Review #: 56
Description: MAUI Okolehau Liqueur
Spirit: Rum (I’m being lenient with this one…)
Background: Okolehao is a Hawaiian liqueur originally distilled from the Ti Root. Native Hawaiians had previously naturally fermented a mash of the ti root to make a beer, and then when colonizers arrived, they were taught about distillation, they began to do so with the beer. Also known as “Hawaiian Moonshine,” Haleakala Distillers made this from a combination of ti root and evaporated cane juice. The Pineapple Rum was rather disappointing so let’s see if this trends any better.
Distillery – Haleakala Distillers
Bottler – Haleakala Distillers
Brand – MAUI
Selection – N/A
ABV – 40%
Age – NAS
Nose – Simple syrup, stone fruit, slight earthiness, slight astringency, some kitchen cleaner product in there
Taste – Slight sugar cane but almost artificial, like aspartame or stevia, very watery and thin
Finish – Almost none
Score: 1
Would I buy a bottle? Um…
Thoughts: Yeah, it’s bad. I was close to giving it a 2 at first, since it’s not like you take a sip and immediately want to hurl. But it’s so watery and the only real notes there aren’t good that I looked back at the glass and thought “why would I even finish this?” So down the drain it went. I tried to give it some benefit of the doubt being that it had been open for a while (to use in “Frankenstein” mixed drinks) but seeing how the distiller is out of business, I don’t think I was far off.