The Liquid Muse

Say "Aloha" to Ocean Vodka!

At $40 per bottle, Maui-based Hawaii Sea Spirits touts its Ocean Vodka not only smooth and pure-tasting but also the vodka for the ecologically conscious. Using water drawn from a half-mile below the Kona waves and alcohol distilled in Idaho from organic corn and rye, Shay Smith, Hawaii Sea Spirits' 29-year-old president, says his desire is to help protect the oceans while creating a high-end product, due to the fact that pesticides used in nonorganic farming inevitably make it to the oceans.

The brand of water used, MaHaLo Hawaii Deep Sea Water originates near Greenland and travels halfway around the globe to the Pacific before being drawn from 3,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The designer water is already marketed in Japan and its producer has opened a posh water bar in Waikiki, selling hydration to beachgoers.

The alcohol used in Ocean Vodka is distilled in Idaho, but blended and bottled by the Smith family at a plant near Kahului. The company hopes eventually to set up its own distillery on Maui.

So, could consuming Ocean martinis really help the environment? "Drinking can save the planet," Smith jokes.

Cheers to that!