Have you visited the Waikulu tequila farm yet? Ah I mean, the agave farm….. where they distill Maui’s very own agave spirits? If not, you have got to check it out.
I saw the announcement about Waikulu Distillery a few months ago in the local paper. And thought, wait that must be a typo. The County seat of Maui is called Wailuku. But no, this is the Waikulu Distillery we’re talking about. And it’s located upcountry, just below Makawao. This site used to (10+ years ago) be a mountain biking terrain, and then a farmer was growing lettuce and fresh greens there. Ten years ago Paul, the owner of Waikulu distillery, planted his first blue agave plant. Turns out, it would be nine years until all the permits came together. As of right now, you can stop in for a tour and to buy a bottle or some merch, but no testing on site – yet.
I stopped in this afternoon and happened to arrive just in time for a tour with Viv. I didn’t have enough time for the whole tour, but learning about the process, seeing the distillery and meeting the owner was intriguing. I’ll have to double back for a full-length tour.
Waikulu is located at 3275 Baldwin Avenue. They are currently open Mon-Fri 11am-3pm. At this time they have three agave spirits for sale – their Silver (for mixing and shots), the ‘Opio (aged 3 months) and the Smoke Peppa. As I prefer sipping to mixed drinks, I picked up a bottle of ‘Opio. It smells and tastes delicious.
Waikulu is a new spirit on Maui and they are working to get product placement. You can get it poured at various restaurants and resort bars, you can pick up your own bottle at the farm itself, Pukulani Superette, Wailea Wine and a couple other stores (see listing on their website).
Tequila….
Did you know, you legally can only call agave spirits distilled in a certain part of Mexico tequila? When distilled in other parts of Mexico, these spirits are called mexcal. Who knew. I guess it’s like Champagne from the Champagne district in France. As such, Waikulu’s blue agave spirits are technically not tequila.
Want to try some other locally made spirits?
There are quite a few to choose from and I’ve given a few a try. Remember my gin taste-off last summer? There’s Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery with its Ocean vodka, coconut (and other) rum and Fy gin. Haili’imaile Distilling Company has Pau vodka, Paniolo whiskey and of course, my favorite, Fid St gin.
Then there’s the Maui Wine (don’t forget to have a burger across the way at the Ulupalakua Ranch Store). And in the beer department we have Maui Brew Co and Mahalo Aleworks.
What have I forgotten? And what is your favorite Maui-On-Maui alcohol?