Drink of the Week for Sunday, July 4, 2010

The classy KP Lounge, tucked in behind Kaua‘i Pasta in Kapa‘a, serves several exotic drinks found nowhere else on Kaua‘i. Buried in the unique-drink menu, the mysterious “Kamikaze 300” is just too tempting to resist.

The lounge’s interior design, black walls dressed with beautiful art, matches perfectly the crew, beautiful women dressed in black. The stylish ambiance, the specialty drinks and a fantastic pupu menu add to the priceless experience at KP Lounge.

Bartender Susana Poblacion’s bright smile is the business card for this future dental hygienist. She’s currently taking pre-requisites at Kaua‘i Community College, and will move to a different island in about a year to finish her education.

Her father is originally from Madrid, Spain, and the sweet bartender has been there quite a few times. In Madrid the drinking age is 16 and, yes, she did take advantage of that when visiting her numerous cousins. But the Spanish are thoughtful; they’ll give you a lollypop if you drink too much.

Susana’s drink of choice has to have some kind of bourbon. Can the sweet tooth for bourbon alter the sweetness of this Kaua‘i -born-and-raised wahine? “I only misbehave on my nights off,” said Susana, adding that on those nights, she lets “the good times flow.”

1 1/2 ounce Grey Goose Vodka

1/2 ounce Zen Green Tea liqueur

1/2 ounce Yuzu

House-made ginger syrup

Cucumber, garishoga and wasabi-sugar

Lollypop

Dip the rim of a martini glass in wasabi sugar. Pour the vodka,liqueur and yuzu in a mixer, shake it up, and gently pour it in theglass. Garnish with the cucumber and the garishoga. Keep thelollypop on the side in case of drinking too much.