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okolehao, anyone got a lead,1/5/05- article on new production of the spirit pg 2 |
pablus
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 2149
From: www.crazedmugs.com
|  Posted: 2003-10-26 07:21 am Permalink
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jun/01/ln/ln05a.html
I posted this a couple months back, but no word yet on how close it is to being attainable.
If I remember correctly - it's the same people that did the "liquer."
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4814
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2003-10-26 09:41 am Permalink
Gecko ought to be able to find a moonshine still in Hawaii that is still making the stuff the old fashioned way. Just a few bottles for the old timers...
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makemake
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Sep 23, 2003
Posts: 21
From: Silverlake, land of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2003-10-26 10:17 am Permalink
I read the article Pablus referred to, and a Google search turned up this link:
http://www.sandwichislandsdistilling.com/
Just a placeholder now, but it does say "Bringing Okolehao Back to the World" and has a email contact.
I have sent an email, and will post any replies I recieve.
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[ This Message was edited by: makemake on 2003-10-26 10:17 ]
[ This Message was edited by: makemake on 2003-10-26 10:33 ]
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2003-10-26 8:02 pm Permalink
bless you makemake, please keep us informed. when it comes out, maybe we can get a group order together.
i didnt even think to discuss it with jeff berry, i run into him occasionally. ill ask if he has a source.
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2005-01-05 2:45 pm Permalink
Just found this article at spiritofaloha.com, some of the same info in the article link above but this has some dates for release:
Other good drinking news this issue comes from our far-flung correspondent Phil Hayworth, who reports that a former president of the company that owns Jack Daniels will commercially produce the famed, potent Hawaiian beverage called 'okolehau (pronounced oko-lay-how) and sell it only in Hawai'i. According to Steven Thompson, president of Sandwich Islands Distilling, the first 5,000 cases of this drink, which was once outlawed as a bane to society, will roll off a temporary bottling line at an old sugar mill in Pa'ia in April 2005. By April 2006, the distillery plans to open a permanent plant and showroom near Kïhei and distribute to the Mainland. According to Hayworth, who is a connoisseur of the famed beverage, 'okolehau is a clear, smooth rum or brandylike whisky, which gets its base flavor from the local ki plant. Its potency depends on how much sugar cane and/or rice is added. The new drink will come in 80- and 140-proof versions, aged in used bourbon barrels. "The formula will be the original, but our 'okolehao will also be filtered through a secret filtering medium available only in Hawai'i," says Thompson. 'Okolehao, by the way, means "iron bottom," after the vats in which it was originally made, which were intended for boiling whale blubber. Here's to ya.
[ This Message was edited by: tikitanked on 2005-01-05 14:47 ]
[ This Message was edited by: tikitanked on 2005-01-05 14:48 ]
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Kono
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2003
Posts: 1266
From: Orlando
| Posted: 2005-01-05 5:35 pm Permalink
That's great news. I've been wanting to try okolehao ever since I got Grog Log and Intoxica. I actually do have the King Kamehameha decanter sealed. But I haven't wanted to open it because a) it's such a small amount (1/8 pint) that you'd hardly get to taste it and it'd be gone and b) who knows how well it aged in that decanter. A few years ago someone gave me a bottle of 25 or 30yo Jim Beam. The bourbon wasn't aged in a barrel that long, this guy just had a case of this old bourbon sitting in his house. It really did not taste very good at all. Yeah, I drank it but it was really harsh had almost a pure grain taste to it.
I'd love to get some newly distilled old style okolehao. Of course I'll have to mail order it from California. Guaranteed it won't be available in Florida.
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KuKuAhu
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 23, 2002
Posts: 567
From: Kahiki, Ohio
| Posted: 2005-01-05 6:12 pm Permalink
This is great news. Now I'm even more excited to be returning to Hawaii in 2006!
Ahu
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Doctor Z
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 01, 2002
Posts: 1603
From: The Hale Moana Lounge, Torrance, CA
| Posted: 2005-01-05 7:02 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2003-10-25 00:50, Alnshely wrote:
A couple of years ago I was walking around Waikiki looking for some oke. No one had even heard of the stuff. A year later I picked this up at a specialty liquor store. 
