Adam F.
Yelp
Well, this review is a little bittersweet, only in that it was one of my *first* stops on our trip to Hawaii last month, and now I'm back in the real world where I have to do my job all week, instead of just hanging out in various speakeasies... anyway, I certainly did love the *vibe* of the place, definitely felt properly hidden - the door certainly is, I had to ask an employee, but word's clearly out, as it was *packed* by the time I left (it was definitely a nicer vibe closer to when they open, as it isn't that large a space.) Drinks obviously also arrived faster, earlier in the evening, entirely because there was only one bartender the whole evening (though she was a great bartender!)
For $18, I'd say only a *few* of their menu cocktails seemed quite interesting enough to justify that sort of price - but a few did. The "Cool Haircut" certainly did - with tequila, Aperol, Suze, Oloroso sherry, lemon and peppadew brine (and garnished with a peppadew), the exact sort of weird sweet/savory combo I love. The other cocktail I tried, the "Speak of the Devil", wasn't *quite* as out there, being basically a really nice reposado tequila Manhattan-style drink with maraschino, a smoked vermouth (I could taste the smoke), and an interesting *garnish*: a legitimately smoky, tasty smoked olive (would've loved a couple more, though!) They do have a pretty decent selection of spirits, though only for classics - their menu drinks are all pre-batched (I'm always a little sad hearing that - means I can't mezcal-swap anything, haha.)
They also enticed me originally with what looked like a decent absinthe menu, fittingly for the name of the bar - but on closer inspection, the majority were faux absinthes, which is a lot less exciting, and the one I actually wanted to try, they were out of at the time. So I figured, I love a good absinthe drip, and while I've had St George absinthe before (actually, I've had it years ago, at their distillery), they were also the distillery that *got* real absinthe re-legalized in the US, so I ordered a glass. As you can see from the picture, they did technically *have* an absinthe drip, but at least as of the night I was there, only one, and she couldn't actually get it to work, which was far less fun. (And it didn't sound like it was the first time that'd happened to the bartender.)
Anyway, overall verdict of this place: I wouldn't go out of my way to come back, but I would definitely come back if I were staying at the Hyatt around the corner again, like I was this time.