Koʻolau Distillery Whiskey Tour in Kailua, Hawai'i
Description
WE ARE OAHUʻS FIRST AND ONLY WHISKEY DISTILLERY. The tour is an exploration of an artisan craft distillery that utilizes Hawaii’s superior water to produce exceptionally smooth whiskey.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Guided tour and whiskey tasting. Come experience our one-of-a-kind Hawaii distillery located in the foothills of the legendary Koolau Mountains. Learn about the Koolau Distillery story and how we craft Old Pali Road Whiskey, one batch at a time with a narrated step-by-step guide by our knowledgeable whiskey aficionados. We share what makes Koolau Distillery so unique and the steps involved in the whiskey distilling process: Mashing, Fermenting, Distilling, Aging, and finally Bottling. We conclude with a whiskey tasting and an opportunity to purchase limited batch authenticated whiskey and other official Koolau Distillery souvenirs.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(33)
Very informational and fun to meet the vets!
A little hard to find but well worth the effort. Started with cocktails, while we were waiting for the tour of the back room with a very knowledgeable, young lady that certainly knew her whiskeys. I couldn’t resist and ended up bringing a fifth home so that we could always enjoy a little of the Aloha spirits when we get a little homesick for the island. Don’t know when our travels will bring us back to the island, but this would certainly be on the itinerary when we do.
Thank you for visiting us and for your kind words. We certainly hope your travels do bring you back to us in the future.
Ian, who is one of the owners, and a retired Marine entertained us with his knowledge and humor on our tour. He explained the process in detail and we found him to be very relatable. We got to bottle our own whiskey which was very cool and we tried a number of products. Very comprehensive and enjoyable time. They also had live music outside and a busy bar.
Incredibly overpriced tour from a head distiller who was high and had a bad attitude. She was incredibly harsh and the distillery missed an opportunity to win over customers who, as locals could have sent a lot of guests there.
We are sorry to hear about your experience on the tour. That’s not the experience we want guests to have. The guide that day had just returned from an emergency trip to the mainland and was exhausted which likely affected the tour. We do appreciate you letting us know. In retrospect, we should have another guide take her place that day. If you’re open to it, we’d love to invite you back for another tour with one of our other guides so you can experience it the way it’s meant to be. Hope to see you again soon! 🥃
This was a fun experience to be able to bottle your own alcohol. Our group appreciated that they taught us how to taste the different flavor profiles in the drinks we tried. The following day we went to a coffee tasting and they didn’t teach us how to taste, smell with your mouth open, leave it in your mouth for a moment and breath through your nose. We were able to utilize that in our coffee tasting and it made such a difference. Not only loved learning how it is processed but we learned a new skill that can be used in many other applications.
This tour was much more insightful than we expected. The owner is very knowledgeable, we learned a lot. Chill folks, good whiskey. Highly recommend.
We have done a lot of distillery tours in Tennessee and this one stands up with them. Tasty Whiskey and the tacos on Taco Tuesday were delicious!!
The Ko’olau Distillery Whiskey tasting was amazing! Loved learning the process of distilling, the background on the creators, love how they give back in so many ways to the public and military communities. Bottling our own whiskey and the tasting, as well as catching the last of Sunday’s football game in their lounge was amazing! Only 30ish min drive from Waikiki. Absolutely recommend this adventure supporting a local small business!!
Highly recommend this tour if you are on Oahu. Ian was informing and entertaining. One of the best whiskey tours I’ve been on to include tours in Scotland. Great whiskey and the gin was fantastic even for a non gin drinker. Veteran owned business as well. Hope you guys have the rye the next time we’re here because we will definitely be back!
The tour was great. Olivia is the head distiller that was leading the tour, telling us how the whiskey is made and how the building has expanded since they first open.
