Cool Cocktail

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Holiday Cocktail

What’s the point of a cocktail if it can’t transport you, momentarily at least, to some otherworldly place? As this somewhat gloomy year comes to an end, we decided to turn to a popular holiday theme to make sure the weeks ahead are happy, joyful, merry and bright.
Adding decadence in this otherwise frugal year is [...]

December-January 2010 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Cruzan Rum

Blooming hibiscus, tradewinds, mango trees and an average year-round temperature of 80 degrees might make most people think of Hawaii. But you’ll find all this and more on St. Croix, the largest of the Virgin Islands.
With a centuries-old sugarcane industry producing molasses as a byproduct, it’s no surprise that St. Croix is home to some [...]

October-November 2009 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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World-Class Mai Tai

No cocktail inspires more heated discussion about its origins, or allows a more perfect (albeit momentary) escape, than the Mai Tai.
Aficionados agree that Trader Vic invented this world-class cocktail, and we know that in 1953, Vic brought the Mai Tai to Honolulu when he came with the Matson Steamship Lines to create drinks for the [...]

August-September 2009 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Jim Beam(rī)1

You’ve got to hand it to the Beam family. Instead of resting on considerable laurels, those folks in Kentucky keep their bourbons facing the future. There’s no better evidence of that than (rī)1 (rye one), a spirit drawing attention around the country as much for phonetics and packaging as its peppery finish.
No one’s saying that [...]

June-July 2009 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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HILuxury Chi

Wherever the Mai Tai originated (and there’s plenty of controversy on the subject), there’s no doubt that from the early 1950s, the royal Hawaiian Hotel was the place to be seen drinking one.
More than 50 years later, as the royal Hawaiian has been given a face lift, it seems like the perfect time to create [...]

April-May 2009 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Danny De Vito’s Limoncello

“I’m very particular about my Limoncello,” Danny DeVito says.
“The balance has to be right. If it’s too sweet, it tastes like a lemon drop. If it’s too tart, then it’s not right for me either … I guess I’m just like Goldilocks,” he adds, laughing.
DeVito’s limoncello is made with lemons from Sorrento and is the [...]

February-March 2009 | Jo McGarry | 1 comment | Continued
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Milk and Cookies

If your Christmas list for Santa includes a new Cartier watch, Prada purse or Hermes scarf, don’t you think Santa deserves a little more in return than a stale cookie and warm milk?
We asked celebrated Vegas-based mixologist Francesco Lafranconi, (he designed the bar menu at both The Wynn, Las Vegas and RumFire, Honolulu) to create [...]

December-January 2009 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Small Batch Bourbons

If there was a signature American winter drink, one that could take you through the oranges and ambers of fall and into the white blanket of winter, or at least into the cool of a Manoa evening, then it would have to be bourbon. Not the gasoline-flavored stuff of years ago, but now handcrafted, mellow [...]

October-November 2008 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Three-Martini Lunch 3660 On The Rise

The three-martini lunch, now a thing of the past, was once considered the ultimate business meeting – and prior to 1986, the entire check was on Uncle Sam. Today, 50 percent of your lunchtime libations might remain tax deductible, but there’s hardly anyone ordering a martini.
Do we miss it? Not today, but in a different [...]

August-September 2008 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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Cool Cocktails

There’s a Johnnie Walker whisky to suit anyone with a discerning palate. The more colorful the character, in fact, the better. What makes it so special? Aged and rare whiskies from places like Royal Lochnagar and old Cardhu, and drops or more from distilleries that have long since ceased production. That sweet, subtle smoke? Most [...]

June-July 2008 | Jo McGarry | 0 comments | Continued
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