Distillery crafts tropical spirits in Kalihi

Kapalama Shopping Center doesn’t seem like the place to find Oahu’s newest distillery, but that’s where you’ll find Royal Hawaii Spirits.

Tucked away on the Kaumualii Street side of the complex, owner Karel Kon’s tiny warehouse space is home to a pair of column stills that have been churning out experimental batches of rum, vodka, shochu and other spirits since 2014.

A real estate broker by trade, Kon is originally from the Czech Republic and moved to Hawaii from Boston when he met his future wife here nearly 20 years ago.

“I do what I have to do,” Kon said Thursday, the first day Royal Hawaii opened for sales to the general public. “I did not spend three years of my life to make this an expensive hobby. I have about 60 recipes approved … and I have 40 labels approved (by the federal government).”

Royal Hawaii Distillery traces its roots to Kon’s childhood in the Czech Republic, where he said many families created their own liquor by taking fresh ingredients to neighborhood distilleries.

“I can remember before first grade, helping my family,” he said. “Bring your own ingredients, make appointment, buy tax stamps, make and bottle, then do what you like with it.

“It’s a very different life there. You have apricots, you have peaches, you have berries. Everybody uses different fruits, so everybody (has) different specialties.”

Kon is taking somewhat of a shotgun approach with Royal Hawaii’s offerings, bottling different spirit formulations based on recipes from his home country and a few other “secret” sources. He said he can make 99 varieties of vodka and is trying various recipes to “make a point” and figure out what local customers want.

“People are looking for all kinds of different flavors,” he said. “I don’t know what people will like, so I will have a full tasting room available.”

For now, Kon’s tasting room at 1210 Dillingham Blvd. will be open to the public only from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursdays. A visit last week found bottles of soju, gin, hibiscus- flavored vodka, cherry shochu and spirits that showcased flavors of banana, passion fruit and plum. Prices range from $16 to $18, to $50 and up for specialty releases.

While I don’t see myself buying these bottles to drink neat, I’m intrigued to see how they’re embraced by local bars and incorporated into cocktail menus. Kon’s Hawaii Gold spirit, distilled from Maui Gold pineapple and elevated with the addition of pineapple juice and 24-karat gold flakes, is unlike anything I’ve seen produced in Hawaii. I was also pleasantly surprised by his ginger-honey cordial made with locally sourced ginger and honey from Hawaii island.

Learn more about Royal Hawaiian Spirits online at rhsdistillery.com or facebook.com/alohadistillery. Call 741-6641 for a private tasting.

WHILE SOME bars and restaurants try to capitalize on the latest cocktail trends, others are quite content to pay tribute to the past and keep the conversation focused on established producers.

The Halekulani definitely falls into the latter category under the direction of wine manager and lead sommelier Kevin Toyama, who also helps source rare liquors for the hotel. He’s worked in food and beverage on Oahu since the late 1980s and remembers serving a particular brand of cognac when he started at the Halekulani in the early ’90s.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild has been a widely respected producer of cognac for generations, yet it still flies under the radar of many people here due to its limited distribution. Most of the cognac the chateau produces remains in Europe, although growing worldwide demand for rare spirits means more people are looking for the “best of the best,” according to Toyama.

“Chateau Lafite Rothschild is a blue chip,” he said. “This cognac is supposedly produced every year in very small amounts, (and) rarely does it show up inside the U.S.”

When one of Toyama’s local distributors mentioned a few bottles would be available here, he jumped at the opportunity to serve something that hasn’t been available at the Halekulani in decades.

“As soon as this showed up, I knew what it was, so I asked for a few bottles,” said Toyama. “There were 15 bottles for the U.S. through this importer. Eight of them came through Hawaii; three of them got dropped off here, and the other five went to Singapore and Taiwan to Michelin-starred restaurants.”

If you have the money, bottles of this stuff can be found on the illegal secondary market for about $900 a bottle. The Halekulani didn’t pay that much, but Toyama said “restaurant prices” result in quite the markup. Expect to pay $175 for a 1.5-ounce pour at La Mer; call 923-2311 for reservations.

A FEW months ago I mentioned how exciting it was to see fresh faces getting invited to take part in various cocktail competitions held around town. It happened again Aug. 30 when I stopped by RumFire at the Sheraton Waikiki for the final round of the Pyrat XO Rum Bartender Competition, held in honor of August being National Rum Month in America.

After four weeks of competition, six finalists were given 10 minutes to make a cocktail for judges Chandra Lucariello and Dave Power of Southern Glazer’s Hawaii and Ron Richter of the Sheraton Waikiki, plus another one for the assembled crowd at RumFire to sample. Up for grabs was a grand-prize trip to Mexico to visit Patron, which also owns the Pyrat brand.

In the end it was Stripsteak Waikiki’s Mundo Delgado who took first place with his Pyrat Eclipse, which counts among its ingredients hibiscus tea, falernum-infused orange, grappa and activated charcoal. Delgado likes the recipe so much that he plans to add it to the menu at his own bar.

Want to see more of what Delgado has to offer? Make reservations for “Flight Club” at Stripsteak on Sept. 24, where Delgado and Andrew Woodley from International Market Place neighbor Michael Mina’s The Street will present dueling cocktails alongside a five-course meal. Guests will decide which drink they like better after each course, with bragging rights going to the winning mixologist. Call 800-3094 for reservations.

Jason Genegabus has written about the local bar and drink scenes since 2001. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram or email jason@staradvertiser.com.