106: Kuleana Rum Works: Discovering the Big Island's Take on Hawaiian Rum with Steve Jefferson

The Rumcast

In this episode, we sat down with Steve Jefferson, co-founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works, a distillery on Hawaii's Big Island that's putting their own spin on fresh cane juice rum. From growing their own heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane to sourcing and blending rums from around the world, they have a unique approach that's resulting in some pretty damn good rum. We chatted about:

Going from sailing around the Caribbean to starting a rum distillery in Hawaii

Working with a 30+ year veteran of Martinique rhum agricole on Kuleana's production process

The big gamble Steve made to acquire the 45 acres that became Kuleana's farm

Nerdy production and still design details

The current state of their aging program

How they plan to utilize the 35 varieties of heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane

Their relationship with Ko Hana on Oahu

Why Kuleana sources and blends rums from around the world in addition to distilling their own

Their connection to High West Whiskey

Their crowdsourced funding campaign

And more!

Plus, at the beginning, some rambling thoughts on John's travels in Italy, amaro, chasing the solar eclipse, and the impact of minor ABV differences.

You can check out Kuleana's website here (which also has a link to their funding campaign): https://kuleanarum.com/

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