Selecting Pineapple for Juice
Each pineapple plant will grow approximately three fruits in its life cycle. According to Nigbur, “The first growth is the best pineapple for the consumer [because they] want to buy fruit and take it home to the mainland or have it sit at their house for a week and not have to worry about it spoiling. The second growth is perfect for the fresh cut, already [made] stuff, because it's a little sweeter. Then, those third ones, they didn't really have a market for, and that's where us and the winery and the brewery comes into play. We're able to gobble up all that fruit. Nothing really goes to waste. It really minimizes the amount of waste the Pineapple Company has.”
Companies differ in their desired ripeness of the fruit. Ross explained, “During the spring to early fall, an ideally mature Maui Gold variety produces more sugar and less acid. In contrast, the acidity of the fruit will tend to rise during the cooler parts of the year (winter to early spring).  That being said, we harvest the fruit at certain ripeness levels reflective on the seasonality of the fruit and the needs of the customers. Maui Wine, for example, prefers a more acidic profile for their wine. During the summer periods, they’ll typically end up with fruit being more so on the greener side in order to express the acidic nature of the fruit. During the winter/early spring, the fruit is naturally high in acidity where 50%-70% ripeness can suffice the desired acidity for wine production. In contrast, Maui Brew and Pau prefer higher sugar content and lower acidity levels which is ideal during the summer months. During the cooler parts of the year, harvesting at peak ripeness (higher sugar content) will maximize the sugar content in the fruit to help combat the seasonal rise in acidity.”
 
Ross also noted the following:
 
In essence:
Late Spring – Early Fall (Lower acidity)

• Pau – 50-70% ripe
• Maui Brew - 50-70% ripe
• Maui Wine – 25% ripe

 
Late Fall – Early Spring (Higher acidity)

• Pau – 75-100% ripe
• Maui Brew - 75-100% ripe
• Maui Wine – 50-70% ripe

 
Turing Pineapple into Juice at Maui Wine
The fresh fruit is trucked up to Maui Wine in Ulupalakua. There the fruit is mechanically sliced into 3-4 pieces, crushed with pine-namatic and then axial feed into the five tonne bladder press.  This yields approximately 150 gallons of juice (approximately 1,251.8 lbs of juice) per ton. The juice is then pumped into tanks for cold settling for Maui Wine or into 250-gallon totes for the distillery. 

Companies using Maui Gold include

• Maui Wine
• Haliimaile Distllery
• Maui Brewing Company

​Production Process
Pau vodka is made by Hali'imaile Distilling Company of the LeVecke’s Private Label Program.  The vodka is distilled from Pineapple, specifically Maui Gold pineapples.  To produce the distillate, the pineapples are fermented and the mash is run through proprietary glass stills personally designed by Master Distiller Mark Nigbur. Nigbur has chosen to forgo use of traditional copper stills, as he believes copper can impart flavor during the distillation process.  This single distillation still is similar to that of a continuous still. As a “filter,” the column contains volcanic rock. After one pass, the spirit is at 96.5% alcohol before going through gravity filtration via activated carbon.

Tasting Notes
Bouquet:
Pau has a slight nose of pineapple leaf.

Pallet:
On the palate, it’s more astringent than the other two Hawaii Vodka’s we tried but still not harsh. On the rocks, the palate becomes noticeably softer as the fats coagulate and the astringency mellows.  It has a top note of bright pineapple and a medium finish that is slightly vegetal. 

Cocktail Approach

• Method: Muddle ingredients and Shake
• Flavors: Due to its robust flavor profile, we feel Pau would work well in fruit-heavy cocktails such as our POG - Pau cocktail.
• Avoid: Adding water
  
  

Hawaii Beverage Guide Commentary
 It should be noted that Pau’s retail price runs $5 to $10 less per bottle than Ocean Vodka or Hapa Vodka.