Explore Kō Hana Hawaiian agricole rum
Once known as “reeds that produce honey without bees,” sugarcane is one of the most-cultivated crops on Earth. From granulated sugar to ethanol, sugarcane is the source of a number of products, including rum, which is what brought us to the beautiful island of Oahu.
In Hawaii, sugarcane once dominated agriculture, but today, sugarcane production has been supplanted by tourism, the former plantations now home to resorts and hotels. But some of Hawaii’s sugary history remains. The team at Kō Hana Rum is cultivating heritage varieties of sugarcane, or kō, to make agricole rum, preserving dozens of rare strains and honoring each varieties’ unique flavor by juicing, fermenting and distilling each variety individually.
In prehistoric times, the Polynesians were introduced to sugarcane by the Austronesian people and it’s the Polynesians who brought sugarcane — often called canoe cane — to the Hawaiian islands about 1000 years ago. During the 19th century, sugarcane production grew to the point that it dominated agriculture, but over the 20th century, sugarcane production plummeted as the tourist industry exploded. The last plantation shut down in 2016, leaving small-scale farms like the one at Kō Hana to keep the history of cane cultivation alive.
Most of the sugarcane grown around the world is highly hybridized, or crossbred, but there are some heritage varieties of cane that are still being cultivated.
Sugarcane is a perennial grass in the same family as rice and corn. Native to tropical regions in Asia, it looks like of like bamboo — it can grow to be 10 to 13 feet high and about two inches around. The stalks are pressed to extract juice and sugarcane juice, which has a mild, slightly sweet flavor, is enjoyed as a beverage in many parts of the world where cane is cultivated. It’s that juice that the folks at Kō Hana distill into rum.
Kō Hana is a field-to-glass distillery and it’s a farm first, cultivating more than 30 heritage sugarcane varieties, preserving each type’s unique flavor and character by creating rum from hand harvested, freshly pressed juice. They pay careful attention to what makes each variety of cane unique, much like making wine from a specific grape varietal.
Kō Hana Distillers
92-1770 Kunia Rd #227, Kunia, HI 96759
808.649.0830
info@kohanarum.com