Drink of the Week for Sunday, April 18, 2010

Oasis restaurant at Waipouli has been open for only two months under its new ownership, but it’s already building a healthy reputation in the community. The trendy spot prides itself on offering a menu that utilizes local foods for 85 percent of the total grinds supply. One of their most unique drinks is the “Basil Cucumber Rickey.” No, this Rickey drink won’t make you rickety. It’s actually an extremely well-balanced mixture of ingredients, believe it, all picked up at Wednesday’s Sunshine Market in Kapa‘a.

Bar Manager Ryan Sanford came from O‘ahu three weeks ago, where he was working for the trendy, high-end Chef Peter Foster, the same man who helped set up Oasis’s menu. Sanford brings a lot of experience and creativity to Oasis. His resumé includes work in places such as O‘ahu’s Living Room and Pipeline Café, where he has experienced some pretty rowdy moments that you’ll just have to ask him about yourself. Sanford is still in the process of moving to Kauai, and soon you’ll see this Chevy-lover driving his 1969 Camaro all over town. No offense, but, hey, too bad it’s not a Ford Mustang. Oasis offers a happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with lots of discounted drinks and an ever-changing pupu menu, crafted with local organic ingredients. Oasis, at the Waipouli Beach Resort off Kuhio Highway across from Kaua‘i Village shopping center, may be one of the last places in the country where you can enjoy a corn fritter made with non-GMO corn.

Basil Cucumber Rickey

11/2 ounces of Tanqueray gin

Soda water

Tonic water

Sunshine Market cucumber

Sunshine Market lime

Sunshine Market spicy Thai basil

Chevy Luv

Muddle the cucumber, lime and basil, then shake it up with the gin. Strain into a hurricane glass full of ice, fill it up with soda water and throw a splash of tonic. Garnish with a cucumber slice and a basil crown, and you’ve got some organic Chevy Luv. Not as powerful as Ford, but arguably more lovable.