Exclusive Interview with Mr. Robert Dawson, Co-Founder, Kō Hana Distillers, Kunia, Hawaii

by ,

Q: What is your full name, title, company name and company location?

Robert Dawson, Co-Founder, Kō Hana Distillers, Kunia, Hawaii

Q: What inspired you to get into the spirits industry and why rum?

When I moved to Hawai’i in 2008 with my family, we really wanted to do something meaningful here. Hawai’i gave us so much aloha, we wanted to give something back. I decided to explore opportunities related to agriculture and upon learning of the amazing 1,000-year history of sugarcane in Hawai’i dating back to the original Polynesian seafarers, I was hooked. I was already a big fan of rum, and rum being the spirit distilled from sugarcane, it seemed like fate and destiny to learn about these ancient canoe plants so important to my new home and the idea for a farm-to-bottle rum distillery was born. I met my business partner, Jason Brand, in 2008 and after years of brainstorming and learning together, we officially launched our rum distillery in 2011.

Q: For those of us outside Hawai’i, your company name seems very exotic.  Can you tell us more about it?

Kō is the Hawaiian word for “sugarcane.” Hana is the Hawaiian word for “work.” Together, they mean “the work of the sugarcane,” which is our Hawaiian Agricole Rum.

Q: Where did you gain the knowledge needed to launch a distillery?

As a company, we mostly learned by doing under the mentorship of experts ranging from local agricultural scientists to ethnobotanists specializing in native Hawaiian sugarcane to craft distillers across the country. I also enrolled in a formal distiller’s course in Seattle to learn the basics of craft distillation under the guidance of Rusty Figgins, one of the most respected distillers in our industry. On each step of this journey, we reached out to experts in their respective fields and essentially created an apprenticeship for ourselves with carefully selected mentors who taught us to grow the cane, crush it to juice, ferment it, distill it, and age it before bottling and labeling it by hand. We started with experimental sugarcane farms for about two years before launching our distillery. Farming is the true cornerstone of Kō Hana. 

Q: Most rum distilleries do not grow, harvest and process their own cane.  Why did you decide to do so and where did you gain the knowledge needed?

We made a conscious decision to grow our own sugarcane because no one else was growing the heirloom varietals we wanted to use to make rum. The original Polynesian settlers brought Kō (sugarcane) to Hawai’i with them nearly 1,000 years ago. To bring anything with you on a 3,000 mile ocean voyage at that time, it had to be important to you. Kō was an incredibly significant “canoe plant” as it was used both medicinally and spiritually in Polynesian culture. The specific varietals they brought had a rich history and vast cultural significance. When the western world happened upon the Hawaiian Islands, they saw how well sugarcane grew here. The earliest colonial industry in Hawai’i was the creation of the sugar plantation that transformed the islands and culture completely. Sadly, during this transformation, much of the beauty of pre-colonial Hawai’i was lost. Kō was one of those things put aside and forgotten. The plantations brought with them (or developed locally) hybrid sugarcane varieties that had higher yields and required less attention when farming them. The original canoe plants disappeared into botanical gardens and Aunty’s back yard. As a result, we had to reach out to these far flung sources to find the seed cane and grow the native Hawaiian sugarcane we wanted to use to make the most authentic local rum. In early 2009, we worked with the Hawai’i Agricultural Research Center (HARC) to explore techniques for growing sugarcane. They introduced us to Kō, and we made it our mission to find and grow every variety of Kō that we could. On this journey, we met Dr. Noa Kekuwa Lincoln in 2009 when he was pursuing his ethnobotany doctorate at Stanford. He was born and raised in Hawai’i, and no one is more passionate about the preservation of Hawaiian plants than he is. We hit it off immediately, and we got right down to the business of finding and planting as much Kō as we could, genetically testing each strain. 

