Goats and Vodka

Our next day took us on a tour of Maui's Upcountry. This is the farming region on the slope of the dormant volcano,  Haleakala. It was quite a change from the beach and tourist areas of the island. It was also our most relaxing day, considering the other adventures.

First stop was the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm for a tour and tasting. It was started in the late 90's by a German couple who wanted to retire on Maui and open a Bed & Breakfast. They were disappointed that they could not buy goat cheese on Maui, so they decided to raise some goats and make it themselves. Local restaurants heard about it and the rest is history.

As many readers know, Germany is far ahead of us in terms of recycling. The German couple were disturbed when seeing so many old surfboards at the dump, so they began offering some free goat cheese to anyone who brought their surfboard to the farm. The boards now serve as fencing and decoration and in some areas, the goats are able to climb on the boards, looking like they are surfing.

We were able to feed the goats. They got a little crazy.

This was the baby goat playground.

After a tour of the farm and cheese making facility, we were given a basket of crackers and a canoe of flavored goat cheese. I have never cared for goat cheese in the past, as I don't like the strong (in my mind, gamey) flavor. Maybe it was the herbs/flavorings added to these, but I actually enjoyed them all. However, the best part was when we were each given three goat cheese chocolate truffles.....OMG.......they were wonderful! I had coffee, coconut and a passion fruit. You would never know they were made with goat cheese.

Our next stop was Ocean Spirits Organic Vodka Distillery for another tour and tasting. The vodka is made from sugar cane, displayed here.

I never knew there were so many different types of sugar cane. We were able to sample each different one, chewing the sugar cane and then disposing of the leftover stalk. It was surprising how different the flavors actually were. If you've never tried sugar cane, I'd describe it as chewing on raw rhubarb, only it tastes good.

This was the bottling room. Aren't the bottles cute? They sit on their side and resemble a bottle floating in the ocean. We were given mini bottles of vodka to take home.

This was the outdoor tasting area. We sampled their vodka, rum, and deep ocean mineral water. I don't like vodka, so it wasn't my thing. Now don't laugh, but I do consider myself a connoisseur of bottled and fresh water, as I can tell the difference between different brands and taps. This water had absolutely zero taste whatsoever. Maybe to some, that's a good thing. I wasn't that impressed.

We had lunch at one of Oprah's favorite restaurants on the island, the Hali'imaile General Store. It was built in the 1920's as a general store for the people working on the site's pineapple plantation. If you are a foodie, Bev Gannon is the chef/owner now. It was cute inside, with overhead fans and lots of colorful artwork. My husband and I both had the crab and rock shrimp cakes, which we enjoyed.

After lunch, we went across the street to Makai Glass Hot Shop and Studio and walked around to admire the art for sale. Way out of our price range, but I liked this Honu sea turtle. Many of the pieces were lit up like this with LED base lights. Another fun day in Maui. I will wrap up this travel log with one more post as soon as I get my act together.