For proud Hawaiians, the mai-tai has always been a bit of a sham. The cocktail most associated with the Aloha State may have been splashed with a local fruit juice or two, but the magic bullet, “the rum—came from Puerto Rico!” says Greg Schredder, a longtime Kauai local.

But since July, Schredder has been bringing the most Hawaiian of beverages home with his Kõloa Rum Company, which distills light, amber and dark rum from molasses, the little-used by-product of a rustic 174-year-old sugar plantation (Hawaii’s first, and only one of two remaining today).

A new 1,800-sq.-ft. tasting room has also opened just minutes from Kauai’s airport, on the historic Kilohana Plantation, an authentic time machine for the whole family complete with a restaurant housed in a 1936 mansion, a railway and one of the most unique luaus on the Islands.

But Schredder knew local ingredients would only get him so far—his rums and mai-tai mixes “had to blow people away.” So last year he purchased a 3,785-litre still, used since 1947 to produce Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort in Kentucky,
which today sits proudly in the tasting room. Seven 12,870-litre stainless steel tanks anchor his production facility, a magical place where Kauai sugar and fresh tropical fruit, grown in volcanic soil and fed by pure rainwater from Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale (the wettest spot on earth), are turned into masterpieces.

How to Make Greg Schredder’s Koloa Sunrise Mai Tai

Fill shaker with ice
1.5 oz Koloa White Rum
3/4 oz simple syrup
5 oz pineapple juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake, serve over ice.

Cut orange wheel in half

Lay or float the half-wheel flat over ice, covering half the glass mouth

Place one drop of grenadine in the spoke of the orange wheel and enjoy the sunrise