacks. The snacks turned out to be important after we realized that testing craft cocktails was about all we had in us for the rest of the evening (OK, after we got too wasted to get our butts out of the chair and find a restaurant). I had the Rhum Old Fashioned a few times. A great drink. Basically, they substitute Rum for Rye in a classic Old Fashioned (Consumatorium recipe here). It certainly gives it a tropical twist without giving up the strength of the cocktail. |
| Our first full day on Maui, we had dinner at Monkeypod, not far off the main strip in Wailea. When we walked in, I was sure that it was the kind of place that had lifted its bar menu from TGI Friday’s. I was surprised to find an excellent drink list (click on the link above to check out the full list). My wife had the Monkeypod Mai Tai, which was topped with foamed honey – wild! I had Pistol Pete’s Sazerac. As I’ve stated before, I’m a Sazeracoholic, and had to give it a spin. This one had a great twist. They use Templeton Rye, Peychaud’s Bitters and Absinthe, of course, but instead of using sugar, they use honey. It changes the taste a surprising amount and was very enjoyable. No sweet and sour mix here. While cocktails weren’t the reason for our journey, they certainly added a nice touch. Even the 19th hole at a golf course we played offered a variety of innovative cocktails as well as a clock counting down to St. Patrick’s Day. Now that’s a place you want to hang out in after a round of golf! |
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May 13, 2014 at 1:41 pm
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Consumatorium Reviews: Hawaiian Craft Cocktail Culture – Consumatorium