The Kōloa Rum Company opened in 2009. They pride themselves in being the only distillery that uses only 
ingredients that are local to the Hawaiian Islands to make premium single batch rums. The distillery is located in Kalaheo (which we did not visit). The tasting room is located in Lihue (which we did visit 
). The tasting room offers free tastings on the hour and half hour. Although it is free, please tip your tasting guide.
In your free tasting you will have the opportunity to taste 4 rums:
-Clear
-Gold
-Dark
-Spiced
All 4 of the rums that we tasted were excellent. The Dark actually just won 1st prize at the International Rum Competition in Miami! In addition to making excellent rums, they make their own mai tai mix. Our tasting guide advised that they will be releasing their coconut rum in the near future as well. After you complete your tasting you will get a special treat (hint: it might be a delicious homemade macnut cake with rum chocolate sauce….).
Next door to the tasting room there is a company store. You can get all sorts of souvenirs there. The only souvenir that we brought home from our 2 week trip was a fifth of Kōloa rum. Fifths range from $28-$36.
**AFTER YOU ARE DONE MAYBE YOU ARE HUNGRY? Check out Mark’s Place
For more information, visit their website : koloarum.com
