The evidence would suggest that Maui is in the business of booze. Not just selling it, but producing it. Just as Tennessee distills whiskey, Napa Valley, Calif., flows with wineries and Portland, Ore., is sudsy with craft breweries, Maui boasts its own world-class producers.
Vodka, whiskey, rum, beer and wine — for a small island, the Valley Isle produces an impressive variety of booze, with solid market success.
Many producers offer regular tours, a fluid adventure for visitors willing to get off that chaise lounge by the pool to explore the roots of those cocktails they’ve been drinking.
Designate a driver or hire a ride service if you really want to go for the gusto. Or simply sip responsibly and buy a bottle or a six-pack to take away for later enjoyment.
HALI’IMAILE DISTILLING CO.
883 Haliimaile Road
Situated across the road from the landmark Hali‘imaile General Store, this distillery continues the legacy of the LeVecke family — 70-year veterans in the international wine, beer and spirits industry.
The Maui business, now in the hands of CEO Neil LeVecke and President Joe LeVecke, partnered with master distiller Mark Nigbur, the maker of rock star Sammy Hagar’s rum, to create vodka made from Maui Gold pineapples. In 2018 the LeVeckes purchased the pineapple farm to ensure their supply.
With Nigbur retired, his son Cory is now the company’s distiller, and has brought more brands onboard.
>> Products: Pau Maui Vodka, Fid Street Gin, Paniolo Blended Whiskey and Mahina Premium Hawaiian Rum, all handcrafted in small batches.
>> Tours: Daily 45-minute tours and tastings are held in 1930s-era Quonset huts. Tours run every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Cost is $10 for ages 12 and older (children may take the tour but are not allowed in the tasting room).
>> Highlights: Unique German glass stills filled with Hawaiian spring water and pineapple juice; oak barrels aging blended whiskey. Among tidbits presented: Fid Street Gin is only the second gin created in Hawaii since Prohibition. It’s named after the old red-light Fid Street, now Nuuanu Avenue, in Honolulu. The tour ends with three mini shots of choice in the tasting room.
This family-owned-and- operated venture is situated below Surfing Goat Dairy on bucolic farmland on the slopes of Haleakala. Its distilling and bottling facility is set amid its own organic sugar cane fields, managed without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or genetically modified products.
Cane juice is combined with desalinated deep-sea ocean water to make spirits.
Company CEO, Maui native Shay Smith, convinced his whole family to get involved in the biz. Their Ocean Organic Vodka flagship brand, presented in teal-blue, round bottles shaped like Japanese fishing floats, is distributed throughout all 50 states, Canada, South Korea and the Caribbean.
It was the only Hawaii business asked to participate in last year’s Made in America Product Showcase at the White House.
>> Products: Besides Ocean vodka, a line of rums (Kula Organic Clear, Kula Dark and Kula Toasted Coconut) and an aged solera-blended rum, Brum; and Fy Gin, a blend of sugar cane, lime, ginger and botanicals such as juniper and lavender.
>> Tours: A 40-minute tour runs every half hour, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The 80-acre farm boasts panoramic coastal and mountain views, as well as a garden of herbs and flowers. The tour showcases the farm’s 30 Polynesian cane varieties, sustainable farming practices and the process of making spirits. Cost is $15; children are free. All participants must be able to walk 500-plus yards. Includes five quarter-ounce tastes of vodka, gin and three rums. For the same price, sign up for the tasting only.
>> Coming up: A casual restaurant with salads, pizzas and sandwiches opens in late March, along with an open-air bar and renovated gift shop.
The Hawaiian word kohola means whale, and this Lahaina brewery is making a humpback-size splash with its kicked-back atmosphere and variety of pilsners, ales and stouts.
Owners Ian and Christine Elumba from California took over Maui Brewing Co.’s old Lahaina facility in 2015. It’s not open for tours, but the taproom offers a close-up view the tank-and-barrel production system — by looking over a half wall.
>> Products: German-style Lokahi Pilsner, American-style Waterman IPA, New England-style Reef Geeks IPA and Talk Story Pale, all served on tap. Kohola won Hawaii Craft Beer accolades in 2019 for Molokai Stout (best porter), and Lahaina Haze (best IPA).
