For nostalgic Tuesday last week, I began a new series on the best hotels I've experienced, and began with the  Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.   Stayed there for two night, then drove the short distance to the  Four Seasons Hualai . I also had a professional interest in this site, because I was once a geothermal reservoir engineer for the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.  To quote from that posting of 20July2010: I have stayed at various Four Seasons, with the Chiang Mai and   Hualalai   properties being my two favorite.  The latter ranks as   #1 in celebrity honeymoons .   Gayot  and   Travel + Leisure   rate Haulalai as #1 in Hawaii.  There was a period 14 years ago when the hotel just opened when my staff and I discussed the possibility of drilling for warm water and providing cold deep ocean water for a unique spa providing full range of "natural" temperatures.  Hualalai is a volcano which shows potential for geothermal en...

Any excuse to drink some whisky, but, honestly, today is International Whisky Day .  In the spirit of March Madness, Dekanta listed 64 of the best Japanese Whiskies, with the winner to be crowned on April 1.   Vote here . Here are a couple whiskies you can buy from Dekanta: Or, if you want something more celebratory: Then again, here is a perfectly drinkable cheapie: Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky $ 29.99  "Toki' means time in Japanese. And Suntory's Toki Whisky is a tribute to that. Its a blend of whiskies of varying ages from Suntory's three main distilleries - Hakushu, Yamazaki and  Chita. The pairing of Hakushu  American white oak cask malt whisky with  Chita heavy-type grain whisky,  together with select Yamazaki malts to lend additional depth and  complexity, gives Toki  a silky taste and  vivid character. 86 proof.  TASTING NOTES: Color: clear gold  Nose: basil, green apple, honey  Palate: grapefru...

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