Kō Hana Distillery takes considerable pride in the fact that they own the largest sugar cane farm in Hawai‘i and have the capability to produce rum directly from the plant, remarks farm manager Jakob Dewald.

What truly sets us apart from the rest is that our product is created directly from the cane juice. We do not use molasses, nor do we import products – it’s essentially farm to bottle procedure, he explains.

The farm of Kō Hana located in Hale‘iwa has seen remarkable growth from merely one-quarter of an acre about a decade ago to a whopping 350 acres today, reveals Kyle Reutner, the distillery’s General Manager.

According to Reutner, the process of converting sugar cane into rum can span approximately 15 months or even longer, depending on the desired flavor. The distillery’s most popular product is its Kokoleka rum, which is infused with cacao and honey.

Dewald says the farm has over 34 varieties of sugar cane. When workers harvest the cane, he says, they try to use regenerative practices like leaving plant matter in the fields to preserve nutrients instead of burning them.

“We don’t just grow sugar cane and treat it as a crop,” says Dewald. “We grow it for the future of agriculture in Hawai‘i.”

The O‘ahu-based producer has collaborated with notables like Martin Scorsese, Olivia Colman, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Brie Larson among other stardom.

An ex-Navy aircraft-engine mechanic and the winner of 2024 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award, Bubba Smith is the owner who spectrums his work across various vehicles from Hondas to Ferraris.