In 2008 when we first embarked on this grand adventure, most people had no idea sugarcane was brought to Hawai’i by the original Polynesian seafarers. Today, I think just about every distillery in Hawai’i has a Kō garden and is teaching this history thanks to Dr. Lincoln’s incredible efforts.

Q: You’ve decided to take a “Rhum Agricole” approach to making rum, at a time when sugar mills are not operating in Hawai’i.  Was this a philosophical or quality-driven decision, as opposed to a pragmatic one?  

We love the complexity of true cane juice spirits. Cachaça, Clairin, and Rhum Agricole stood out to us as the benchmarks of what we hoped to create. The amazing diversity of Hawaiian Kō could only be showcased through a pure cane juice rum. Each unique heirloom variety of Kō not only looks different, but also has a truly unique flavor. They vary in sweetness and terroir just as grapes do when making wine. Using anything other than freshly pressed sugarcane juice would be like making wine from grape juice concentrate. We knew this was the hard way, but we also knew it was the only way. This is why we started a farm before we built a distillery. We made a conscious decision from the beginning to have a vertically integrated farm-to-bottle operation with our own fields of sugarcane.

Q: If sugar mills start producing sugar again, making local molasses available, will you make rum from molasses as well or will you stick to the Agricole approach long term?

Cane juice from heirloom Hawaiian Kō is the only thing we will use to make rum at Kō Hana. This is something we will never compromise.

Q: What do you say to Rhum Agricole producers in Martinique, who are fighting hard to keep the “Agricole” denomination from being used outside their region?

We received our “Hawaiian Agricole” designation from the TTB in 2013 when we went to market with our KEA rum. For the last 7 years, we have proudly used this term to describe our unique style of making rum from freshly pressed native Hawaiian sugarcane juice. Back then, there were really only two of us making a pure cane juice based spirit in the United States. St. George had their California Agricole from cane they grew in the Central Valley and we had Hawaiian Agricole. The term Agricole, which means “agricultural” in French, honors the traditional French style of rum making, while creating something uniquely Hawaiian from the field to the glass. We do not use the French spelling of Rhum, and we do not preface Agricole with Rum as others have chosen to do. Hawaiian Agricole is who we are and have always been. We are true to the ideal that only freshly pressed sugarcane juice be used in everything we make. No shortcuts, no refined sugar, no molasses, no blending imported spirits. We only make rum one way, and that is the Hawaiian Agricole way. Farm to bottle every time.

Q: What rums are currently in your portfolio?

We will soon be offering 5 rums in our portfolio, and our newest additions of KILA and KOA should be available within the next few months. All of our rums are bottled using single varietals of heirloom Hawaiian Kō. The name of the cane is displayed individually on every bottle. The varieties have unique flavor and aromatic properties making each bottle special and varied.

  • KEA is our white rum, which is rested in stainless steel for 90 days and bottled at 40% ABV. 
  • KOHO is our barrel aged rum, rested in new American oak for 24 months and bottled at 45% ABV.
  • KILA, our Distiller’s Finish, is rested for 18 to 24 months in American oak and then finished in a variety of individual casks for a minimum of 6 months. Finishing casks previously held Pinot Noir, Bourbon, Sherry, Port, or Madiera. KILA is bottled at cask strength of 56-60% ABV.
  • KOA is our Koa Barrel Aged rum that is rested for 24 months in a second use Kō Hana rum barrel and then further aged in an endemic Hawaiian koa wood cask (Hawaiian Acacia) for at least 6 months. KOA is bottled at cask strength of 56-60% ABV.
  • KOKOLEKA, our chocolate and honey rum, starts with our base spirit which is macerated with locally grown Hawaiian cacao and lightly sweetened with locally sourced Hawaiian Honey. KOKOLEKA is bottled at 30% ABV.

Q: Where can people buy your rums? 

We ship to most states from Hawai’i through a fulfillment partnership with Speakeasy, and our products can be purchased online at www.kohanarum.com.We also have an extensive list of retail partners, some of whom may provide shipping. These establishments can be found at www.kohanarum.com/where-to-buy-khana-rum.

