Hubby wanted to do some whiskey tasting, so off we went to Ko'olau Distillery. It was our first time there so we didn't know what to expect. We happened to arrive at the right time, as there was only one other couple inside. By the time we left, the place was packed! My advice is to time it so that you're there way before a tour starts. We were greeted by the sweetest owner and employee. They really took the time to explain the 4 tastings that we were about to partake in, and they also gave us a little history about the company. The 4 tastings that we got to try were: 1. Old Pali Road Whiskey 2. Tradewind Gin 3. Mahealani Moonshine 4. Barrel Aged Gin Hubby & I split a tasting for $15. I don't normally drink hard alcohol, but I really liked the taste of the Barrel Aged Gin. It was smooth and had a bit of caramel flavor. After the tasting, I ordered their "Drink Special" for $12, which was an Iced Ko'olau Hard Coffee. It consisted of 1 oz of Old Pali Road Whiskey, Coffee, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream, Chocolate Drizzle, Mano Whiskey & Chocolate. It was so delicious, and I could definitely taste the whiskey! They offer other drink concoctions, as well as beer. This distillery is owned by passionate veterans who love what they do. Their establishment is set up in an industrial area and it feels like you're stepping into a cozy bar. I really loved the chill vibe and the people there! This is a must stop if you love whiskey, gin and/or moonshine. And even if you don't, it's a fun environment! read more

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I love this place so much! The drinks, kitties and the service is AMAZING! Espresso martinis are on par! read more

Great tour and tasting. We were fortunate and the distiller gave us the tour! The spirits are delicious and we all learned so much. Afterwards we enjoyed some snacks and had a drink in their bar area. We had our bottles shipped home and they arrived safe and secure. read more

Thank you Ko'olau Distillery for not only the amazing drinks, but hosting the Super Bowl and accommodating so much seating area for this event! We've only had positive vibes every time!Your team is great and we'll definitely be back soon!! read more

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We did a whiskey tour and had a fantastic time. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny, friendly and did a really great job. The tastings were delicious...the environment was relaxing, peaceful and happy. The bartender was very helpful and accommodating with helping us get glasses and a bottle packed up for shipping. He also was great at recommending a drink for me and it was spot on to my taste... 1000% recommend read more

The tour was amazing and we got educated about how the process of distilling actually is. Learned new verbiages and met some great people! Thank you Olivia (middle wild child) LoL CheeeeeeeeHooo read more

Excellent!! Tour was great our guide was spectacular! Had a variety of drinks and the education on the process was excellent read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Front entrance - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

Drinks were great. Great place to hang out. I had a Negroni and a ube cocktail. Their gin is really good read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Ube cocktail - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

Great place to do a tasting, Fantastic flavor and even better service. Highly recommend to anyone!!!

Amazing!!! Service is A+++. Had a flight and all 5 were great- gin, whiskey, vodka, bourbon and old fashioned. Cocktails were so good! Love this place. read more

First time at a distillery and it was great! We did the tour and tasting for $25 per person. They have a small little warehouse where they do the tour or showing and there's a bar next door with their house made cocktails. The tour was very informational as the guy had thoroughly explained the process and given us a short history of the distillery. Our tour guide was nice and funny. We were able to taste their whiskey, gin, and moonshine! I was amazed at how good the gin and moonshine was because I've had a couple of bad experiences/tastings with those alcohols. Once the tour and tasting was over, I grabbed one of their cocktails that had the moonshine in it and it was so good. You could barely taste the moonshine. Loved this place!! read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

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Really neat place to go explore and they have great alcohol. They produce and great tour they give and I can't say enough about this if you're coming to Hawaii. read more

First time here, but very casual and good drinks. Just missed the distillery tour, but still enjoyed the drink. Came to buy more bottles of their Tradewind Hibiscus infused gin, but stayed for the cocktails. Definitely coming back again. read more

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AMAZING products and WONDERFUL staff!! Please, PLEASE support a local business run by our US Veterans!! Nuff said, ALOHA!!!

We had a great time at the distillery, had a few cocktails before starting the tour and surprisingly they were delicious!! especially the Aviation. Unfortunately we couldn't take the drinks with us on the tour we had to shotgun everything. Our host was pretty funny and knowledgeable, kept if loose. Made it entertaining and informative.learned a lot about the process of making alcohol in Hawaii. At the end of the tour we filled our own bottle of whiskey that we ended up buying. we also had a tasting of whiskey, vodka, gin and moonshine. Wish we had more time to hang out at the bar to try more of the cocktails and maybe have some food from the vendor outside. Seems like a pretty nice vibe! read more

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Great bartender. He knows his stuff. Ask for Justin. I purchased the aged gin, which was so smooth!!! Loved the ambiance of the tasting room . read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Aged whiskey gin & tonic, old fashion, and seno Rita margarita. - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

Smiling faces, fast service, great spirits, and tasty cocktails. I definitely recommend a visit.

