Heritage Varietals Bring Ko Hana Agricole Rum A Sense of Place
Kyle Reutner has always been passionate about spirits. As one of Hawaii’s core group of talented bartenders that trail blazed the craft cocktail movement almost a decade ago, he’s as intrigued by the story of a great cocktial as he is with the spirits themselves.
At Kohana Agricloe Rum, where he is the General Manager he’s found the perfect place to weave together his love of history, a love of Hawaii, and a passion for distilling.
“It’s really interesting to see how history has been re-written in terms of colonial sugar, “ he says on a walk through the cane fields one day in late May. “ Hawaiians had these crops here 800 years before Western contact and being able to share that knowledge with guests and with people who live here and always thought sugar cane came in the 1800’s – we get to show them how it really happened.”
Reutner has long been an enthusiast of the history of his profession. When he bartended at Town in the early days, there was often a waiting list for seats at the bar on Thursdays, the night he was bartending, and at Pig And Lady where he headed the beverage program, part of the joy for drinkers was conversation with Kyle behind the bar. Or the drink he might create just for you.
Five years ago, at the start up of Ko Hana, and working with researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa , the team met a professor who would be key to their heritage cane discoveries. “It was honestly the happiest accident when we heard about the man who literally wrote the book on ethno botanicals in Hawaii and were introduced to him “ The ensuing relationship with Dr Noa Lincoln became integral to Ko Hana finding out what growing possibilities were best for Hawaii. “it’s been an incredible journey,” says Kyle. “ Once we found these heirloom varietals , and we knew we could share real Hawaii history through the rums, it was just amazing.”
Hawaiian heritage sugar cane is a stunning blend of heritage varietals of yellow, purple, red, and green sugar canes - all but lost to the ages that are now being carefully preserved and grown.
It’s uncommon expensive nowadays for rums to be produced using fresh sugar cane – most are produced using by-products of sugar cane such as molasses. It makes the process and production at Ko Hana even more unique to the industry and to Hawaii.
“It gives everyone a real connection to the place, “ says Kyle. “You can look at your bottle of rum and know where it was grown and which varietal was used.”
A guided tour of the Ko Hana Distillery and their beautiful farm is a must for anyone who wants a deeper dive into the possibilities that local agriculture brings.
Tours of Ko Hana include an exploration of the farm and distillery and a lateral tasting of white and aged rums – in a Ko Hana glass that is yours to keep.
