Koloa Premium Hawaiian Rum
Anything that comes from Hawaii has to be pretty good. There's a lot of information in the press release, so here it is:
Kalaheo, Kaua`i, Hawaii, July 8, 2010–A scant ten months after becoming the first-ever distillery on the island of Kaua`i, The Koloa Rum Company has both captured several prestigious awards as well as begun expanding its distribution eastward, first, across the State of Hawaii and to the mainland, making landfall first in California.
Back in March, Koloa Premium Hawaiian Rum—available in white, gold and dark varieties– won two silvers and a bronze award at the Fifth Annual Polished Palate Rum Festival held in Ybor City near Tampa, Florida. In its first-ever festival and competition outing, Koloa Rum won a bronze medal for their Kaua`i White Rum; a silver medal for their Kaua`i Gold Rum; and a silver medal for their Kaua`i Dark Rum. Festival organizer Dori Bryant, whose judges evaluated 42 rums on the basis of appearance, aroma, taste, “mouth feel” and finish, said, “It is obvious that rum’s star has already risen. The quality of new products entering the market—including those from Panama, Venezuela, Florida and Hawaii—bodes well for the industry.” The Polished Palate founded the first cane-based spirits competition in the US: www.polishedpalate.com/events/irf/2010.
Then, in May, Koloa Rum Company captured a Gold Medal for its Kaua`i Dark Rum at the Rum Renaissance Festival in Miami. This festival (www.rumrenaissance.com), the Western Hemisphere’s largest cane spirits event, featured more than a hundred rums in a variety of categories. A panel of international rum experts including authors, mixologists, collectors, journalists and others blind-tasted the rums in eight major categories. According to event officials, more than 1,900 people attended, with all having the opportunity to experience Rums from around the globe and enjoy public and VIP tastings. According to Paul Artrip, “The Rum Daddy” (www.therumdaddy.com), and host of the American Artisan Rums booth, “America’s entrepreneurial spirit is ‘alive and kicking’ in artisan and micro distilleries across the country, and rum is leading the way. Rum was America’s first widely-produced spirit, and American ingenuity is fighting a slow economy to showcase U.S. know-how and creativity. Having Koloa Rum Company win a Gold Medal in their first year of participation at the Festival is a tremendous recognition of their efforts and their people.”
Bob Gunter, President of Koloa Rum Company, stated, “Receiving multiple awards in two consecutive competitions is a tremendous honor and reflects our employees’ expertise, dedication, hard work and relentless efforts to produce premium products that consistently exceed our customers’ high expectations.
“These rigorous competitions and awards serve to validate these efforts and the quality of our products. One of the goals in creating our company was to bring favorable recognition to Kaua`i and Hawaii, and these medals bring positive attention and credibility to Hawaii as a premium rum-producing region and give all of us on Kaua`i something we can be proud of and share.”
Rum’s ingredients—sugar, water and history—have a rich and storied tradition in both U.S. and Hawaiian culture, and all are a part of Koloa Rum’s DNA. Called “America’s First Spirit,” rum came to U.S. shores with pirates, traders and explorers. It was believed that Captain Cook first brought rum to the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1700’s after it had become part of the daily ration for British sailors. Meanwhile, for 150 years, sugar was one of Hawaii’s principal cash crops, and its first plantation was established near Koloa Town in 1835.
To make Koloa Rum, the Company uses pure Kaua`i-grown raw crystal sugar from Gay and Robinson, the last plantation to operate on the island. Their raw crystal sugar contains naturally high concentrations of sucrose and molasses and provides for efficient fermentation. Pure mountain rainwater from Mt. Wai'ale'ale and the nearby peaks and rainforests filters slowly through layers of volcanic strata before reaching vast underground aquifers the Company taps for Koloa. Finally, Koloa Rum Company’s 1210-gallon, hand-hammered vintage copper pot still made a journey of more than five thousand miles to Koloa’s primary distillery within the Hawaiian Fruit Specialties complex in Kalaheo. Manufactured in New England shortly after World War II, the still was last used to make bourbon and other distilled spirits in Kentucky. Koloa brought the still to the West Coast by train and by ship for the final journey to Kalaheo.
The still incorporates a copper column with seven individual plates. These plates cause the rising alcohol vapor to concentrate as it rises through the column. After passing through the seventh plate, the alcohol vapor enters the condensation chamber (condenser) where it cools and condenses into liquid. This column distillation process, combined with Kaua`i sugar and water, come-together to yield a rum of uncommon smoothness, purity and unique “mouth feel.” True artisanal rum, Koloa Rum is handcrafted and carefully distilled in small batches.
With all elements in place, Koloa Rum Corporation received Kaua`i’s first and only license to distill alcohol on the island in April 2009; they obtained a second license for a emonstration still at the Koloa Rum Tasting Room at the historic Kilohana Plantation in September and began selling rum there after a ceremonial blessing in September 2009. The Tasting Room is projected to attract upwards of 165,000 of visitors during 2010.
The ever-competitive arena of distilled spirits brings increased recognition and a national audience to Koloa Rum Company. As a result, the Company recently announced the selection of Johnson Brothers Liquor Company as its exclusive distributor in Hawaii. Bob Gunter explains, “Johnson Brothers is truly a world-class organization and our new partnership ensures that our expanding portfolio of spirits and other products have maximum visibility and availability across Hawaii and, potentially, beyond.” Meanwhile, the Company has reached agreements to establish selective distribution of Koloa Rum in California utilizing warehouses and fulfillment centers as the means to deliver Koloa Rum to the Company’s new and existing customers.
Johnson Brothers, which operates in twelve states from its base in St. Paul. MN, is one of Hawaii’s best known and most comprehensive beverage distributors, and distributes everything from Constellation’s family of brands to fellow Hawaiian brand Waialua Soda Works.
Gunter concludes, “These are the first steps in our planned expansion, first across and then beyond Hawaii. We don’t intend to rest on our laurels and in addition to wider distribution of our rums, we are looking to introduce new products, including Kaua`i Spiced Rum and ready-to-drink cocktails.”
ABOUT KOLOA RUM COMPANY
Koloa Rum Company is a multi-faceted, Kaua`i-based manufacturer that is focused on the development and sale of superior value-added beverage and food products from a wide variety of locally-sourced agricultural ingredients. Koloa Rum Company fully promotes sound and sustainable agricultural practices and believes that the eventual success of its products will provide meaningful support and diversity to the local agricultural industry and serve to stimulate employment, increase cultivated acreage and preserve open space. For additional information, please visit: www.koloarum.com.
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