Every couple of years, our readers clamor for cocktail recipes from Hawaii, and who am I to refuse? As Hawaii’s mixologists grow ever more inventive, it only follows that visitors are becoming increasingly intoxicated by the destination’s exotic libations.
Here’s another round of signature drinks from resorts around the Hawaiian Islands. With help from these recipes, the vacation can continue back home.
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina: Pineapple Elyx-ir
3 ounces Absolut Elyx vodka
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce hibiscus grenadine
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
Tiki bitters
Champagne float
Mix the first five ingredients in a glass of choice and stir. Add ice. Top with champagne.
This cocktail was created by the bartending team at Four Season’s Fish House restaurant. They make the grenadine in-house using pomegranate puree and boiled hibiscus flowers with sugar, but regular grenadine may be substituted. It’s served in a copper vessel shaped like a pineapple, the symbol of Hawaii and island hospitality.
www.fourseasons.com/oahu
Halekulani (Oahu): Halekulani Mai Tai
1/3 ounce orgeat syrup
1/3 ounce orange curacao
1/3 ounce rock candy syrup
3/4 ounce Bacardi Gold rum
1/2 ounce Bacardi 151 rum
1 1/4 ounces fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce Bacardi Select (float)
Assemble the first six ingredients over crushed ice. Float the Bacardi Select rum on top. Garnish with a lime wheel, a sugarcane stick, a mint leaf and an orchid.
Longtime Halekulani bartender Wing Liu and his team wanted to concoct a drink that would define their Waikiki hotel, so they dreamed up this signature cocktail, which is served at House Without a Key restaurant. With three types of rum plus fresh lime juice and rock candy syrup, it’s the ideal balance of tart and sweet — a blissful accompaniment to views of Diamond Head at sunset.
www.halekulani.com
Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa (Oahu): Pau Hana Punch
1 1/2 ounces Pau Maui Hawaiian vodka
1/2 ounce creme de cassis
Splash of pineapple juice
Splash of orange juice
Splash of guava juice
Build the vodka and creme de cassis into a shaker. Add ice and vigorously shake for three to five seconds. Strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice. Top up with equal amounts of the juices.
Brian Yamada, head bartender at Beachhouse at the Moana restaurant, collaborated on this cocktail in honor of his childhood favorite drink, “POG” (passion-orange-guava juice). The red creme de cassis mirrors the sunsets that guests can see from the bar. For Yamada, Pau Hana Punch conjures up memories of playing on the beach at the day’s end.
www.moana-surfrider.com
Montage Kapalua Bay (Maui): Kapalua Butterfly
1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
1 1/2 ounces lemon/lime juice
1 1/2 ounces orange juice
1 1/2 ounces cream of coconut
2 ounces Meyers’s dark rum
1 ounce grenadine
In a blender pitcher, add 14 ounces of cubed or crushed ice. Pour the juices, cream of coconut and 1 ounce of rum into the pitcher. Cover and blend. Pour the grenadine into a snifter glass. Pour the blended mix into the glass. On top, float the other 1 ounce of rum. For the garnish, place a cherry in the middle of a pineapple slice. Fold and spear a toothpick through the pineapple, cherry and other side of pineapple.
Dating back to 1978, this cocktail originally was served at Kapalua Bay Hotel, where the Montage now stands. Served at Cane & Canoe restaurant, it’s a refreshing, mildly sweet beverage best enjoyed after a day on the golf course or at the beach. The distinctive shape of the garnish recalls Kapalua Resort’s butterfly logo.
www.montagehotels.com
Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club (Oahu): Unkle’s Punch
1 1/2 ounces Ko Hana Hawaiian agricole rum
3/4 ounce fresh lemon/lime juice
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce Velvet Falernum
Dash of Angostura orange bitters
Shake all the ingredients together. Fine-strain over large ice cubes in a double Old-Fashioned glass.
The craft bar program at the hotel’s Mahina & Sun’s restaurant features island and organic spirits and seasonal-ingredient-driven cocktails. With that in mind, Unkle’s Punch was created using Ko Hana, Hawaii’s first locally distilled agricole rum. The drink is billed as incredibly boozy while maintaining its tropical touch.
www.surfjack.com
Volcano House (Hawaii Island): Kilauea Fashioned
2 ounces Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon
1/2 ounce honey syrup (combine a 1:1 ratio of hot water and honey)
1/5 ounce Elixir G ginger cocktail mix
Splash of bitters
Splash of water
Assemble all the ingredients over ice in a bucket glass. Garnish with a ginger spear, cherries and an orange wheel.
An island spin on a classic cocktail, this drink erupts with local personality. Volcano House bartenders use a white, smooth crystallized honey made from the lehua blossom, which grows in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Kilauea Fashioned pairs nicely with views of a glowing crater through the hotel restaurant’s windows.
www.hawaiivolcanohouse.com
Wailea Beach Resort-Marriott, Maui: Plantation Margarita
1 1/2 ounces Grand Leyenda Reposado tequila
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce vanilla syrup
Grand Marnier (float)
Shake and strain the first six ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail glass. Top it with the Grand Marnier and garnish with a vanilla-soaked pineapple wedge.
According to restaurant director Mark Nelsen, this is one of the most reordered drinks at the hotel’s Kapa Bar & Grill. From the first sip, it’s clear that this is no typical margarita thanks to its infusion of top-shelf ingredients and fresh, local juices. It’s designed to pair with the food served at Kapa Bar & Grill, but it’s equally tasty poolside.
www.waileabeachresort.com
Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas (Kauai): Bourbon Mango Mule
2 dashes orange bitters
1 1/2 ounces Bulleit bourbon
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce mango puree
Ginger beer
Combine first four ingredients and twist into a shaker. Shake and pour into a glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with candied ginger and a lemon twist.
This seasonal drink is based on a Carrot Ginger Mule recipe by Westin, but the Kauai bartenders made it more appropriate to the islands by incorporating local flavors. Mango and ginger are a perfect match; the lemon juice cuts the sweetness, and the bitters round out the taste for a balanced, invigorating cocktail.
www.westinprinceville.com
