Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/226563
travel My wife goes for the restaurant's most-popular entree: mahi-mahi material sort of wrote itself. But he didn't stop there. The entire farm caught in Hana, stuffed with lobster and crab, baked in a macadamia- is organic and solar-powered. "We're probably the only farm on Maui nut crust. that's totally off the grid," he says. "Well, legally, anyway," he adds, his But it's our six-year-old's dessert that coaxes the iPhone out for an Instagram. The Black Pearl turns out to be as delicious as it is striking: a lilikoi-chocolate mousse in a seashell-shaped pastry. I decide to honour one last food producer and order the Pink Floyd, a martini named after Mama's founder and made with Ocean Vodka from the new sugar-cane distillery about half an hour from here and One sip and it's obvious Smith's vodka stands apart. Despite taking the spirit to neutral, Smith tapers off at 198 proof, leaving a bit of sugar cane sweetness that, when combined with the deep water, results in a smoothness that lacks any bite or medicinal aftertaste. And like any modern Maui culinary entrepreneur worth his evaporated, harvested sea salt, Smith's enterprise is focused on a connection my destination tomorrow. T hefty surfer's frame bouncing with a chuckle. to the land. He points to a botanical garden in the middle of his property he next day I drive to Kula to meet Ocean Vodka's Shay whose native herbs will be used in all manner of cocktail infusions once Smith on his newly opened farm and sugar cane planta- his tasting room and rental space opens later this year. The company tion. Smith, the latest in a long line of North Shore lineage, will also expand into small-batch rum and gin production next year, has what could be the most locally ostentatious enterprise tempting even more visitors to the site, some of whom will surely have on Maui. Which, these days, is quite an achievement. noticed this exotic local elixir if they flew Hawaiian Airlines, where "We make clean, globally competitive vodka from sugar cane," he says with an easy drawl as he walks the red path that intersects his farm's 23 varieties of organic sugar cane. But that's only half of it. "We get our water from the deep ocean off of the Big Island, desalinate it while maintaining all its minerals, then use it in our vodka," he says as I try to imagine the impetus to blaze such unheard-of trails in Ocean Vodka mini-bottles are sold. I wait for my wife to pull up with the rental car, then, given Smith's generosity with his product, slur pleas at her to stop by Mana Foods in Pa'ia for some local snacks before we set off along the Road to Hana in the deep, lush forests of East Maui. Mindful of the disappearing day and the need to drive the Hana Highway's more than 600 turns and 54 one-way bridges in the daylight, spirit's production. The idea, Smith says (like Chef Perry before him), came to him from I rush through Mana Foods' clapboard facade and into what resembles the local media. "I was reading the paper and saw a story about a Japa- a Whole Foods run by Bilbo Baggins. Bearded, tattooed and barefooted nese company on the Big Island that used ancient ocean water from locals greet each other while methodically strolling the century-old 3,000 feet down, desalinated it, bottled it and shipped it to Japan for building's interior. The organic, fair-trade selection surpasses anything its mineral qualities." even the most enlightened mainland supermarket stocks, while the Smith struck a deal for this "ancient water" and the marketing The maui hotel-o-meter Whether you just want to catch some sun while the kids build sandcastles, or you're looking to create your own heat in a tropical paradise, these BCLiving-approved properties put the wowee in Maui. 46 p40-47_Travel-Maui.indd 46 | november 201 3 produce department is downright Jurassic, with avocados quadruple FAMILYLY FRIEND Honua Kai resort & spa Wailea Beach Villas resort This sustainability-minded property's network of Ka'anapali beachfront pools keeps the family on-site, while the variety of residential-style units (most have full kitchens) ensures all the comforts of home. honuakai.com A stay at these luxurious condos is like crashing at a Hollywood producer's beach pad. Thick, rich wood accents and a chef's kitchen will have you resisting the pull of the ocean steps away. waileabeachvillasresort.com bcliving.ca 13-10-23 2:07 PM