What We Pour, and Who Makes It

Sixteen Hawaiʻi distilleries and breweries worth knowing by name — from a Kailua restaurant. The good stuff isn't hiding. It's being made down the road — often by people who'll walk you through a mash bill or a cane harvest if you ask. Some of it ends up on our menu. All of it is worth a detour. This is not a complete list either.

Here's who we follow:

The Distilleries

Koʻolau Distillery — Kailua, Oʻahu

A veteran-owned distillery across town from us, drawing artesian water filtered for decades through the Koʻolau range. Old Pali Road Whiskey is the flagship — small-batch, hand-bottled, and earning its shelf space across the island. The Tradewinds Gin and Māhealani moonshine are worth the trip too. Follow: @koolaudistillery

Kō Hana — Kunia, Oʻahu

Heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane, grown on the property, pressed and fermented on site. Their agricole-style rums are bright, grassy, and unlike most rum you've had. We pour Kō Hana behind our bar constantly. Start with Kea. Follow: @kohanarum

Haleʻiwa Distilling Co. — Waialua, Oʻahu

A new operation inside the old Waialua Sugar Mill, opened in 2025. Every ingredient comes from inside a three-mile radius — sea salt, limes hand-delivered weekly by a farmer down the road, even macadamia-nut charcoal in the whiskey filtration. Hawaiʻi Māna Rum and Red Dirt Whiskey lead the lineup. Follow: @haleiwa_distilling_co

Hawaiian Shochu Company — Haleʻiwa, Oʻahu

The only sweet potato shochu being made in Hawaiʻi. Production is tiny. Bottles move fast. Worth tracking down. Follow: @hawaiianshochucompany

Kuleana Rum Works — Hāwī, Hawaiʻi Island

Built on a question: what does rum taste like with heirloom Hawaiian cane and no sugar added back? The answer is Huihui — bright, additive-free, award-winning. Bottled on the Kohala coast, cut with mountain spring water. Follow: @kuleanarumworks

Haliʻimaile Distilling Company — Makawao, Maui

Up on Maui's slopes in pineapple country. Pau Maui Vodka comes from Maui Gold pineapples — fermented, distilled, and bottled within about ten days of harvest. Fid Street Gin and Paniolo Whiskey round out a small lineup that takes itself seriously. Follow: @haliimailedistillingco

Ocean Vodka — Kula, Maui

Sugarcane grown at 1,500 feet on the slopes of Haleakalā, distilled with deep-ocean mineral water pulled from a thousand meters down. The property itself is the story — if you can visit, do. Follow: @oceanvodka

The Breweries

Lanikai Brewing Company — Kailua, Oʻahu

Our neighborhood brewery. A short walk from our front door. They treat Hawaiʻi like an ingredient list — pohole fern, lilikoʻi, hibiscus, dragon fruit — and pull it off without ever tipping into gimmick. Whatever they brewed this week is what you should be drinking. Follow: @lanikaibrewing

Inu Island Ales — Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu

Just over the Pali. Founded by Keaka Eckart with the stated goal of defining a Hawaiʻi ale style — guava, lilikoʻi, coconut, lychee, running through hop-forward bases that don't get drowned by the fruit. The Imperial Coconut Stout — ʻAila Niu — is one of the more interesting pours on the island. Follow: @inuislandales

Hana Koa Brewing Co. — Kakaʻako, Oʻahu

Brewed on site in Kakaʻako, with a full kitchen attached. The taproom feels like a brewery a few friends opened because they wanted somewhere to drink — which is more or less what happened. Worth lining up next time you're in town. Follow: @hanakoabrewing

Honolulu Beerworks — Kakaʻako, Oʻahu

Tastes like the neighborhood it's brewed in. Cocoweizen and the South Shore Stout are the long-running favorites. The room feels like Honolulu actually lives there. Follow: @honolulubeer

