This week on the Boozy Blondes Podcast, the girls are taking you back to paradise — Maui, Hawaii, where one of their absolute favorite spots sits high above the valley with sweeping views of the Pacific: Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery. This destination is more than a distillery; it’s an experience that combines breathtaking scenery, gourmet pairings, and world-class spirits.
During Molly’s visit, she and Rainer indulged in a three-course food-and-cocktail pairing featuring bao buns with sparkling lemongrass lemonade, white miso beef carpaccio paired with Maui Seventy-FY gin cocktails (a twist on a French 75), and coconut rum cheesecake bites with an espresso martini finale. Add in full-sized flatbreads, extra cocktails, and those jaw-dropping Maui views – Molly was instantly in love.
After the feast came the distillery tour. Their guide Alan escorted the group through sugarcane fields, past the solar-powered distillery, fermentation and bottling areas, and then hosted the tastings of Ocean’s seven signature spirits. Each spirit comes in a distinctive bottle, with the flagship Ocean Organic Vodka housed in its iconic blue sphere inspired by a Japanese fishing buoy and tilted at 23.5°, the same angle as Earth’s axis.
But Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery is more than great drinks and stunning views. It’s an operation deeply committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. And, according to TripAdvisor, Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery ranks in the top 10% of attractions worldwide!
Molly was lucky enough to sit down with Randy Basile, Ocean Vodka’s Sales Manager, who recently moved from Maui to the blondes’ own backyard in St. Augustine, Florida! Randy shared his journey with Ocean (eight years strong!), what makes their vodka and other spirits unique, the challenges and surprises of bringing Hawaiian products to Florida, and the environmental mission that drives everything Ocean does. He also gives the scoop on where to find Ocean products in Florida (Publix, Broudy’s, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Shores, and even Total Wine) and beyond.
Whether you’re sipping an espresso martini at home, enjoying live music on Ocean’s lawn in Maui, or spotting those iconic blue bottles at your local shop, Ocean Vodka offers a taste of Hawaii wherever you are. Make sure to follow them on Instagram for event updates, beautiful cocktails, and breathtaking views!
Have you visited Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery? Did you love it as much as Molly? Tell the girls about your experience in the comments below! If you get the chance to visit in the future, say hi to Alan, Raul, and Jack, and tell them the Boozy Blondes sent you!
Welcome back to another episode about beautiful Hawaii! In this episode the girls dish about all the best places to go on the island of Oahu!
The DOE is none other than the famous Hawaiian Mai Tai! Everywhere you go in Hawaii, someone has “the best Mai Tai on the island.” The girls crafted a pitcher of mai tais made with light rum, gold rum, cointreau, orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice. Most have a dark rum floater on top too!
Oahu has a completely different feel from Maui. Oahu is home to the state capital, Honolulu, Waikiki beach and white sand beaches, surfers, classic Hawaiian resorts, and tons of people. There are still many beautiful places to explore outside of the city, and this episode covers it all!
Molly stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki Beach. While it’s super touristy, she enjoyed staying in the middle of the city with the ability to walk to bars, restaurants and stores. The Sheraton has a beautiful adults only infinity pool over-looking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head as well as great restaurants, bars and shops. Next door to the Sheraton is the Royal Hawaiian – one of Waikiki’s most historic and iconic hotels. It’s known as the “Pink Palace of the Pacific” with pink accents everywhere and a delightful pink plumeria scent. This is home to the legendary Mai Tai Bar overlooking the Pacific with amazing sunset views and musicians nightly.
Molly rented a Jeep and explored the North Shore while she was here. From Waikiki Beach, it’s about an hour drive through beautiful countryside. Along with pulling off on the side of the road to enjoy the beaches and watch the surfers, below are two specific places to visit on the North Shore:
Kahuku Sugar Mill – food trucks, restaurants, local shops and vendors. She ordered food from Da Bald Guy, which appeared on the tv show the great food truck race and the Netflix Street Food USA show. She had drinks at the Kahuku Beer Garden, a tap room with about 14 beers on tap, most from local breweries. Molly had a flight: Churro Cream Ale, Guava Donut Sour, Legends Hazy IPA and Shave Ice Seltzer. Rainer had Hibiscus Sunrise.
Waimea Valley – this felt like going into Jurassic Park (as it should feel since some scenes were shot here from some of the more recent movies). It’s a nature preserve with a destination 3/4 mile hike to a 45-foot waterfall where you can swim. For you lushes, there is bar at the welcome center with fun specialty cocktails. Rainer had a vodka cucumber cooler and MollyI had the daily special – the Hawaiian Passion – tequila, lilikoi liqueur and ginger liqueur.
Traveling to the Southwest corner of Oahu, you’ll find Disney’s Aulani Resort. You can visit the resort even if you aren’t a guest, so Molly had small bites and cocktails at the Olelo Lounge while listening to live music. Molly drank The Old Koa Canoe (a version of an old fashioned) and Rainer had Green Sands, which was a mezcal based drink.
One popular spot scattered around the island is Leonard’s Bakery, serving up the famous malasadas (Portuguese donuts with a crispy outside, fluffy inside and coated in sugar). Chrissy enjoyed a version of these when she visited Portugal; pictured below are Portuguese tarts compared with the Portuguese-Hawaiian malasada. Leonard’s was the first place to introduce malasadas in Hawaii in 1952!
A trip to Oahu must include a visit to Pearl Harbor. At the Visitors Center there are two museums to explore, and you can make a reservation to go out to the Arizona Memorial. The USS Bowfin is also here with an audio tour. You can take a bus to Battleship Missouri, then to the Aviation Museum both located on Ford Island, which is an active military base. If you decide to visit, go as early as you possibly can; it gets extremely crowded. Take note that only clear bags are allowed here.
