Finally, and after a two year (2020 and 2021) hiatus due to the Covid travel complications in Hawaii our corn farms are back up and running! We’re also excited about a new partnership with Hartung Brothers of Hawaii who is growing our 2022 Kauai crop. This winter we will again be making our Kapahi Bourbon Whisky while our first 53 gallon barrels made from our 2018 corn is looking forward to being bottled in 2023! Exciting times as the age of our whisky hits year 5 in the big barrels. We will continue to update our 2022 crop as it moves closer to harvest and ultimately to distillation.
August 19, 2022 update has us a few weeks away from harvest. Our corn is bathing under the west Kauai sun and is lowering its moisture slowly while retaining the best taste possible in the kernel. Critical, and often overlooked, is the quality of the grains going into the distillation. It is so very important to have the cleanest and most flavorful corn possible before starting the whisky mashing process.
53 GALLON BARRELS 202209301-60 These sixty 53 gallon new two year air aged American Oak Char #3 Nadalie barrels are intended for a lengthy aging of no less than 4 years. The farm name where our corn was grown is Kaumualii who was was the 23rd high chief of Kauaʻi and reigned during 1794–1810. The main stretch of roadway running on the west side of Kauai is also named after this alii nui. Visitors and locals on Kauai most likely passed our whisky corn on their daily commutes this past summer.
This Kapahi Kaumualii grown bourbon is also the first batch of whisky malt that has been run through the new Carl still in Spokane, Washington. As with all of our small batch bourbons it will be both exciting and fun to watch our whisky age over the years. We will continue to update this page and attempt to identify the tasting characteristics of this whisky as the years roll by.
First Release (April, 2026) We have decided to release eight (202209301-20229308) of the sixty total barrels at the 3.5 year mark of their aging. This bourbon may be the most classic tasting whisky we have made to date. It has a heavy grain, sawdust and wheat cereal taste. It is medium bodied and grain forward with a sweet finish in the middle. The oak shows on the finish and has notes of nutmeg and all spice. It will be very interesting tracking the progress of this bourbon as we wonder what attributes are coming from the Nadalie made aged oak barrels. This whisky leaves you wanting more and more will come over the years!