Waikiki Brewing Co. — Waikīkī, Kakaʻako & South Maui

Founded in 2015, now pouring out of Waikīkī, Kakaʻako, and a South Side location on Maui. Medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the US Open Beer Championship — they're not coasting on the name. The Black Strap Molasses Porter is the one to order if you've never had one. Follow: @waikikibrewco

Beer Lab HI — Multiple Oʻahu Locations

Small-batch, fast turnover, a tap list that won't sit still. The most experimental brewery on the island, and one of the most consistently good. Pearlridge, Beretania, and Puck's Alley. Follow: @beerlabhi

Maui Brewing Co. — Kīhei, Maui

The biggest craft operation in Hawaiʻi, and they still earn it. Bikini Blonde and Big Swell IPA are the easy answers. The seasonals and barrel-aged releases are where it gets interesting. Follow: @mauibrewingco

Mahalo Aleworks — Makawao, Maui

Upcountry Maui at 1,900 feet. Wild yeast wrangled from the slopes of Haleakalā, beers blended in 20-barrel American oak foeders, fruit grown in their own orchard. The quietest, most ambitious craft brewery in the state — now part of the Lāhainā Brewing Co. family. Follow: @mahaloaleworks

Ola Brew Co. — Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Island

Cooperatively owned. Working with Hawaiʻi farmers on rotational grain and adjuncts most breweries wouldn't bother with. The hard ciders made from Hawaiʻi-grown apples and dragon fruit are the move. Follow: @olabrewco

Why this is on our menu

We built our cocktail and beer programs around the people on this list. Not because "local" is a marketing word — because the work is good, and most of it is being made within an hour of where you're sitting. Two of these names — Koʻolau and Lanikai — are within walking distance of our front door. A third, Inu, is in Kaneohe. Three serious spirits and beer producers, in one small corner of one island, all doing their own thing well. That's not a coincidence. That's Kailua.

When something on our list is from Kunia or Kīhei or off Island in Hāwī, we'll tell you. Ask us what's in the glass. The answer is usually a name.

Common Questions

What craft distilleries are in Hawaiʻi?

About a dozen are operating across the islands. The most active ones to know: Kō Hana in Kunia (heirloom Hawaiian agricole rum), Koʻolau Distillery in Kailua (Old Pali Road Whiskey, Tradewinds Gin), Haleʻiwa Distilling Co. on the North Shore, the Hawaiian Shochu Company in Haleʻiwa, Kuleana Rum Works on the Big Island, Haliʻimaile Distilling Company on Maui (Pau Maui Vodka, Paniolo Whiskey), and Ocean Vodka in Kula.

Are there craft breweries in Kailua, Oʻahu?

Yes. Lanikai Brewing Company is on Hamakua Drive, brewing with local Hawaiian ingredients like pohole fern, lilikoʻi, and hibiscus. Koʻolau Distillery in Kailua has a tasting room with local beer on tap alongside their spirits. Inu Island Ales is a short drive over in Kāneʻohe.

What is Hawaiian agricole rum?

Agricole rum is made directly from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, not molasses. Kō Hana in Kunia is Hawaiʻi's first agricole rum producer, using heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane varieties grown on their own property. The result is brighter and grassier than the molasses-based rum most drinkers know.

Can you tour Hawaiʻi distilleries and breweries?

Most offer tasting rooms or guided tours. Kō Hana, Koʻolau, Haleʻiwa Distilling, Haliʻimaile, and Ocean Vodka all run regular tours. Lanikai Brewing, Hana Koa, Honolulu Beerworks, Waikiki Brewing, Maui Brewing, and Mahalo Aleworks have full taprooms. Hours change — check each producer's Instagram before you go.

Where does The Boardroom Kailua source its spirits?

We build our cocktail program around Hawaiʻi-made spirits whenever possible. Kō Hana rum is a constant on our bar; we work with Koʻolau, Haliʻimaile, Ocean Vodka, and Kuleana regularly. When something on our list is made in Hawaiʻi, we'll tell you. See the current cocktail list.

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