Excellent service and high quality food offerings in the Waikaloa resort area. Don't miss the mochiko chicken or the grass fed burger with big island goat cheese. Great vibe and the ambiance is casual but well appointed. It's a bit pricey but it's also Hawaii so that kinda comes with the territory. read more

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Our service was excellent! Ambiance...chef's kiss! We enjoyed the music and the food truck was to die for!!!

What a great little place. Veteran owned and I'm proud to be a patron. We sampled some of their whiskey. Super smooth. We also sampled some of their infused (blueberry) moonshine. Be ready! Super friendly folks that own this. Owner will give you a tour of his stills (named after the ladies). When near KBay, don't miss. Highly recommended! read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

My only other experience with a distillery tour was the Jack Daniel's. I was not disappointed here at all! In fact I learned some new things AND I got o interact with a real life distiller! Our tour guide was the distiller! Got to touch the equipment and even had the chance to mark your own bottle for purchase. And it wasn't an arm and a leg. Excellent experience I recommend it even if you're not a whiskey drinker Plus the drive if you're coming from the tourist mctouristy section of the island is well worth it! Thanks for a great tour and tasting! read more

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Unexpected tour! Very knowledgeable tour guide Ian! Whiskey was tasty and loved that it gave a shout out to our Hawaiian waters! Gin also good. Try it out everyone you won't be disappointed read more

Definitely a cool experience on Oahu as one of the only two distilleries that are open to the public! This place is known for their Old Pali Road Whiskey, but I loved the floral notes of their Barrel Aged Gin! Olivia was our tour guide and it was super cool to hear about the distillation process. We were even able to purchase the bottles we packaged! A must though is their pineapple sipping cream at the bar in those cute pineapple shot glasses. They were absolutely delicious and was even seen on Master Distiller. Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the Kailua area! read more

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Delicious drinks and fun atmosphere! Will return many times! I had the purple drink and my friend had the mule

Great product! Love this company and highly recommend to everyone, it is definitely worth the trip from Waikiki and a must stop if you're in the area. 10 out of 10! read more

We signed up for the tour. It was a blast and we enjoyed the rum. I upgraded to the premium tasting and spent way more than I intended on rum and bottles of dum/barrel aged honey (so good). The staff were super friendly and chuckled when the tour guide commented she was going to spam jam after (so were we). read more

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I heard about this place from a friend and had to check it out. I'm always looking for a good pairing with my cigars. I got there on a Sunday afternoon and was greeted by a friendly distiller name Robert. He gave me a brief run down of their distillation process then I gave me a small taste. Their Moonshine excited my taste buds. I'm heading to Vegas to pick up some hand rolled cigars and I think this moonshine will pair well with it!! Imagine a local whiskey distillery in our back yard!! I always say, support local!! You can go online to their website and schedule a tour of this place. There are lots of parking but I hear it fills up fast on the week days. When you get there don't forget to support and pick up a bottle or two, they even have shirts and hats for sale among other things. Drink responsibly!! read more

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Who knew there was a whiskey distillery in Kapa'a Quarry Kailua ? If you've ever see the label Old Pali Road, this is where it's made. This veteran owned business is run by two former marines evident in the military memorabilia proudly decorating the walls. Unlike a winery tour where you might get some steps in, this one consists of walking between 2 rooms. Nonetheless it is very interesting and informative. Our tour guide, Olivia, was humorous, knowledgeable, and very experienced. She walked and talked us through the process of mashing, fermentation, distillation, and bottling which we got to do ourselves with the latest batch #12. We were able to purchase the bottle we labeled and sealed and one of the owners, Eric, signed it which was kinda cool. If you're expecting to taste a flight, don't. You will get a generous pour of whiskey, which we were instructed on how to drink. I'm no expert and not sure how to describe the taste in words, but it was smooth, light and slightly sweet with notes of vanilla. We were also offered a taste of moonshine which was much lighter and fruitier and didn't hold a candle to the whiskey . They sell a bunch of various Koolau Distellery swag which is great for gifts. If you plan to get a T-shirt and a bottle of whiskey, it's advantageous to get the full package tour. We tried a bar of the Manoa Chocolate Whiskey bar which hit the spot after the whiskey tasting. Couldn't really taste the whiskey but the dark chocolate was just the right amount of sweet. Delicious! read more

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Met these lovely gentleman at costco today as they had a booth and a special in time for the holidays. Very thankful to them for being so informative and friendly and very patient with this person who does not understand the nuances with different types of alcohol. Though they were not giving out free samples, they were giving out free tour vouchers that includes tastings at their beautiful distillery in Kailua. I love the aesthetics of the bottles which can be reused for other items. The person I got gift for would love this as they have said it is one of their favorite liquors. read more