>> Taproom: Bring food from a Lahaina shop or restaurant, then tip a beer or two, or order cocktails made from Hali‘imaile Distilling Co. spirits. Dine on picnic tables or at the bar in the industrial setting behind giant roll-up doors. Leashed pets welcome. Hours are noon to 9 p.m. daily.
Also worth a mention: Built more than 25 years ago, Kolani was Maui’s first distillery, yet it took several years to get operations into gear. Co-founder and spirits maker Paul W. Case Jr. loved to vacation on Maui and wanted to retire here, but instead found a new calling in making Old Lahaina Rum.
The distillery operates out of a 1876-vintage sugar mill in Paia.
>> Product: Named in honor of the old whaling days and the salty sailors who descended on west Maui to frolic and drink, Old Lahaina is sold in gold, silver and dark varieties in many stores and restaurants.
>> Info: For retail outlets, call (808) 579-8032 or visit oldlahainarum.com
MAUIWINE
4815 Piilani Highway, Ulupalakua Ranch
For decades, the former Tedeschi Vineyards has been one of the Valley Isle’s top attractions. About 100,000 visitors stop by every year, many after driving to Mount Haleakala or touring the paniolo town of Makawao.
The drive to MauiWine on scenic Highway 37 winds through rolling green pastures, with bicoastal views a few thousand feet above sea level. The winery is across from the historic Ulupalakua Ranch Store, where you could pick up elk burgers and other picnic provisions.
The winemaking is supervised by Krista Ehrenclou, a former assistant winemaker at Stag’s Leap in Napa Valley, Calif., who joined the staff last year.
Ulupalakua Ranch is the former Rose Ranch, where King David Kalakaua kept his King’s Cottage vacation home. C. Pardee Erdman and his family bought the ranch in 1963 and operate it to this day.
The old King’s Cottage serves as tasting room and history room. It boasts an 18-foot bar crafted from a single slab of Ulupalakua mango wood, along with royal memorabilia and photographs. The Old Jail, a plantation- era facility, is the site of tastings of limited- production wines, by appointment.
>> Products: Maui Blanc, Maui Splash and Hula o Maui sparkling wine, all made with pineapple; small-production estate wines made with grenache, viognier, syrah, malbec, gerwurtztraminer and chenin blanc grape varietals; traditional sparkling wines.
>> Tours: Free 30-minute tours depart King’s Cottage at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily. They showcase the grounds, sculpture garden, old-growth vines, production facility and wine cellar.
>> Tastings: Offered daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Flights are $12 to $16. Choose from a Tropical Flight of the pineapple wines or a Diverse Flight that comprises a rotating selection of the estate’s other wines.
From a small brewpub in Kahana, Maui Brewing has grown exponentially in 15 years to include an 8-acre brewery headquartered in the Maui Research & Technology Park, complete with an expansive restaurant and tasting room. It also has restaurants on Oahu in Waikiki and Kailua.
Owners Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley oversee 800 employees producing 58,000 barrels annually, or 380 cans a minute. Maui Brewing crafts 32 beers, shipping to 23 states and three countries.
>> Key products: Bikini Blonde Lager, Big Swell IPA, Coconut Hiwa Porter and Pineapple Mana Wheat (infused with Maui Gold Pineapple).
>> Beyond beer: The Kupu Spirits line of canned cocktails and Maui Hard Seltzer, launched in January with spiked and sparkling POG, citrus and cherry-dragonfruit flavors. The brewery also makes alcohol-free root beer and tonic with no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or flavors.
>> Tours: A 45-minute tour gets you close to brewmaster Kim Brisson Lutz and her team at work. Learn about the still, brewhouse, filtration system, lab and 30 giant stainless-steel fermentation tanks. A video in the lobby shows the packing line, cold box and barrel room. Cost is $15 (must be at least age 10), including four 4-ounce pours of the flagship beers for adults.
>> Also: An open-air restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, serving pub fare such as fish tacos and pizzas. A bar and lounge offers views of the brewery through a glass wall. Happy hour is 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; live music, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. The tasting room doesn’t offer free tastes, but 32 beers are on draft. Or take home beer in a 32-ounce crowler or 64-ounce growler.
