Locals First - Let's Raise the Bar
Please join us in our first ever ’Meet the Locals’ blog series celebrating our Maui small businesses who are the main role in the wedding and event industry. At WOW, our passion is - and always has been - to ‘support the locals’ first here in the place we call home - beautiful Hawaii. We will be featuring some of the small businesses we love and support and the individuals we rely on to create these magnificent events. We hope to encourage you to support our local island providers too when planning your special day in paradise. As we say ‘please kokua’ meaning ‘work together’ with us to support our local businesses and help our community thrive.
First up, let’s ‘Raise the Bar’ - quite literally in this blog.
Meet Kirsty Sinclair, owner of Aloha Bars on Maui. Kirsty owns and operates a flourishing business that she has built from the ground up. She is a ‘ray of sunshine’ who puts all new meaning into the craft cocktail sensation. Combining locally sourced ingredients coupled with a shake of love and aloha, voila! It’s happy hour.
"My passion for entertaining and making delicious drinks actually made me a bit of a local celebrity on Maui, and after repeated requests to cater numerous weddings and private events I started realizing that this is the business avenue I was meant to follow… and Aloha Bars Maui was born! Since then I have been focused on filling a very important niche within the Maui wedding & event industry… clients who want a high quality, professional mobile bar service that gives their guests a real “taste of Maui”, while staying within your budget.
I’ve accomplished this by developing amazing business relationships with local organic farmers and unique product vendors from various islands so that I can buy directly from them, thereby supporting local businesses and avoiding costly store mark ups. The result is a surprisingly affordable, yet extraordinary drink & cocktail menu that uses the freshest ingredients available in stylish & innovative ways!”
Cool down this summer by indulging in one of our favorite drinks, the Summer Splash! Simple, refreshing, and the perfect drink to sip on this summer, we’re certain you’ll love it just as much as we do! While we can’t deny that watermelon cocktails on a Hawaiian vacation are unbeatable, why not recreate the experience at home?! Give it a try and treat yourself to a taste of paradise in your very own space. Cheers!
What You’ll Need:
4 cups of cubed ripe watermelon
12 basil leaves
1 1/4 cup natural or organic brown cane sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
4 cups cold water
1 cup boiling water
Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl, stir 1/14 cups of cane sugar into 1 cup of boiling water vigorously until the sugar is completely dissolved, creating a simple syrup. Let the syrup cool, then place in the refrigerator to chill.
In a blender, combine the cubed watermelon, 1/4 cup of lime juice, and 1 cup of lemon juice. Blend until the mixture becomes smooth and well-combined.
Strain the watermelon mixture through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher to remove any pulp. Discard the pulp.
Add the cooled simple syrup and 6 basil leaves to the watermelon mixture in the pitcher.
Pour four cups of cold water into the pitcher and stir thoroughly.
To garnish, take the remaining fresh basil leaves and give it a quick, hard smack in the palm of your hand to release its fragrant aromas. Add the basil leaf on top of a glass filled with ice cubes and pour in the watermelon cocktail.
Kirsty’s Notes:
For a twist, add your favorite vodka or tequila!
Before serving, always give the mixture a good stir and pour it over ice. Enjoy your refreshing Summer Splash!
The Summer Splash makes 6-8 servings, can be stored in the refrigerator, and is best served within 3 days.
