Exclusive Interview with Steve Jefferson, Co-founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works

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

Steve Jefferson, Co-founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works in Kohala, Hawaii.

Q: What inspired you to build a rum distillery and why in Hawaiʻi?

I was born and raised in Hawaiʻi and have a deep connection to our home. The story of Kuleana Rum began 12 years ago when my wife, Jackie, and I were sailing around the Caribbean with our then 1- and 3-year-old children. We made it to the French islands and were pretty stoked to be back in civilization. Martinique, in many ways, is a LOT like Hawaii. It’s a volcanic island on the same latitude as the Big Island, managed by a first-world country, but really an island nation. As a cool day trip, we drove to the top of Mt. Pelée and found the Depaz sugarcane plantation with its own rum distillery. I’ve always liked rum, but never had anything more exotic than Mt. Gay. Well, that day changed us. It was the first time I had rhum agricole and it was the best rum I had ever tasted. I took a sip, looked around at the stunning setting and that was the moment we came up with the idea to move back to Hawaii and make rum from fresh sugarcane juice.

Q: Hawai’i once had a thriving sugarcane industry, with year-round harvest and production, but the last remaining mill shut down a couple of years ago. Where are you getting your juice or molasses?

We actually grow our own cane. We have an unbelievably gorgeous 45-acre farm on the Upolu Pt., the northern tip of the Big Island. At first, we were planning on using sugarcane left over from the plantation days that started in the mid-1800’s, but then we discovered Noa Lincoln, who was getting his PhD at Stanford University in the Hawaiian field system and what he discovered stunned us. About 1,000 years ago, the legendary pacific wayfinders discovered Hawaii in their voyaging canoes (think the Disney movie, Moana), bringing with them incredible plants and ideas – everything they needed to create a new world.

As part of his studies, Noa’s DNA testing revealed there are 40 uniquely Hawaiian varieties that all derived from those original “canoe plants” that landed with the first settlers. As perspective, Europe was in the middle of the Dark Ages. 

Q: Wow, so you grow your own kō(sugarcane), that is fantastic! how many varieties are you growing and why?

All of them! We were so excited to learn this story and this incredible history that we committed to grow all 40 Hawaiian varieties. Each cane is remarkable in both coloring and in flavor. We couldn’t believe our luck – after committing to make rum agricole in our birth place only to find it is the home to a thousand-year legacy of arguably the most interesting sugar canes on the planet was definitely exciting.

While many people associate sugar cane with the Atlantic and the Caribbean, it’s actually from the Pacific. Sugarcane originated in Papua new guinea about 10,000 years ago. A single cultivar made its way overland via Asia and the Middle East where it was discovered by the Europeans and planted in the Caribbean. But for 3,000 years, when the empire of Rome was just taking hold, sugarcane has been traveling around the Pacific in the canoes of the way-finders who discovered and settled virtually every island in the Pacific.

Q: What kind of sugarcane yields are you getting?

We’re not growing cane the way it’s done for the sugar industry, so we don’t even have the same definitions for yield. Specifically, we plant in rows with at least 12’ of space between each. We do this for aesthetics, ease of operations and to keep each variety discreet from the next. We get about 5 gallons of juice per plant and we plant around 1,000 plants per acre.

Q: Where did you gain your knowledge about fermentation and distillation to get your operation up and running?

Lots of painful sessions, some very excellent ones, tons of books, a few great classes including your own (The Rum University) and working with some of the best rum makers and distillers in the world. In fact, Gilles Cognier, whom many of your readers are likely familiar with, is a big part of going from good to great. His 30+ years of experience making some of the best agricole in the world has been invaluable to us. Also on our team is David Perkins, the founder and CEO of High West Distillery. After he sold his critically acclaimed and wildly successful brand to Constellation in 2016, he joined our team.

Q: As all of our readers know by now, producing rum on an island has a very specific set of challenges, above and beyond those for mainland distillers. What were some of the unique challenges you faced when you opened the distillery?

First, we are the first licensed distillery on the Island of Hawaii, so just getting through the regulatory process was extremely challenging. And we do have to ship everything here, which usually means paying double the actual cost of the goods.

