Post #768320 by Hurricane Hayward on Thu, Sep 8, 2016 12:58 AM

RumScrummager: Mahalo for sharing your story. Rollo's was the place where I first discovered Kohala Bay, of course. It wasn't too long ago that besides Rollo's, only The Mai-Kai offered this fabulously funky rum. It's sad to see it gone, especially at The Mai-Kai.

MikeHooker: Your concerns about Appleton Reserve are legitimate. However, after tasting all the former Kohala Bay drinks at The Mai-Kai, I'm surprised at how well it blends in many of them. The sign of a good mixing rum, I guess. What they were using before (Bacardi Black, et al.) just didn't cut it. It works better if you close your eyes and try to forget what the drink could taste like with Kohala Bay, but many folks won't know the difference. I'll post a list soon, with my reviews and recommendations on which cocktails suffer, which benefit and which are pretty much the same. As far as I know, Kohala Bay came along as the replacement for Dagger, which goes all the way back to Donn Beach. There may have been some years in between without it, but I'm not sure.

This is the last bottle I'll be dipping into for a while. I have three more in the rum cellar, where they'll probably stay. On a brighter note, I've heard that progress is being made at The Mai-Kai on having a distillery make a special blend that will duplicate the flavor profile of Kohala Bay. It may not be widely available, but at least the mighty Jet Pilots and Swizzles will be back to normal. This is still preliminary, so we'll have to wait to see how it plays out.