Time to get boozy! Molly visited Ko Hana Distillery & This Lil’ Piggy BBQ! Ko Hana Distillers specializes in agricole-style rum (French style of rum-making) made from Hawaiian sugarcane, unlike most rums, which are distilled from molasses. Ko Hana initially started making wine, but apparently sugar cane wine tastes like vinegar. They offer three different tasting adventures every 30 minutes on site. Molly had the classic flight: 2 Kea (white), 1 Koho (aged), 1 Kokoleka (cacao & honey) and Rainer had the aged rum flight: 1 Koho (aged), 1 Koa (koa wood aged), 1 Kila (cask strength), 1 Kokoleka (cacao & honey). Ko Hana offers distillery tours and farm tours and has a great shop filled with fun swag!
This Lil’ Piggy is on property serving up delicious bbq options. Molly grabbed a pre-made bottled daiquiri inside Ko Hana with cups and ice to enjoy with sliders and This Lil’ Piggy’s version of chili & rice with chopped Texas Style Beef Brisket.
After Ko Hana Molly found her way to Manoa Mead & Honey. Manoa specializes in raw, locally sourced honey and craft mead. It’s a very small space, mostly outdoors. Molly and Rainer each ordered a flight. Molly had the In Bloom Flight and Rainer enjoyed the Essential Flight. Manoa offers “bees to mead” tours, which includes an introduction into beekeeping, honey production & mead making.
Diamond Head State Monument is home to an iconic volcanic crater near Waikiki and is one of Hawaii’s most famous landmarks. It’s a popular hiking trail – 0.8 miles to the top and a little more strenuous than Molly anticipated! If you want to visit, you must make reservations to enter park if you’re not a HI resident (6AM gates open – trail closes at 4PM). Make sure to go early, it’s a narrow path that is used to go both up and down.
If you hike on a Saturday, you can visit the KCC Farmer’s Market (Kapiʻolani Community College) following your venture. Every Saturday 7:30AM – 11AM you can find local produce, handmade goods, coffee, snacks, etc.
The Abhasa Spa at Royal Hawaiian is the only spa in Honolulu offering luxurious treatments in a serene tropical garden setting. Molly didn’t love it here; she thought the tropical garden setting was beautiful, but too many outside noises interfered with the serenity. She loved her service though!
Molly enjoyed a four course tasting menu dinner at the Moana Surfrider Resort at the Beachhouse. Located outside the back of the hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean you can catch amazing sunset views from your table. As a good Boozy Blonde, she ordered the wine pairing to go with her meal.
Following dinner, she attended Auana – Cirque du Solei, which was a beautiful tribute to the Hawaiian culture with incredible performers. To Molly, it seemed the show highlighted the four elements, earth, air, water, and fire, with different performances. She also thought each performer was incredibly beautiful! There is a VIP experience available which includes a 90-minute reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as well as opportunities to meet the performers!
To round our her trip, Molly enjoyed drinks at two local breweries, Waikiki Brewing and Maui Brewing. She had visited these breweries on Maui as well. This time she enjoyed a Mai Tai at Waikiki Brewing, and was able to enjoy her favorite, Mango Stickee Rice IPA, one more time at Maui Brewing. Maui Brewing is located in the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, which is home to Auana. And fun fact, Maui Brewing provides the food and beverages and is the host for the VIP Experience mentioned above!
If you find yourself on Oahu, the girls guarantee you’ll enjoy your time there. One of the most beautiful places in the world with so much to enjoy – boozy or not! Have you been to any of the places the girls recommended? Send them a message, and let them know what you think! Or send them a rec for a place they missed! Cheers!
Let’s roar, lushes! As the Tales of the Cocktail mini-series continues, Chrissy interviews Frank Grillo and Alexandra Purcaru of Altamura vodka. Frank is the managing director of Altamura Distilleries and this former New Yorker is living the life the Boozy Blondes dream of in Puglia in Southern Italy! Alexandra is Altamura’s inclusivity ambassador, co-founder of Art Cocktail Club & beverage director at Selva Oaxaca Cocktail Bar who spends her time between Paris and Oaxaca. This dynamic duo is coming together to changing the game for all us cocktail drinkers out there!
Did you know there is a 2000-year-old recipe for a special loaf of Italian bread called Pane di Altamura? Frank stumbled across this recipe, made the bread and wondered why no one was distilling from the wheat. And ta-da! Altamura was born! Fast forward to present day and Chrissy is sipping on the product derived from that very question!
While the bread recipe has twenty centuries under its belt, Altamura Vodka is just getting started having graced the market two years ago. The team appreciates Tales of the Cocktail because it’s an opportunity to present this brand on a world stage; they see Tales of the Cocktail as an exposure opportunity but also a learning opportunity.
For its future plans, Altamura plans to expand into flavored vodka such as tomato-flavored vodka using Datterini tomatoes and a green pepper vodka using mild Friggitelli, both of which are grown in Puglia. They also plan to release a gin and American whiskey in the near future.
And while Frank and Alexandra both live abroad, when in New Orleans they recommend the same watering hole – The French 75 Bar in Arnauds, especially if you plan to order the Old Fashioned. And speaking of the US, if you’re in South Beach, order the house martini at the Four Season Surf Club – it’s made with Altamura! Find the recipe here. If you’re interested in more eclectic cocktail options, visit Altamura’s mixology page for creative concoctions and beautiful photography!
Click on Frank or Alexandra’s names to link to their Instagram accounts. While you are there check out Altamura’s page for fun content, beautiful photography and drool-worthy cocktails.
To learn more about this exclusive brand and the team behind it, check out these articles about Frank and Altamura. And don’t miss this great article about Alexandra as well! See where you can buy a bottle (or two or three) on their website. Cheers!
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