Pacific Business News

By Megan Fernandes

Oahu-based Ko Hana Distillers has partnered with nonprofit Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative to give back by selling a new rum — with a twist.

The new rum, called Ko Hana Koa, is aged for two years in barrels made of koa wood and is the culmination of more than six years of planning and labor. The distillery produced 437 bottles of the new product.

“The processes behind this heirloom cane rum took years to develop,” Robert Dawson, co-founder of Ko Hana, said in a statement. “As a boutique distillery, our rums are crafted without compromise, and by using koa barrels, we are able to introduce a new sensory experience that honors the essence of the cane while creating something new."

The distillery is known for producing its rum from sugarcane grown by the distillery on Oahu, instead of molasses — which is often found in mass-produced rums. As part of its partnership with Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, 50 koa legacy trees will be planted by HLRI, with an additional 50 trees planted per batch.

“Since its inception, the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative has developed innovative ways to support our mission of reforesting 1.3 million native and endemic trees throughout Hawaii, and Ko Hana is a perfect way to show how a Hawaii company can incorporate reforestation into its operations,” said HLRI Executive Director Jeffrey Dunster, in an interview with Pacific Business News.

PBN sat down with Dawson to learn more about how the idea came into fruition.

Why did you decide to age the rum in Koa wood?

We have always sourced whatever we possibly could from Hawaii. For example, Ko Hana is the only Hawaii distillery that makes 100% of our products from sugarcane that we grow ourselves. It is a true farm-to-bottle way of thinking, and working with koa was a natural next step. The rum expresses itself in an incredible peppery way, with a deep koa red hue.

Is that more expensive for the company to do?

Yes. As an artisanal craft distillery, we make the best rum in the state, with no shortcuts – we do everything the hard way. Shipping an American Oak barrel to Hawaii costs up to $300 – creating our prototype koa barrel cost $4,000. Koa acts differently, it doesn’t bend quite the same, so we had to learn from the process. As far as we know, no one has created barrels from koa for this purpose. Acacia wood is a perfectly good hardwood for aging spirits, but it’s expensive and difficult to source. So this has been in the works for about seven years.

What is on the horizon with the company?

In 2020, we will continue our local focus, expand our product range, and include a greater selection of bottle sizes, just to name a few additions on the horizon.

Source: Pacific Business News