OUR STORY

ABOUT US

Kuleana Rum Works was born on Hawaiʻi Island in 2013 to make and share exquisite rum while creating a thriving local business that celebrates the richness of Hawaiʻi. Our intent is to get people as stoked about high-quality rum as we are by making rum from the best ingredients on Earth and without added sweeteners, flavors or colors.

As serious rum lovers, we make super-premium rum in two ways: we distill fresh Hawaiian sugarcane juice into elegant rum agricole using 40 varieties of kō (Hawaiian heirloom sugarcane) grown on our farm in Kohala, Hawaii; and we blend rums from around the world – carefully chosen for their purity and rich taste – into delicious and flavorful products not available anywhere else in the world.

KULEANA HAWAIIAN RUM AGRICOLE

Rum agricole is made from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice. Because rum agricole requires expert crafting and fresh sugarcane, less than five percent of the world's rums are made as agricole. At Kuleana Rum Works, we distill fresh Hawaiian sugarcane juice into elegant rum agricole using the 40 varieties of kō (heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane) grown on our farm in Kohala, Hawaiʻi.

The origins of our kō (Hawaiian heirloom sugarcane) varieties trace back to the first "canoe plants" brought to Hawaiʻi 1,000 years ago by the original Polynesian wayfinders who learned to see, feel and work with their environment to navigate and settle the vast Pacific Ocean.

We hand cut each stalk of kō, press it into fresh sugarcane juice, ferment it using a special yeast and distill it in a hand-made, copper alembic pot still. This slow, careful process makes delicious and flavorful rum which showcases the magnificence of the kō. Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole (TM) is the only rum (and spirit) from the island of Hawaiʻi. Enjoy it neat or quietly, with a splash of simple syrup and a squeeze of lime.

KULEANA BLENDS

Because the quality of the rum makes a dramatic difference in the taste of the cocktail, Kuleana Rum Works blends its own rums. We meticulously source the highest quality rums from around the world, chosen for their purity and rich taste, to create the perfect marriage, making cocktails and lips sing.

Huihui ®
Huihui is something that is "mixed, mingled, united or pooled together". Huihui can be a group of people, a constellation of stars, or a great Mai Tai. Huihui Rum blends a delicious molasses-based white rum with exceptional agricole (fresh sugarcane juice-based) rum to bring the best of both styles into a familiar yet yet exotic spirit. This may be the only rum that does this, and we did it because it makes cocktails taste surprisingly awesome. It is depth and intrigue swimming in an ocean of calm. 

Nanea ®
A blend of aged rums that delivers superb depth, balance and character. We blend three carefully selected, variously-aged rums from around the world, meticulously considering how each contributes to the foundation, body and accents, until the blend is unmistakably nanea (fascinating). This should be enjoyed naked or in a classic cocktail.

RUM SHACK

An Authentic Taste of Hawai‘i

On this beautiful Island of Hawaiʻi, we respect and honor the land still forming under our feet. We cultivate, harvest, and fish sustainably. We look after our community.

In Hawaiʻi, where most of life happens outside, we celebrate everything, from birthdays, anniversaries, to holidays in our garages which provide shelter and comfort for our friends and family to have fun. We clear out the cars, bring in the picnic benches, music and celebrate with food and drink. In honor of this tradition, we built the Kuleana Rum Shack as our garage and welcome you to share traditional Hawaiʻi-family food and enjoy our locally made Kuleana rum.

Kuleana Rum is made right here on the Island of Hawai‘I from 40 heirloom varieties of kō (sugarcane), which we harvest by hand, press, and distill into Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole and blend into Kuleana Huihui®. We also blend our KuleanaNanea® from exceptional rums we discovered around the world.  

To complement our signature rum cocktails, our chef Keola Valdez worked with Nakoa Pabre, owner of Kona’s popular Umekes Restaurants, to create an authentic menu that takes its inspiration from generations of Hawaii’s best recipes.

Eat, drink, have fun and go home with a bottle of rum and happy memories of your new Kuleana ʻohana. 

Aloha pumehana!