Take flight with the Goose and Juice at Merriman’s

Lucky we live on Kaua’i. Our beautiful island is home to an onolicious abundance of fresh, sweet fruit. At Merriman’s Fish House there is a wide selection of specialty cocktails and martinis, with some of them made with seasonal fresh fruits.

Cocktails are $10 and martinis are $11. When certain fruits are in season, Merriman’s take advantage and serves season martinis at $12.

Goose and Juice Wine director and service manager Kui Viado introduced Kaua’i Times to a seasonal martini, which is sweet and refreshing.

“The martini is called the Goose and Juice because we use Grey Goose vodka and the juice we use are all local,” Viado said. “The bartender squeezes fresh juice before her shift, so you get a very fresh tasting drink.”

Besides the vodka, the martini has local grapefruit and Valencia oranges, he said.

“It’s all fresh juice, so even when you’re drinking it, you won’t be able to taste the vodka,” Viado said.

He was spot on — the fresh fruit from grapefruit and orange mixes so well with the vodka that the alcohol is hardly noticeable.

But Merriman’s also has wine, and a large selection of it indeed, 450 different types.

“For poke and salad, we have everything from light, white, crisp wines,” Viado said. “For beef we have cabernet, pinot noir — we have wines that go up to $5,000 a bottle, so we have all kinds.”

It comes down to what the customer feels like drinking — and spending — according to Viado.

“We have something for everybody: We also have dessert wine, port, wines for special occasions, sweet wine,” he said.