Episode 190 - Hawaiian Agricole Rum with Kyle Reutner

In this eye-opening conversation and rum tasting with Kō Hana Rum General Manager Kyle Reutner, some of the topics we discuss include:   How Kō Hana Rum started as a passion project dedicated to Hawaiian heirloom cane varietals, spreading from a small lot to several hundred acres of cane farmed at several locations on Oahu. What heirloom cane even means - from its pivotal role in the polynesian diaspora to the advent of commodity sugar farming, to recent efforts to resurrect a nearly lost cultural staple crop. Then we get into the tasting. Boy do we taste. We sample four white (i.e un-aged) agricole-style rums from Kō Hana, all with different flavor qualities and origin stories. Along the way, we talk about Hawaiian terroir, the primacy of plants in the species-naming agenda of native polynesians, how Kō Hana has diversified its offerings using the only cacao grown in the United States, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.