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Oahu and Maui


ridetoslide
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Taking a trip to Oahu and Maui soon. Anyone know of a place or 2 that carries a good selection of bourbon? Googled some liquor stores around waikiki area but its always nice if someone has experience with some good stores. I prefer not to take boutbon in my checked bag. Thanks in advanve!

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We have a few members from Hawaii. Maybe one of 'em will see this post and be able to help you out. 

 

Biba! Joe

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As Joe notes one of the local members might be your best bet. Fujioka's used to have some decent selections but that is not in Waikiki. It is out near Kahala Mall east of the main tourist area.

 

Tamura's has several locations but the only one I have been to is also not far from the Kahala mall on Waialae Avenue. But it has been awhile.

 

Used to be a pricey liquor store down near Ala Moana Mall downtown that might have had a few interesting bottles but I heard that has closed.  

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I've vacationed (or holidayed as we say in Australia) in Waikiki 4 out of the last 6 years.  As has been mentioned, Tamura's on Waialae Ave is always a good place to shop, but you'll need to car/cab/Uber to get there from the general Waikiki area.  Food Pantry on Kuhio Ave is a much easier place to get to, and usually has a reasonable selection.  ABC Stores are on most corners have a basic selection, which will cost a bit more than the other two shops, but is very convenient.  I haven't been to Maui so will leave it to others to comment.

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My experience is that Maui  (and pretty much any other island besides Oahu)is pretty much a wasteland for liquor stores with anything other than the usual suspects. Even the swanky resorts tend to have mostly the basic stuff. "High end" stuff tends to be very expensive and usually it is something like JW Blue that tends to get considered as "fancy" whisky. :wacko:

 

But again, it has now been a couple of years. Used to go a lot but now so much anymore.

 

 

 

Edited by tanstaafl2
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It has been a number of years since I was there, but I think the Costco near the airport in Maui sells liquor. They also sell some other interesting Hawaiian-type treats (e.g. marlin jerky) that you can pick up if you're so inclined.

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Thanks for the info fellas. I'll definitely hit up Costco and Tamuras. Hopefully one of these 2 stores will yield me some good bourbon to drink while there. Hopping on the plane Thursday.  

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On 1/8/2018 at 8:38 PM, ridetoslide said:

Thanks for the info fellas. I'll definitely hit up Costco and Tamuras. Hopefully one of these 2 stores will yield me some good bourbon to drink while there. Hopping on the plane Thursday.  

I haven't been to Hawaii since 2010, but can confirm that the area Costco's do sell liquor.  Unlikely to have a great selection, but the price will be pretty good.

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My wife and I will be in Oahu soon, with a car for part of the trip. Not really interested in buying a bottle of something, but are there any bars that are known for their whiskey selection? We'll be in Waikiki for a few days and then on the east and north coast for 2/1 days respectively.

 

Bars known for choice of rum would be interesting too! There is a rum distillery on Oahu that we may stop by called KoHana. They do tours and tastings.

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19 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

My wife and I will be in Oahu soon, with a car for part of the trip. Not really interested in buying a bottle of something, but are there any bars that are known for their whiskey selection? We'll be in Waikiki for a few days and then on the east and north coast for 2/1 days respectively.

 

Bars known for choice of rum would be interesting too! There is a rum distillery on Oahu that we may stop by called KoHana. They do tours and tastings.

Bars come and go so this is another question where local knowledge would be useful. Right in Waikiki I doubt you will find anything of much interest as it will all be touristy and if you do it will likely be spendy! Think overpriced hotel bars. When I visited a few years ago and met up with a couple of local SBers I think we went more into the downtown area near Aloha Tower to an Irish pub. There were two of them across the street from each other. O'Toole's maybe? There are some whiskey and cocktail bars in this area too. Leather Apron and Manifest perhaps?

 

Can't imagine the north shore will have much. It is pretty laid back. On the east Kaneohe/Kailua area might have a few options but I don't know of any off hand.

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On our last trip (Nov 2016), I didn't venture much outside the main hotel bars and chain restaurants.  Makers Mark, Knob Creek or Crown Royal are typically what I go for if I can get it, otherwise I just roll with whatever island cocktail the venue has on their menu. 

Like Bruce, I've ventured out with some of the local SB members (awesome guys BTW), but that was back in 2013 and I really don't remember much other than it was downtown somewhere.  Sorry I can't be of more help there.

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2 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Bars come and go so this is another question where local knowledge would be useful. Right in Waikiki I doubt you will find anything of much interest as it will all be touristy and if you do it will likely be spendy! Think overpriced hotel bars. When I visited a few years ago and met up with a couple of local SBers I think we went more into the downtown area near Aloha Tower to an Irish pub. There were two of them across the street from each other. O'Toole's maybe? There are some whiskey and cocktail bars in this area too. Leather Apron and Manifest perhaps?

 

Can't imagine the north shore will have much. It is pretty laid back. On the east Kaneohe/Kailua area might have a few options but I don't know of any off hand.

Great thanks for the info. Leather Apron and Manifest look like they have a nice selection.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I made it back from Hawaii. Tamuras on both Oahu and Maui were the best places I could find. The ABC stores had typical Beam, Makers, Crown  and the like as mentioned. Tamuras had very good selection of bourbon, and prices were pretty fair in my opinion. Bought a bottle there to drink and brought me a E H Taylor single barrel  home. Hit 2 different Costco stores and decent selection but Tamuras was my place. Did bring back a bunch of 100% Kona coffee from Costco :)  Best price by far.

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Got to love Kona Coffee!  It's the first thing I buy when we land - a pack for the vacation, and a pack for home :)

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The wife and I go to Hawaii a lot and I usually go to Costco, they don't have a huge selection but they always have something that will work for the time down there.

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