But that pales in comparison to the fact that Hawaiʻi is the best place in the world to make fresh cane juice-based rum. The Pacific is where sugarcane started on earth and where most of the varieties still remain. Hawaii is the birthplace to the most glorious varieties of sugar cane in the  world.

Q: Are the toughest challenges behind or do you see new ones in the horizon?

By my definition, the toughest challenges are the ones you haven’t solved yet. And because we want to help rewrite the story on how great rum is, I expect challenges to keep coming in rapid succession.

Q: What rums are you producing?

We make rum in two ways: we make rum agricole from our fresh Hawaiian sugarcane juice grown on our farm in Kohala, Hawaii. We distill in a hand-made, copper alembic pot still. We call that Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole. We are also aging this rum in Cognac barrels and will release it as Kuleana Aged Hawaiian Rum Agricole in 2020.

Thanks to the skills and award-winning palate of David Perkins, we also 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.

Huihui is a super unique white rum in that we blend a delicious, molasses-based light rum from Papua New Guinea (the birthplace of sugar on earth) and our own high congener rum agricole, as well as an exceptional rum agricole from Martinique.

Huihui just scored 94 points from the Beverage Tasting Institute and has been very popular in bar programs because it makes cocktails taste fantastic. We also make an aged blend, called Nanea. We blend a two-, a three- and a four-year aged rum together to create a dry-but-fruity round, vibrant rum perfect for sipping and cocktails.

Like The Real McCoy and a growing number of artisanal rum makers, we don’t use added flavors, colors or sweeteners to any of our products. We think great rum doesn’t need anything to stand up to the very best spirits.

Q: Do you have plans to produce additional rums in the near future?

Yes! In addition to some aged projects, we plan on releasing a new product every year. We can’t share the details yet, but we are super excited – some of these will be products we’ve never seen in the market before.

Q: Where are your rums currently available for purchase?

We just launched in December of 2018 but are available anywhere in Hawaii and in California this fall.

Q: Do you offer tours of your distillery as well as tastings? Are reservations recommended/required?

Yes and Yes! First, we built a 3,800 sq.ft. visitor center disguised as a world-class bar and super yummy restaurant serving authentic, local dishes. Called the Kuleana Rum Shack, it’s in the Waikoloa Beach Resort and is open every day.

We also provide full tours of our 45-acre kō (Hawaiian heirloom sugarcane) farm with a ridiculously gorgeous view of the ocean and the Island of Maui. We then go to the distillery to see how we convert that cane juice to rum, and conclude at the rum shack for some great food, a tasting of all of our rums, and maybe an O.G. Mai Tai or two. We also sell our bottles there.

Check out the kuleanarum.com for details and to book.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about what a customer will experience when they arrive at your distillery?

The distillery is just part of our tour. We want to people to see, touch and drink each part of the process. From fresh cane juice at the farm, to the fermented wash at the distillery, to one of the three award-winning rums (and best Mai Tai ever!) at the Rum Shack.

Q: Ran you tell us a bit more about your “Rum Shack”?

We hired Art Deakins – a 20-year pro and the 2016 winner of the World’s Best Mai Tai Contest to create and head our bar program. We’ve got an incredible deep back bar and fantastic list of cocktails. The most popular are the Kuleana Old Fashioned (kiawe wood smoked, rum-based version of the classic); the Waikoloa Sour (a rum and passion fruit- based sour); and, of course, our Mai Tai (made with our agricole and aged rums based off the 1944 recipe from Trader Vic).

Q: Do you have a favorite signature cocktail? And why?

Right now it’s the Hi Punch. It’s simple and sublime: 2 oz. of our Hawaiian Rum Agricole in a glass, and on the side, a frozen half of Lilikoi (passion fruit) and a 2 oz. decanter of fresh cane juice. It’s a deconstructed Tí Punch if you will, and it delivers the essence of Hawaii in quite a remarkable way.

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

I’m always available at steve@kuleanarum. com. But better yet, come on down to the Kuleana Rum Shack and I’ll buy you a Mai Tai!

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

We are super stoked to be included with such fine company. It’s forums like this that create communities that create, share and release into the world great products. Our Kuleana is to make the best Hawaiian rum possible and help share the incredible story of Hawaiʻi with the world.

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

Cheers!

Margaret