Hawaii’s cocktail culture

My first love is wine, but I do appreciate a gin cocktail every now and then. Particularly before dinner. On a few recent girls’ nights out with my Hawaii wahine, I explored Honolulu’s cocktail menus. I found freshly squeezed local fruit juices, fancy ice, house-made syrups and shrubs, and house-blended bitters.

Yauatcha, a contemporary Cantonese dim sum teahouse, opened its first US location in Waikiki. While the focus is certainly on food here, the cocktail I enjoyed before dinner was beautifully composed. The drinks tended toward the sweeter side, as one might expect in a tourist-heavy area like Waikiki. I ordered a Flower & Stone, which I was told was one of the less sweet options on the menu. It features Bombay Sapphire East gin, strawberry, fennel, apricot, yuzu, mint and rhubarb, and is garnished with an edible flower. It was like a grown-up glass of fruit punch. Very pretty fruit punch.

Bevy, in the Kaka’ako neighborhood, is a cocktail lover’s bar. According to its website, Bevy takes its inspiration from “European style cocktail bars” and “the era of 1920s and 30s prohibition and the speakeasy.” The atmosphere is certainly dark and moody, with the ubiquitous industrial/organic décor. My bartender was knowledgeable and passionate about her spirits and recipes. I overheard her say to a server, “I can’t substitute lemon for lime! That would be junk! Tell the customer no!” So when she made her way down to my end of the bar, I knew I would let her guide me through the menu. After giving me a taste of Uncle Val’s botanical gin, she made me a Purple Reign. Which, in addition to the gin, features Suze, a house made lilac serum, and a long ice cube with butterfly pea flowers frozen in it. The lilac serum added an amazing floral note that was a great counterbalance to the herbal and bitter flavors of the gin and liqueur. From there, I moved on to two G&Ts, each made with a different house-made tonic. I focused on gin-based cocktails because that’s my personal favorite, but Bevy has a well-rounded menu including the other spirits families. I can’t wait to go back and sample more options.

Bar Leather Apron, is a small and intimate bar, all polished wood and leather. The space itself felt a little masculine to me, but also very warm and cozy. Which is an interesting juxtaposition in a city located a few degrees south of the Tropic of Cancer. The website proclaims, “We are proud to offer an ever-changing menu of classic cocktails and bespoke creations, as well as beer, wine and an expansive collection of premium spirits. We incorporate seasonal ingredients and regional flavors, inspired by our surroundings.” But truly their whisky selection including Scotch, bourbon, and Japanese whisky is the reason to visit this bar. I ordered a Tavern Keeps Treasure, based on its use of the light-bodied Basil Hayden’s Bourbon and the greatest hits list of liqueurs and bitters that comprise the rest of the recipe. The cocktail includes Cynar, Carpano Antica, Luxardo Maraschino, house-blended orange bitters and Agnostura Bitters. And wood smoke!

The cocktail was well balanced with no element of heat, sweet, bitter or smoke overpowering the others. And light enough that I could order a second cocktail. This time, the bartender made me a bespoke creation from Hendrick’s Gin, Amaro Nonino, Aperol, freshly squeezed lemon juice and yuzu juice. Again, a well-balanced creation with all the citrus as a counterpoint to the cucumber notes of the gin.   I couldn’t have asked for a better cocktail hour before dinner (and wine).