Maui Made

What’s going on in the world of Maui-made liquors?  Lots… read on.

OCEAN^® Organic Vodka   

Next time you head to the store for your OCEAN^® Organic Vodka, expect a whole new bottle to reel you in!  At the Maui retailers that currently carry the 750ml bottle, the brand new ‘fishing float’ design will have you bobbing up and down in delight (sorry the fishing puns are just too easy).  Look for it at your favorite retailer, including ABC Stores, Times Supermarkets, Whaler’s General, Whole Foods and more starting mid-October 2014!  (OCEAN Pics by Jessica Pearl)

The new bottle is inspired by the traditional glass fishing net float – first used by the Norwegians in the mid 1800’s.  Though they are no longer used for fishing, they occasionally wash up on shore or are found by boaters.   Especially in the Pacific, most of the glass floats coming ashore originated in Japan. The traditional glass floats are now recognized as collectors’ items around the world.

In a nod to the brand’s global relevance, the neck of the bottle is angled to mimic that of the earth’s axis.  Additionally, the bottle subtly and elegantly showcases an evolved version of a more timeless logo mark.

The bottles are expected to wash ashore on the mainland beginning in January 2015.

Wave Rum

From the same distilling company that brings you OCEAN^® Organic Vodka, Hawaii Sea Spirits introduces Deep Island Hawaiian Rum. Made from organic sugar cane and blended with deep ocean mineral water, Deep Island Hawaiian Rum delivers a true rum experience complete with all of the flavor and character that is germane to fresh pressed cane juice.  The authentic clear Maui rum is a little sweet with hints of tropical florals and rich dark molasses.  According to Hawaii Sea Spirits’ CEO Shay Smith. “This particular clear rum is dubbed “WAVE” to further depict our respect for the energy in water that brings life to our islands.”

The rum will be available for purchase and sampling at The Farm starting September 1 and in limited release for introduction in Hawai‘i this year (Look for it at any retailer that carries Ocean), and in full release in the US mainland markets beginning 2015.

Pau Vodka

The friendly folks (and by friendly we mean hilarious, and maybe a bit crazy, cough, cough, Mark...) at Haliimaile Distilling are taking the show on the road – on the third Thursday of each month as they co-sponsor Pau Vodka Night at Dazoo in Paia.   Each event brings a new theme (like 80’s night, below), four new cocktails, and zany new ways to win Pau Vodka swag, distillery tours and so on… (costume and instagram contest, etc).  Mark Nigbur, Haliimaile’s Master Distiller makes an appearance from 5-7pm, but sometimes the party goes all night…

Maui Brewing

Anyone who follows Maui Brewing on Instagram (and you should: @MauiBrewingCo) is enjoying following along on the process of the Kihei Brewery and pub.  Besides all the mouth-watering pics of brews from their Kahana location and beyond, we get to check out bits and pieces of the construction, like stained concrete floors and whatever these are:

with captions like this: Drag conveyor set. We can unload 48,000# of malt in 1 hr. By comparison. We unload 37,000# in 6hrs currently.

In other exciting news, the Bikini Blond Lager was named the official craft beer of Hawaiian Airlines, should be on your flight as of this month!  Congrats.

Costco Shopping 

A well known secret amongst the locals (ok, its not a secret at all) is that the booze selection at Costco is stellar.  They even regularly have someone to ask about the wine, so you can pick up something to go with your rotiserrie chicken or 10 pounds of sirloin.   Besides wine, they have a pretty decent beer selection with an increasing selection of craft brews, and just about any kind of liquor you may ever want.  I snapped some pics of the local choices just today, plus an awesome growler of Dead Guy Ale that glows.  I’m assuming its the label that glows but who knows, maybe the beer glows.  I should probably stock up since its almost my birthday….

Blogging Disclaimer: I am a paid consultant for Dazoo Restaurant.