Stace’s Libations - Cocktails in Hawaii
Cocktails in Hawaii There are few places in the world as beautiful as Hawaii. It really is paradise. The mountain views, the sandy beaches and the perfect mix of sun and tropical breezes is what keeps people coming back year after year. Also, if you visit in March, you can escape the frigid weather back home and witness the majestic breaching of the migrating humpback whales just offshore. It truly is a special place.
My trips to Hawaii have all been family trips. My in-laws go every year and sometimes we’re lucky enough to get the invite to tag along. This latest trip was to Maui, which is getting to be a more popular tourist destination every year. We did a lot of relaxing and hanging out by the pool but also got in a healthy amount of beach time where we snorkelled or hiked as well. The sea life is amazing in Maui and you’ll get to see turtles, monk seals and tons of colourful fish and coral.
There’s also plenty of shopping and restaurants to check out too in the more urban areas like Lahaina. If you’re in Whalers Village for some high-end shopping, you have to go check out Monkeypod. Their Mai Tai’s are to die for and they serve them with a special honey lilikoi foam. Delicious!
That said there aren’t a lot of high end cocktail places if that’s your jam. It’s definitely not Portland or New York, as things in Maui are geared to family friendly tourism which can make things feel a bit homogenous to someone like myself. I adore unique and privately owned establishments that take great care in curating their menus and create an experience for their customers. I must say that when we did venture out a few times to some local spots we were not disappointed with the menu or the service. They know how to keep us tourists happy!
Most days however, we did a lot of drinking and eating in our condo room, which is definitely more budget friendly than having every meal out. The poke in Hawaii is amazing and we’d do a little happy hour snack with fresh poke and tortilla chips from the grocery store across the street. My job was to be the happy hour bartender for the family. I ended up making a lot of lazy margaritas and some delicious rum punch which I’m going to share with you.
Tropical Rum Punch
1.5 oz orange juice
1.5 oz pineapple juice
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz white rum
0.5 oz dark rum
0.5 oz grenadine Pineapple to garnish
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 30 seconds. Serve in a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a pineapple wedge.
I made a lot of these in punch form for the family. You can also add a bit more rum if you’re in a boozy mood! You can’t underestimate how much time you save in batching cocktails when you’re serving 5-6 people. This meant I spent more time gazing at the ocean or piling more poke on my plate while no one was watching!
I also made a shit ton of margaritas. While I had good intentions of using fresh lime juice and agave syrup, the amount we were going through meant I needed to pick my battles on supplies. I ended up buying more than a few bottles of margarita mix which made my life so much easier. On my last night there, I made this margarita to drink while watching the sunset on the beach.
Lazy Sunset Margarita
1.5 oz tequila
0.75 oz cointreau
4 oz margarita mix
Cocktail salt to rim glass
Lime wheel for garnish
Rim a Collins glass with cocktail salt. I use a plate of lime juice and a plate of salt to do this. To do this, turn your glass over and spin it around on the lime juice plate first and then the salt plate which will give you a nice salty rim. Then combine all ingredients above in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake well. Strain into your glass and add ice to keep it cool. Add a lime wheel for garnish and serve!
I hope you enjoy these recipes and that they make you feel like you’re on the beach in Hawaii!
Cheers,
Stace
IG:@staceslibations
Email: staceslibations@gmail.com