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Internetwines.com used to carry this same brand of Oke - I just got mine from them over the summer. They still have it listed on their website, but I can't tell if it's still available. I think it was about $25.00 plus shipping from Illinois for a 750ml bottle.
According to the label, it is:
"prepared and bottled for Hawaiian Distillers Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii by Hawaiian Distilled Products Co., Mira Loma, California"
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OceaOtica
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 869
From: la, home of Tiki Ti
| Posted: 2005-01-05 7:34 pm Permalink
Doctor Z,
That is a bootle of the liqueur which is quite different from the spirit. The flavors are not even close; the spirit goes down like a smooth rye and the liqueur is sweet, almost herbal tasting, like a very sweet chartreuse. It has been at least three years since I drank either, but this is what i recall from a side by side taste test.
The spirit is a real treat, definitely having it own flavor. If you like whiskey you will definitely appreciate the spirit.
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Doctor Z
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 01, 2002
Posts: 1603
From: The Hale Moana Lounge, Torrance, CA
| Posted: 2005-01-05 9:16 pm Permalink
Ahhhh... I see... thanks for the enlightenment!
I've been using the 'liqueur' all along in the 2 "Intoxica" recipes that call for it and they still taste fine to me! I do find it kind of unusual that Jeff Barry would suggest using either brandy or Martinique rum as a substitute for something that tastes like whiskey...
I actually do have a small ('Less than 1/2 pint') unopened bottle of real Okolehao (80 proof - "Produced & Bottled by Hawaiian Distillers, Honolulu, HI"), but I'm reluctant to break the seal on it, 'cause I think it's kinda old and I bought it for the bottle. Besides, if it's anything like the way you describe it, I'm afraid I might like it too much and it would all be gone after a drink or two and then where would I be?
BTW - I did a taste test with chartreuse (both green & yellow - straight, blecch!) and good rye (Old Portrero), and while I agree it does definitely have sweet/herbal undertones, I think the oke 'liqueur' more closely resembles the rye than either of the Chartreuses. But then again, I'm not a big fan of chartreuse, and I looooove rye!
I wonder how actual okelehao would taste in a Sazerac?
Hmmm...
Maybe I will open that little bottle after all...
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KuKuAhu
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 23, 2002
Posts: 567
From: Kahiki, Ohio
| Posted: 2005-01-05 9:57 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-01-05 19:02, Doctor Z wrote:
Internetwines.com used to carry this same brand of Oke - I just got mine from them over the summer. ...but I can't tell if it's still available. |
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Nope. I'll save ya the trouble of emailing them. Oke liqueur is no more as far as they tell me. They said it was being "reformulated" and had no further info.
This was three months ago.
Ahu
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5738
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2005-01-06 10:22 am Permalink
Here is a past thread with a classic recipe book from Trader Pup.
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=5472&forum=1
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4814
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2005-01-07 4:27 pm Permalink
Here is a more recent article. here
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2005-01-07 9:36 pm Permalink
Old Portrero: Good taste as always, Dr. Z
Come on up to SF and we'll do the Anchor Brewery Tour, and you can talk to them more about Old Portrero.
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Rum Numb Davey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 17, 2005
Posts: 204
From: Phoenix, AZ
| Posted: 2005-08-16 1:21 pm Permalink
Hiya Kids:
Good News! As you know, LeVecke Corporation produced a version of Okolehao, for a period of time, in their facilities in southern California. I finished my last bottle over the week-end. I spoke to the operations Manager of Sandwich Islands Distilling Corporation, Bob Gunter, about the NEW okolehao and will keep everyone in the loop as to its' launch.
Sandwich Islands Distilling Corporation has established a distillery in Maui and will re-introduce, what we believe to be an authentic formulation of Okoleaho, to the in early fall of this year. They also have plans to produce other high-proof spirits made from indigenous Hawaiian products, including RUM. They have a distributor for Okolehao in Hawaii, but have not yet firmed-up any distribution agreements for the U.S. mainland.
I am working on helping to secure Distribution channels for the REAL Oke, so stay tuned.
Sandwich Islands
Distilling Corporation
Pa'ia, Maui, Hawaii
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[ This Message was edited by: Rum Numb Davey 2005-08-16 13:22 ]
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