Clearly, the party isn’t over — readers keep requesting recipes for signature Hawaiian drinks.
As a follow-up to my previous two stories about exotic island cocktails, here are eight additional inventive libations from hotels around the Aloha State. You can practically taste the sunshine.
Honua Kai Resort and Spa (Maui): Ko and Hala
2 pineapple chunks
1 lime
1 ounce Koloa coconut rum
3/4 ounce Disaronno amaretto
2 ounce pineapple juice
Muddle the pineapple and lime in a cocktail shaker. Pour the rum, amaretto, pineapple juice and 1 scoop of ice in the shaker. Shake and strain the shaker contents over ice in a hurricane glass. Garnish with a sugarcane swizzle stick and pineapple triangle.
In this Duke’s Beach House original, manager Nicole Kastan pays tribute to two famed Hawaii crops: sugarcane, called ko in Hawaiian, and pineapple, which resembles the fruit of the hala tree. The fun swizzle stick lets guests experience sugarcane in the raw.
www.honuakai.com
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa: Chocolate Relapse
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup coconut puree
1 banana, cut in slices
1 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Kahlua
Chocolate syrup
Whipped cream
2 crushed Oreo cookies
Blend ice cream, coconut puree, banana, Bailey’s and vodka. Pour Kahlua in a glass, and then squirt chocolate syrup over the bottom and sides of the glass. Add the blended mixture, and top with whipped cream and crushed Oreos. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.
Umalu restaurant bartender Glenn Hanlon gives the familiar Mudslide frozen cocktail a Hawaiian twist with tropical flavors such as banana and coconut. The drink, a signature poolside drink, is a huge hit with chocolate lovers.
www.maui.hyatt.com
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa (Oahu): Red Dirt Chi Chi
1 ounce Ketel One vodka
1/4 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce mango puree
Dash of sweet-and-sour mix
1/4 teaspoon li hing mui (salty dried plum) powder
Heaping tablespoon of mango boba balls (juice-filled tapioca-style rounds)
Blend first five ingredients together with crushed ice. Top with boba balls.
Developed by Hyatt Waikiki’s food and beverage manager Michael Hutton, this smooth and refreshing concoction won best cocktail at the 2011 Mango Festival. Guests can try it at the hotel’s Swim and Japengo restaurants.
www.waikiki.hyatt.com
Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach (Oahu): Tutu’s Moonshine
1 1/4 ounce Hawaiian Moonshine
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce Manoa Honey
2 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce passion fruit puree
4-5 pineapple chunks
Blend all ingredients until smooth and pour into a cored-out pineapple.
Created by Hula Grill bartender Sean Garvey, this drink honors the tutu (Hawaiian grandmother). It’s a modern version of an old Hawaiian spirit made from the ti plant root. Look for it at the restaurant’s Aloha Friday lunch luau.
www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com
Royal Kona Resort (Hawaii Island): Kona Kreature Kocktail
1 1/2 ounce Cruzan Black Strap rum
1/2 ounce absinthe
3/4 ounce elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
Dash of light bitters
Ginger beer
Lime squeeze
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add rum, absinthe, elderflower and ginger liqueurs and bitters. Top with ginger beer and add a squeeze of lime.
The Kona Kreature is named after a character in a South Pacific-style monster movie. Instead of sweet and juicy, its flavor verges on retro-tiki, thanks to the absinthe — with its anise overtones — as well as bitters and ginger beer.
www.royalkona.com
Sheraton Kauai Resort: RumFire Mango Mojito
1 1/2 ounce Old Lahaina Silver rum
1 1/2 ounce Maui mango puree
1 ounce Rose’s lime juice
Splash of sweet-and-sour Maui margarita mix
Handful of fresh mint
Add all ingredients to a blender with ice and blend thoroughly. Pour into a highball glass. Garnish with a dehydrated mango slice and a mint sprig.
RumFire Poipu Beach’s signature cocktail has a refreshing combination of mint and mango. It calls for locally-made rum, adding a touch of Hawaii to a drink originally created in Cuba. It’s especially refreshing after a day spent hiking or on the beach.
www.sheraton-kauai.com
Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay (Hawaii Island): Smoldering Guava
Mezcal rinse
1 1/2 ounce Grand Leyenda tequila
Muddled half of a guava or one full strawberry guava
Two dashes of chili pepper water
Lime wedge
Arbol chili pepper
Coat a glass with Mezcal, and discard the excess. Combine the tequila, muddled fruit and chili pepper water in the glass. Garnish with black salt around the rim, a lime wedge and an arbol chili pepper
Rays on the Bay general manager Keith Mallini pays tribute to Hawaii’s abundant strawberry guava with this spicy and sweet drink. Mezcal adds smokiness, while chili peppers grown in Sheraton Kona’s own garden add spiciness.
www.sheratonkona.com
Turtle Bay Resort (Oahu): Bacon Basil Bloody Mary
1 1/2 ounce Absolut vodka
1 1/4 ounce spice mix*
2 ounces tomato juice
3 large basil leaves
1 piece candied bacon**
* To make spice mix:
3 parts Sriracha
2 parts shoyu (soy sauce)
1.5 parts wasabi
1 part A1 sauce
1 part Tabasco
Pinch of course ground black pepper
** To make candied bacon: Place bacon on sheet pan, sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes. Sprinkle lightly — but throughout — with white sugar. Cook until browned. Let cool.
Fill a 16-ounce shaker cup with ice. Add vodka, spice mix and tomato juice. Rip up two basil leaves and place in shaker. Shake vigorously for 8 seconds. Pour into 16-ounce glass (do not strain basil). Garnish with basil leaf and 1 piece of candied bacon.
Tom Gaffey, manager of The Point pool bar, created this cocktail inspired by Turtle Bay’s farm- and ocean-to-table philosophy. The basil comes from the hotel’s herb garden. The sweet and spicy bacon garnish starts the morning off right in this classic Hawaiian drink.
www.turtlebayresort.com
