Spirt of the Islands

Sip them, mix them, just don’t miss them: Hawai‘i’s world-class rums may be hard to find most anywhere else.

BY RICHARD CARLETON HACKER

Piña coladas at the Residents’ Beach Housepresent just one of the many ways to enjoyhigh-end Hawaiian rums at Hualālai.

Rum cocktails have long been a popular way to toast an arrival, a departure, or just about any other occasion during a Hawaiian vacation. But the next time you raise a mai tai or piña colada, consider the source of your drink’s defining spirit. Some of the world’s finest rums are made by small-batch distilleries right here in the Hawaiian Islands. What’s more, the majority of their rums are only available in the islands, meaning that an in situ tasting may be your only chance to experience these spectacular local elixirs.

Although Hawaiian rums are not new—rum distillation has been happening in the islands for more than a century, owing to the proliferation of sugarcane brought by the ancient Polynesians migrating from the South Pacific—they are at the peak of their refinement today, when high-end rums are increasing in popularity around the globe. There are now eight distilleries scattered among the islands, just a few of which—including Kōloa, Kō Hana, and Maui island’s Kōlani—specialize solely in rum. (Incidentally, Kō is the Hawaiian word for sugarcane, which is why it appears in the names of so many distilleries.)

A sip of Kōlani’s Old Lahaina Dark Rum—not available on the U.S. mainland—can be savored on the island of Hawai‘i at Hualālai’s Residents’ Beach House. Kōloa, from Kaua‘i, is one of the few Hawaiian rums that can be found on the U.S. mainland (a few other brands can be shipped to certain U.S. states, local laws permitting), but why wait? Kōloa rums, as well as Kō Hana from O‘ahu, are close at hand at the Hualālai Trading Company at the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai.

Kōloa is a single-batch distiller that produces Kaua‘i White, Dark, Gold, Spice, Coffee, and Coconut rums, as well as the aged Kaua‘i Reserve. Its rums are crafted from premium Hawaiian sugarcane and from ultrapure rainwater from Mount Wai‘ale‘ale and the nearby rain forests that filters through the volcanic soil before reaching underground aquifers.

“Kōloa’s rums are double-distilled in single batches in our 1947-era, 1,210-gallon copper pot still,” says Nikki Franklin, northern regional sales manager for Kōloa Rum. “Caramelized cane sugar creates the golden hue and a touch of sweetness for our Kōloa Kaua‘i Gold Rum, while vanilla creates the richness and bold flavors of Kōloa Kaua‘i’s Dark Rum. We produced our first limited-edition aged rum in 2018; it has been matured for a minimum of three years in charred American whiteoak barrels at our distillery in Kalaheo, Kaua‘i.”

On O‘ahu, Kō Hana offers tours of its smallbatch distillery. The company produces a KEA Collection limited-edition white rum made with 34 varietals of sugarcane, a white agricole rum, a barrel-aged rum, a limited-edition cask-strength rum, a cacao-and-honey-flavored rum, and a Kokoleka Artist Series rum that comes in a collectible bottle etched and signed by the Hawaiian artist Kim Taylor Reece.

Old Lahaina’s distillery, Kōlani Distillers, is built on the site of the 19th-century Pā‘ia Sugar Mill operation on Maui island. This family-owned company uses two steam-fired 500-gallon pot stills that were originally built in 1946 for the New England Rum Company in Boston. Old Lahaina’s three rums—Silver, Gold, and Dark— are distilled from Maui-grown sugar and a proprietary molasses that was made by Maui’s now-defunct Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, which ceased operations in 2016.

“We stocked up on sugar and molasses before they closed down,” says Paul Case Jr., a co-owner of Kōlani Distillers. “But we are currently running out of those last Maui plantation fermentation stocks and will have to grow our own cane to create our rums going forward. We use water that comes from wells and streams in Central Maui, including the famous ‘Iao Valley. After distillation, we age rums in steel for a period of time to allow our flavor profile to develop; then we use ex-bourbon barrels to finish some of the rums we blend into our Gold and Dark rums.

“All of our products are made specifically for the rum-based cocktail market here in Hawai‘i,” Case Jr. continues. “The vast majority of rum consumption in Hawai‘i occurs in tropical cocktails . . . [and showcases] the underlying fruits that make our state’s famous tropical drinks, of which the mai tai is the monster drink here.”

“It is our number one cocktail,” adds Hualālai’s Leonard Joseph (“LJ”) McCullough III, bartender at the Residents’ Beach House, of the mai tai and, more specifically, the resort’s unique spin on the beverage (see “Layers of Tradition,” page 19). “People will show up at the bar who aren’t even staying here and say, ‘Whenever we come to the island of Hawai‘i, we come straight to the Residents’ Beach House and order a Big Daddy Mai Tai—that’s how we know we’re in Hawai‘i. We’ve had other mai tais in Hawai‘i, but it’s just not the same.’ ”

Old Lahaina Dark Rum serves as a “float” for the exclusive Big Daddy. The 30-ounce cocktail— a cherished ritual, indeed, for many Hualālai homeowners and resort guests—is served in an oversize, handblown martini glass that might require two hands to lift. (A 16-ounce version is also available.) It, like the rums of Hawai‘i, is unique, possessing an aura of aloha that exists nowhere else.

A “float” of Old Lahaina Dark Rum, which isnot available on the U.S. mainland, tops Hualālai’ssignature Big Daddy Mai Tai.

A “float” of Old Lahaina Dark Rum, which isnot available on the U.S. mainland, tops Hualālai’ssignature Big Daddy Mai Tai.

LAYERS OF TRADITION

LJ McCullough III has been making Hualālai’s Big Daddy Mai Tai the same way since 1997, the year he started mixing drinks at the resort’s Residents’ Beach House. “When I first came to work here,” LJ recalls, “Christian Hiro, who was the head bartender at the Residents’ Beach House when it opened in 1996, told me, ‘Listen, here’s how we make the mai tai at the Residents’ Beach House. It’s our signature recipe. Don’t ever make it differently. Make it just the way I’m showing you.’ And I said perfect, because I had nevermade a mai tai before.”Now, 21 years later, LJ shares that sam eResidents’ Beach House recipe for the signature Big Daddy:“We build this drink in the glass,” saysLJ. “First, we fill it with crushed ice, thenpour in three ounces of Myers’s PlatinumWhite Rum. Next, we add six ounces ofour house-made mai tai mix, consistingof two ounces of fresh lemon juice, twoounces of orange curaçao, and two ouncesof orgeat syrup. Then we top it off with a two-ounce “float” of Old Lahaina Dark Rum, carefully poured over the top of the cocktail using an inverted spoon. Finally, we add a pineapple wedge garnish and a slice of lime. The drink is not stirred—it is served layered in the glass. Some cus tomers like to stir it before drinking, while others just sip through the layers.” —R.C.H.

LJ McCullough III