Maui Ocean Vodka & Surfing Goat Cheese

It looks like a road to nowhere.
You check your GPS more than once, "can this be right?"

We were checking out some foodie places on Maui, and following directions to the organic vodka  and award winning goat cheese farm. 

However, this road is decidedly rural... nothing but fields of sugar cane, a couple trees, mountains ahead and clouds above.

Wait a second...
Ah ha, this looks promising.
Turn in!

Driveway curves around with lots of fun signs.
This is looking better all the time.































The view of the distillery gardens and outdoor tasting room.

Fresh pineapple.... wait...

It's not much bigger than a hand grenade.  Seriously, the smallest pineapple I have ever seen.






























The view from the top is spectacular as you look towards the center of Maui from the slopes of Haleakalā.

Over 50 kinds of sugar cane grown here, who knew there were so many?
They won't tell you which varieties they use to make their vodka, or their rum.
I guess that's a good idea, but really I can't even grow tomatoes, I hardly think I will be making a batch of vodka any time soon from sugar cane grown in Washington state.
 

Thomas, the distillery cat.The nicest cat ever.  What a love.

Inside the bottle house, filling the little bottles.  Fun to see the operation.

Not sure about this contraption, corker and plastic seal... I think.


But better than any fancy machine:

Here's one of the recipe's they hand out:

Firecracker Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Ocean vodka
2 oz mango juice
1/3 inch red jalapeno, diced
Squeeze of lime

Muddle the jalapeno in the bottom of a glass.  Fill with ice.  In a shaker (also filled with ice pour mango juice, vodka and lime juice.  Shake and strain into an ice filled glass with the jalapeno in it.  Serve.

Their statement bottle, such a pretty color.

Just up the street, not far from the middle of nowhere, is another place worth a stop.
Surfing Goat Dairy.  We had a little cheese tasting, ordered a couple of grilled goat cheese panini's and enjoyed the sun.  We arrived too late for a tour, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves anyway.


Some little goats in the nursery area.

This lady was exceedingly popular with the kids.