Leeward Oahu residents are pretty lucky to have a solid trifecta of drinking options available at Kapolei Commons.

It didn’t used to be this way. At least not until DB Grill — an offshoot of the popular Duck Butt Cafe in town — joined chef Roy Yamaguchi’s Eating House 1849 and a fourth location for La Tour Cafe on the end of the shopping center, which also includes a Regal Theatres multiplex. Along with swanky seats and upgraded food at the movies, the three restaurants offer different drinking experiences, making for a fun evening of entertainment without having to drive into town.

The most straightforward cocktail program is found at La Tour Cafe, which serves up a half-dozen drinks in the $10-$12 range. They might not be exciting but they get the job done. You can order a traditional Bloody Mary ($11), Mai Tai ($11) or Old Fashioned ($10) here, or go for more contemporary options like the La Tour Cooler, which uses Skyy vodka as its base combined with flavors of apricot, guava, pineapple and lime. I also enjoyed their ridiculously simple — yet delicious — Toki highball ($10), made with Suntory Toki, one of the leaders of the current Japanese whiskey craze.

Across the way at Eating House 1849, the mixology gets a little more sophisticated. Bobo’s Adobo Mary ($12), for example, spices things up with peppered vodka and a house-made adobo-tomato mix, while its Blueberry Smash ($12) showcases locally produced Ko Hana agricole rum with a house-made blueberry reduction that is one of the more approachable versions of a cocktail made with Ko Hana that I’ve tasted. Eating House also has the best beer options in the shopping center, with recent drafts that include local brews from Big Island Brewhaus, Honolulu Beerworks, Kona Brewing and Maui Brewing along with the mighty tasty Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Stout.

And just around the corner at DB Grill, it’s all about using soju. The rice-based distillate predominantly produced in South Korea is the foundation of DB’s drink program. The Caipirinha ($8), a traditional classic from Brazil, gets the soju treatment here. It results in a refreshing cocktail that’s well made for day drinking before catching a matinee. I also enjoyed DB Grill’s soju-fied versions of a traditional Mint Julep ($10), Moscow Mule ($8) and Bloody Mary ($12).

Find all three bars at Kapolei Commons, 4450 Kapolei Parkway; visit thekapoleicommons.com for a map and links to individual restaurants.

Back in Waikiki the International Market Place celebrates its first year of business after major renovations with the debut of another dining and drinking option at the Grand Lanai, the shopping center’s third-floor home to a number of different restaurants.

Baku Waikiki plans to “combine the energy of an izakaya with the creativity of … craft cocktails” when it opens Sept. 8. Club kids who remember the Hanohano Room in the Sheraton Waikiki will recognize Keith Mallini, Baku’s new general manager.

“Everything has changed here, and in a good way,” Mallini said about the Waikiki landscape during a phone call earlier this month. “The cocktail scene here has blown up.”

Mallini said he’s worked with Glazer’s Southern Wine and Spirits mixologist (and Star-Advertiser columnist) Chandra Lucariello to develop Baku’s drink program, which will be “approachable and affordable” with prices in the $10-$12 range. Go to facebook.com/Baku-Waikiki-314019725701808 for updates.

After opening Yauatcha Waikiki a few months ago, the Hakkasan Group’s director of beverage, Constantin Alexander, was back in town last month to get a drink program off the ground at Herringbone Waikiki. The La Jolla, Calif.- based concept has found plenty of fans in Hawaii so far with a menu described as “ocean-to-table” and craft cocktails that use ingredients not found in many Honolulu bars.

Take the Hawaiian State of Mind ($14), made with a brand of whiskey owned by successful rapper Drake called Virginia Black. I tend to stick to the tried and true when it comes to bourbon, but didn’t complain when Alexander mixed it with some Monin banana puree, Calahua cream of coconut and fresh passion-orange-guava juice. The Just About Pearfect ($14) takes spiced pear liqueur from California-based St. George Spirits and adds pear puree for even more fruit flavor, plus a generous 1.5-ounce shot of Grey Goose for good measure. And you’re likely to see a lot of social media posts featuring the photogenic Better Mules & Gardens ($13), a take on the Moscow Mule that adds strawberry puree and Gifford’s wild strawberry liqueur for a sweeter taste and a nice pinkish color for pictures.

What I liked the most about all of the drinks Alexander let me sample earlier this month, before the restaurant’s grand opening, was how none were overly boozy. While there’s plenty of alcohol in all of them, Alexander made a point of explaining how Herringbone’s recipes were developed to be easy drinkers that pair well with lighter seafood fare. Learn more about Herringbone online at herringboneeats.com/locations/waikiki.

Now if you’re looking for a drink that’s got plenty of booze inside — and tastes like it, too — head downstairs to the first floor of the IMP, where Michael Mina’s The Street upscale food court is also home to three different bars. My favorite is the Mynah Bird, where there’s an impressive array of various tiki mugs and an even more impressive selection of rum bottles lining the shelves above the bar.

It’s safe to say that you’re going to find one of the best lineups of rum on Oahu at the Myna Bird, which takes the encyclopedia approach and attempts to carry anything and everything needed to make tiki cocktails.

Most drinks start around $13-$15, with a few more expensive options as well. Bring a few friends and order the Night Marcher ($52), made with Zaya Rum and served in an oversize punch bowl that serves four or five people, or the Passionfruit Punch ($26), which is made with Angostura seven-year rum and passionfruit-honey jasmine tea, then served in a punch bowl with a flaming lime as garnish. I’m also partial to the Rum for Your Life ($15), made with the previously mentioned Ko Hana rum and flavors of li hing and ginger for a contemporary tiki cocktail that’s on the lighter side yet still packs quite the alcohol punch.

Find out more about The Street online at thestreetsocialhouse.com.

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