Q: Do you have plans to add more rums to your portfolio?

The KILA and KOA products are new additions to our portfolio. Previously, KOA was the distiller’s select cask strength rum we offered. We recently started experimenting with finish aging in Koa wood barrels, and we quickly realized we had something very special on our hands. We decided to create two different cask strength offerings. The finish aging for KILA will be flexible and a fun way to showcase different flavor profiles created by varied second use barrels. The KOA product will only finish age in Hawaiian grown and made casks of endemic koa wood.

We are constantly looking for new ways to bring the unique flavors of Hawai’i to the world. There will certainly be new products in the future that expand our farm to bottle offerings.

Q: The food and beverage industries have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.  How has it affected your business? 

Like most businesses across the country, the effect of the pandemic has created significant challenges for us. What makes us truly unique is the fact that we only make spirits from sugarcane we grow on farms right here in Hawai’i that we manage ourselves. We are 100% dependent on our farms, as we do not import any ingredients or bulk spirits at all. We are not simply blended in Hawai’i, we are truly 100% grown, distilled, and bottled in Hawai’i. We take pride in the fact that we don’t take any shortcuts. This means we have to maintain our farms while revenue has sharply decreased following a greater than 98% decrease in tourism and the closing of many local bars and restaurants. We can’t just stop the next shipment of molasses or grain neutral spirits while we wait out the pandemic and sell from our existing inventory. We have living plants that need water and care no matter the amount of rum we sell. Fortunately, we have a great farm team, and we are getting through it one day at a time. We hope to come out stronger and better than ever once the crisis is over.

Q: Last month we published an ad prepared by Koloa Rum Company asking the public to help Hawaii’s craft distillers (your company was featured in the ad as well).  Can you tell us how important this request for help is and have you seen any support since then from the government?

Any assistance we can get from the community to nudge the government toward easing our ability to deliver our products directly is critical right now. Koloa CEO Bob Gunter’s efforts have been applauded by every alcohol manufacturer in Hawai’i, and we certainly appreciate it. We are all facing very tough times and it is nice to see the beer and spirit community rally together. So far, no changes from the Governor’s office have happened, but we remain hopeful.

Q: Do you offer tours at your distillery?  If so, are reservations required?

During the pandemic, distillery tours are offered Friday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM for groups of up to 5 people. Reservations are recommended and available online, but walk-ins are welcome. We offer tastings without the comprehensive tour on Wednesday and Thursday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. These offerings are subject to change pending evolving government restrictions as we continue to deal with the pandemic in Hawai’i.

Previously, we offered tours daily, and we hope to resume our pre-COVID-19 schedule once it’s safe for guests and staff to do so.  Please call the distillery to confirm hours and tours prior to your visit (tel: 808-649-0830).

Q: How has the visitor experience changed, before and after the pandemic started?

Prior to the pandemic, we were open 7 days a week from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM with tours every half hour for groups of up to 25. We are now open Wednesday to Sunday, and we only offer tastings on Wednesday and Thursday. Small group tours for 5 or fewer are offered on Friday through Sunday. We require masks for all of our guests and staff. Our tasting room attendance is down about 80% compared to pre-pandemic levels since Hawai’i remains essentially closed to visitors with the 14-day quarantine for all incoming travelers. We are seeing a lot of local support, however, for which we are grateful. 

Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you? 

The best way to reach us is email: info@kohanarum.com. We try to respond to everyone, but please be patient right now if it takes us a little longer, as we are operating with reduced staff as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I just want to say how grateful we are to all of our fans and supporters. Every online sale or bar/restaurant that puts us on their menu means more to us than ever before. We can only get through this crisis with your help. Mahalo nui loa from our ohana to yours.

Margaret: Again Robert, thank you so much for this interview and I wish you and your team much success.