I'm usually a Napa Valley wine tasting girl or even a Micro brew or 2, but Ko'olau Distillery might make anyone a Whiskey drinker! Tucked away in the bundle of warehouses in the Quarry road district, think of it as an open speak easy. If you haven't heard of the place or know the secret word you might not find it, just Google it. Once you find it, parking is scarce, it's a fun vibe, their are an abundance of tables, high tops, and a sofa area close to the live music. It's a very small bar area, but the bartenders are usually pretty quick and pleasant. They make and sell their own spirits, it's Old Pali road Whiskey, gin,Vodka and Moonshine made with pure Hawaiian water. You can also take a tour of the Distillery starting at $15 , which shows you how they make it and includes sampling. Now if you're not a Whiskey drinker, I suggest you try the Ube Bae drink which is served in a champagne glass. It's a Vodka based drink with cranberry liquor that that's purple and tastes like Ube. It's so yummy!! They don't serve food, but you're allowed to bring food in and on occasion there is a food truck parked outside. They have live music on Fridays & Saturdays, and I hear they have Trivia night on Thursday nights at 7:30pm that is fun. Our friend had Shriners fund raising event there that was quite fun and great for large groups. Now, I would've given them 5 stars if their "margarita drink" wasn't made with Moonshine. It's definitely a thumbs down for me, stick with the Ube Bae drink. Definitely check it out, even if you're not a Whiskey drinker, you're supporting a local business! P.S. Check out the artwork on the walls, my friends the artist, supporting local artwork as well. Cheers! read more

My boyfriend is a hardcore whiskey connoisseur so what do we do when we go on vacation?? A whiskey tasting of course! I'll admit, this distillery is a bit off the main tourist beaten path. In fact it was at least a 35 minute drive from where we were staying in Wakiki, but trust me it's worth the drive. When we arrived we were greeted by Ian and Eric, the two owners of the distillery. What charming fellows these two men are! Their personalities are so welcoming and the dynamic between the two of them shows that they've really been best friends for a long time. It made me smile just knowing how these two men turned their hobby into a well established business and a fun tasting for all those who partake in it. At the beginning of the tour we learn all about the whiskey making process and how their whiskey is extra special thanks to that sweet naturally purified Hawaiian water. From there we move on to bottling our own whiskey which was such a cool part of the experience. Putting the label, bottling, and sealing a bottle of liquor was something I'd never done, not even on a wine tasting tour so I was very pleased that they showed us something fun and new. Finally for the tasting itself, we learned the proper technique for tasting and even got to taste some chocolate with our whiskey. It was magnificent! At the end of the tour/tasting, Ian, Eric, and their fellow employee Warren will sign your bottles of whiskey and you even get a complimentary glass to take home with you. We really loved this tour/tasting and would recommend it to anyone whose visiting or living in the area. A few side notes: This is a veteran owned business and they even offer a $10 discount to veterans who take the tour. My BF is a veteran and I thought that was so kind of these gentleman to give him a discount for his service. Also, next year they plan on expanding and releasing their own moonshine liquor. How cool is that?!? Just a note for those who will be visiting in 2022, the tour/tasting will be even bigger and better by then! In fact we will be back in Oahu in 2022 as well so we are looking forward to the expanded version of this tour and see what other fine liquor concoctions these gentlemen have to offer read more

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Awesome tour, great people! We received this experience through our wedding registry. Didn't really know what to expect, but it was awesome. We're not really whiskey drinkers but the master distiller, Justin, taught everyone how to sample correctly to avoid the burn/choke. It was impressive to learn about the distillation process, and then get the hands-on experience of labeling/pouring/sealing our own bottle to keep (as part of the premium package). Justin was engaging, knowledgeable and passionate about his craft. The owners are retired marines and their pride and love are palatable. If you have the opportunity to visit, definitely do it!! read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Tasting of Old Palo Rd Whiskey - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

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Such a fun and unexpected cool place.. most definitely going back the next time we visit Hawaii! read more

Ko'olau Distillery - The most delicious drinks! - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

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Went on a Sunday afternoon and we were the only ones there for about an hour. Could be because it was St Patrick's day. Drinks were solid and reasonably priced. Very friendly service. Cool little spot if you're in the area to grab a couple cocktails or flights of spirits. There was a friendly cat hanging out with us! Will definitely be back! read more

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I called the Distillery, very upset because I missed out on buying specially etched bottles of whiskey from my work place (they had ordered them from ko'olau distillery and had supposedly sold out). Jonathon was fantastic and not only offered to etch some specially for me, but also had it done same day since I was traveling the next morning and they were intended gifts. Thank you so much! I definitely recommend any business that goes out of their way like that! read more

It's located in a garage type space in the back of an industrial park, but worth the visit. They are super nice and provide samples. When we went they had just made their first gin and liked it so much we bought 2 bottles. Looking forward to going back mid December for the barrel aged real. read more

Ko'olau Distillery - Gin - Distilleries Near Me - Kailua, Hawaii

Marine Corp veteran owned, excellent offerings. Friendly staff. What more do you need?

Really enjoyed the tasting and tour. I love the Veteran and Island respect. The whiskey is a good light pour... I personally prefer a bit more bump in proof, but I understand the market and respect it. The Old Pali Road bottle earned a spot on my bar. read more

Went there today for my birthday, and blew my expectations away. The tour was amazing, whiskey was amazing. Will definitely be stopping by again to grab some more. read more

After being to many distilleries in Kentucky it was fun to go to one in another state! Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The owner is an ex marine. So it was decorated with military things but very tastefully. The whiskey, vodka and gin were good. I would definitely recommend taking a tour read more