Okolehao
Maui distillery serves up a sip of history
By HARRY EAGAR, Staff WriterPOSTED: December 27, 2009
MAKAWAO – Hilo Hattie sang about the cockeyed mayor of Kaunakakai, who "drank a gallon of oke to make life worthwhile."
But it couldn’t have happened recently, since genuine okolehao has not been distilled (legally, anyway) for at least 40 years and probably longer.
Haleakala Distillers, Maui’s only rum-maker, is introducing Maui Okolehao Liqueur, made from ti root grown in East Maui, and enhanced with evaporated cane juice from Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.
Only 200 cases were made, and master distiller Jim Sargent said it may take nine months before another batch comes through.
His wife and managing director, Leslie Sargent, said it has been so long since anybody made "oke" that there was no information to be found about how to do it.
"The whole process had to be derived from scratch," said Jim Sargent, a.k.a. Braddah Kimo. "We have taken quite some time to distill an authentic, 100 percent Maui-made all natural spirit."
Because of federal liquor regulations, the tipple is a liqueur, rather than the skullbuster that was invented in the 19th century.