tiki cocktail mixology with hotel wailea’s head bartender?  sign me up!  we learned tricks & tips for recreating hotel wailea’s delicious tropical tiki cocktails at home in a 1-hour complementary mixology class taught poolside at hotel wailea.  it was a highlight of our stay & has been keeping us very well refreshed ever since! 

this Recipe for Later!

when we arrived at hotel wailea, i was so excited to learn that the next morning before the pool opened, hotel wailea would be hosting a complimentary a tropical tiki cocktail mixology class with the resort’s head bartender. 

um, have i entered foodie traveler’s dream vacation?

i think so, probably.

after spending one day at the pool & having the opportunity to taste the majority of the specialty cocktails on their cocktail list, i became even more excited to learn tips & tricks from the mastermind behind all the deliciousness.  hotel wailea’s cocktails are straightforward but all highlight bold flavors local to hawaii.  they are fresh, fruity (but balanced!) & full of flavor – the perfect refreshment to accompany a poolside day full of the warm hawaiian sun.

needless to say, the next day i woke up like a kid on christmas morning.  i dragged chris out of bed (happy wife, happy life #amiright??) & we made our way over to the poolside bar for tropical mixology with james.

james, the head-honcho at the poolside bar, is just what you’d imagine out of a cocktail-slinging texan in maui: an engaging storyteller with a larger than life personality.  the kind of guy who makes you feel at home within seconds & keeps you laughing whenever he’s around. 

& all that aside, let me tell you…dude also knows how to make a kick ass cocktail. 

over the course of the next hour chris & i, along with a handful of other couples, watched along as james did just that.  he walked us through 2 delicious cocktail recipes that are as easy to make at home as they are to enjoy. 

the best part?  we also got to taste each one!

first was a fizzy elderflower libation that is equally easy to make & impressive to serve, making it a perfect refreshment to share with friends when you host a celebratory cocktail hour. 

simply mix over ice in a cocktail shaker equal parts elderflower liquor & a sweetened syrup of your choice & shake that baby up. 

each couple got to choose between honey or hibiscus (& based on my affinity for all things hawaiian & bright pink, you know what chris & i went with), but the sky is really the limit with the sweetened syrup.  you could use anything with a light & floral flavor profile, you just want to avoid bold flavors that will overpower the delicate elderflower.  even a plain old simple syrup would do the trick!

once completely shaken, simply pour the sweetened elderflower liquor into a champagne flute, top off with fizzy & crisp prosecco, finish a twist of lemon, & make a toast.  salut!

next up, the quintessential tropical tiki cocktail – the mai tai. 

i’ll be the first to admit that before we got to hotel wailea the idea of a mai tai sounds so dated & overdone that i wasn’t too crazy about giving one a try, but i’m so glad i got over myself because it was love at first sip.

a well-made mai tai is seriously hawaii in a glass. 

james’ tutorial broke the mai tai down into its seven essential ingredients, making it pretty clear to me that as long as your home bar is well-stocked with bar basics, you can enjoy the taste of hawaii wherever you are.  all you need is:  white rum, nut liqueur, pineapple juice, fruit juice, lime juice, dark rum, & a garnish.

james used amaretto & fresh lilikoi juice (i.e. hawaiian passion fruit – my absolute favorite fruit flavor in the galaxy), & it’s how i fully intend to drink mai tais from now on.

james also showed us that the key for a show-stopping mai tai is shaking this mixture as though your life is on the line, which will create proper aeration, resulting in the lightest, frothiest, & most refreshing tiki cocktail you’ve ever had. 

james finished our mai tais with a float of dark rum (mmm), garnished generously with mint (double mmm!), served each of his eager students their mai tai, & class was dismissed for another day of tropical poolside bliss.  hotel wailea (& james!) – you’ve won my heart.  we will be back soon.  mahalo!

so now that you know what my go-to tiki cocktail will be for any tropical vacation, i have to know – what’s the best cocktail you’ve had throughout your travels?  where did you get it?  do you make it at home?