Vintage Okolehao - A Tasting
For those who have ventured very deep into Beachbum Berry’s books, you know there are some pretty scarce ingredients in there. You can spend a lot of time and money tracking them down. Some are easy enough to find, but it is often hard to afford $40 for a bottle of liqueur that you will use to make one cocktail you may not even like. Over time, you gather everything you need to make every drink in those books. Even Pimento Liqueur! But, there is one elusive ingredient: okolehau. It’s elusive for one simple reason, it has not been made in about 30 years.
The Bum offers some substitutes in his books, so you can still make the recipes. But it has always nagged at me. I wanted to know just how this stuff tasted.
I came across a tiny airline bottle of the vintage brew a couple of months ago and set it aside for a special occasion. When Basement Kahuna came to town, that was the time. BK is a supreme mixologist and has a fine collection of vintage intoxicants. He had never tasted oke either.
I poured us all a sip. Man! I was shocked! There is nothing in my bar like it! It has an incredible flavor. Woody, spicey, but not overpowering, warm. I love it! And I have no idea what would really replace it in a drink. Maybe some Licor 43… I just don’t know. But I really want them to get to making it again. I will order a lot and keep it in my bar all the time as an aperitif!
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[...] A friend of ours found this bottle while cleaning out a house in Indiana. He had no idea what it was, but brought it home. We opened this bottle and sampled one of the most incredible flavors ever. A search of the internet has shown nothing. We have no idea if it is still made or imported. I assume not imported for sure. I had tasted nothing so wonderful in my life until we opened up a vintage bottle of Okolehao recently. That flavor was very close. We finished off this bottle and hated to see it empty. [...]
Pingback left on December 2, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
You may want to consider Pisco as a substitute for “oke”. I’ve never tried okolehao myself, so I can’t say for sure, but Pisco (a clear brandy made in South America) has a flavor reminiscent of your description. To me, it has some of the woody, herbal complexity of a tequila, but those flavors are combined with a subtle sweetness and fruitiness from the Muscat grapes used to make the Pisco. I enjoy it chilled, straight up as a after-dinner sipper; it’s also the key ingredient in the Pisco Sour, made with Pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites, and a few dashes of bitters. Delicious!
Comment left on October 28, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
I have a nearly full fifth (4/5 quart) of Okolehao It is 80 proof and bottled by Hawaiian Distillers, Honolulu. Hawaii. The illustration on the front label is the same as on the small bottle you picture. However the text is a bit different. I think I bought this in a large liquor store in Chicago many years ago.
The back label contains some information that may be of interest, which I will quote.
“OKOLEHAO SPIRIT OF HAWAII
Okolehao has been famous as Hawaii’s national drink for nearly 200 years.
Recently reformulated, the legendary and powerful pacifier of generations past now suits more modern tastes.
You’ll enjoy serving Okolehao just as you would any light, smooth whiskey - with water or soda, straight, or in a variety of mixed drinks.”
Tasted straight, it reminds me of a Canadian whiskey with hints of something else - perhaps smoke and a medium body rum. If I had to try to fake it, I likely would start with a decent, but not too expensive, Canadian whiskey with just a tiny bit of a medium rum added - perhaps only a teaspoon or so per full bottle. I then might add 1 or 2 drops of liquid smoke. I have not tried this, so I am just guessing. If the spirit tastes and smells of rum or smoke very much - you just want a hint - then you have added too much rum or liquid smoke.
There are several other drinks often called for in old books that do not seem to be available in the US often, if ever, anymore. I have a bottle each of French Garnier Creme de Rose and Creme de Violette, but I have not seen these very floral cremes for sale for very many years. Many of the bitters called for in old books no longer are made.
I still have several bottles of white, gold and anejo Bacardi Cuban rums made before the revolution. Bacardi left Cuba because of the revolution. Even before the revolution, Bacardi made rum in Puerto Rico, and this was the Bacardi rum usually found in the US, because there was not as much tax on it as for the Cuban export Bacardi. However the Cuban Bacardi was considered superior to the Puerto Rico Bacardi, and many were happy to pay the extra price for the Cuban version. The pre-Castro Cuban Bacardis I have taste far superior to me than do any of the similar Bacardi types made in Puerto Rico today.
Comment left on December 6, 2007 @ 11:45 pm