Happy King Kamehameha Day!

King Kamehameha Day was proclaimed a national holiday on December 11, 1871 by King Kamehameha V to celebrate his grandfather, King Kamehameha the Great, the father of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Originally the people of Hawai’i wanted to honor Kamehameha V on his birthday on December 11, but being a humble chief he chose a date as far away from his own birthday as possible, June 11. Every year, a statue made in Italy in 1883, honoring King Kamehameha I in downtown Honolulu is draped with 90 thirty-foot flower leis. King Kamehameha Day is celebrated all over the Hawaiian islands with parades, dances and flower decorations.

THE ROYAL HAWAIIAN
Princess Ka’iulani was born in 1875 to Hawaiian Princess Miriam Likelike and Scottish-born businessman Arthur Cleghorn. At age 11 she lost her mother and at 13 she was sent to England to get a British education. While in England, in 1891, the King passed away and his sister, Lili’oukalani became Queen making Ka’iulani the heir apparent. When Ka’iulani finally came back in 1897 Queen Lili’oukalani had been forced to abdicate and a year later Hawaii was annexed by the US, something Princess Ka’iulani fought hard to stop. Having struggled with poor health during the 1890s the devastated Ka’iulani died in 1899, only 23 years old. Twenty eight years later, a pink palace, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel opened in Honolulu. During the 1920s they created a signature cocktail named Princess Ka’iulani as a tribute to the princess. The cocktail changed name in the 1950s to Royal Hawaiian, but the legacy of Princess Ka’iulani lives on as a symbol of strength, grace, and the rich cultural heritage of Hawai’i.

THE DESIGNER
The glass for the Royal Hawaiian is fittingly called Princess and was designed by Danish architect and designer Bent Severin in 1957.

THE ROYAL HAWAIIAN
3 parts Gin
2 parts Pineapple juice
1 1/2 parts Orgeat
1 part Lemon juice

Shake ingrediens with ice until well chilled. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with an orchid.

Happy King Kamehameha Day!

Happy Lei Day

The lei is known all over the world as a symbol of the aloha spirit. When making a lei the mana (or spirit) of the creator of the lei is woven into it so when you give someone a lei you give away a part of you. The American poet Don Blanding thought there should be a set day to celebrate the tradition of giving and receiving a lei. Presenting his idea to Grace Tower Warren, a columnist at the Honolulu Star Bulletin in 1927 she suggested it should be a day in May, coining the phrase “May Day is Lei Day”. Said and done, the first Lei Day was celebrated on May 1, 1928. The following year Governor Wallace R. Farrington declared that Lei Day should be observed “by all true friends of Hawai’i as a day of celebration – not a State holiday”.

The Blue Hawaii
On January 3, 1957 a representative of the Bols distillery walked into the bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort) in Honolulu asking the bartender Harry Yee to create a cocktail featuring Bols Blue Curaçao. Mr. Yee tried several variations before settling on a combination of vodka, rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice and sweet-and-sour mix. The cocktail became an instant hit and remains popular around the world to this day.

Yee was born in Honolulu where his Chinese parents owned a general store. After WWII, during which Yee was a fighter pilot for the Chinese Air Force fighting on the side of Chiang Kai-shek, he got a job at Trader Vic’s, learning everything about tropical drinks. This led him to the job at the Hilton Hawaiian Village serving up tropical drinks to American tourists vacationing in Hawai’i during the 1950s. Most tourists expected to find “Hawaiian drinks” on the menu but since Hawaiians traditionally never used much alcohol Yee had to invent them himself. Apart from the Blue Hawaii Mr. Yee came to invent 15 more cocktails, including the Tropical Itch.

The Last Heir To The Hawaiian Throne

Princess Ka’iulani was born in 1875 to Hawaiian Princess Miriam Likelike and Scottish-born businessman Arthur Cleghorn, during the reign of her uncle King Kalakaua.

At birth she was given an estate in Waikiki where she grew up next door to Robert Louis Stevenson. When Princess Ka’iulani was 11 she lost her mother and a couple of years after that she was sent to England to get a British education. While there, in 1891, King Kalakaua passed away and the new monarch, the king’s sister Princess Lili’oukalani made Ka’iulani the heir apparent.

She wanted to return to home but was told to stay in England during a tumultuous time in Hawaii. When she finally came back in 1897 Queen Liliuokalani had been forced to abdicate. Princess Ka’iulani identified strongly with her homeland and became a fierce advocate for Hawaii. She spoke out against the pending annexation of Hawaii by the United States and fought to keep the Hawaiian Kingdom independent.

Her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and Hawaii was annexed by the US in 1898. Having struggled with poor health during the 1890s the devastated Ka’iulani sadly died in 1899, only 23 years old.

Twenty eight years later, in 1927, a new hotel opened in Honolulu, a grand pink palace named the first resort hotel built in the US. Sometime during the 1920s they created a signature drink, a cocktail called Princess Ka’iulani as a tribute to the influential princess. The cocktail changed name in the 1950s and is since then sharing its name with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel but the legacy of Princess Ka’iulani lives on as a symbol of strength, grace, and the rich cultural heritage of Hawaii.

The glass is fittingly called Princess and was designed by Bent Severin in 1957.

May Day is Lei Day

Having been celebrated since 1927 and turning into an official holiday in 1929 today we celebrate Lei Day. Each of the Hawaiian Islands are represented by a special flower. The island of Hawaii has a red blossom from the Ohia tree called the lehua blossom. Maui has a pink flower called Lokelani. Oahu a golden flower called Llima. Molokai, the green flower from the Kukui tree. Kauai, green mokihana flowers while Lanai has a yellow flower valled Kauna’oa. Kahoolawe has a flower called Hinahina. Lastly Kauai the island of Niihau doesn’t have a flower at all but a sea shell called Pupu.