Koloa Rum Company Koloa Kaua‘i Gold

Koloa Rum Company Koloa Kauai Gold is a Hawaiian rum distilled on a pot still from molasses on the island of Kauai, bottled at 40%. The pot still and island origin promise character, though this young gold expression leans more raw than refined.

The nose is dominated by spirit, with alcohol, young wood and a petrol edge to the fore, and the palate keeps that youthful, hot profile, petrol, fresh wood, a rubbery note and lingering alcohol through the finish. There is little of the sweet barrel polish a gold rum might suggest, this is a sharp, young distillate that wears its newness openly. It performs best in cocktails, where mixers soften its rougher notes, rather than as a neat sipper. A frank, rustic look at Hawaiian rum for the adventurous.