Bourbon Whiskey King Kamehameha

[Gillman]

The Advertiser story and Sandwich Islands Distilling are the news article and joint venture I was referring to. The report, I see now, goes back to 2003, did this business get off the ground? I don't know. I couldn't find a website for the company but that doesn't mean it isn't in operation.

I would think though the bourbon in question was made either by the old Hawaiin Distillers, or by that company after its purchase by Le Veque, or by Sandwich Island Distillers. Straight bourbon can be only 2 years old if the label states such, maybe it was made between 2003 and now.

The decanters you found Tim for the okolehao (the name by the way is clearly a variant pronunciation of the word "alcohol") are for the okolehao that was produced by Hawaiin Distillers. Since it used the name Kamehameha as a trade name and that is the name of the bourbon, this leads me to think that Hawaiin Distillers or one of its successors also made bourbon under that name.

I should say though the King Kamehameha bourbon label refers to bourbon "produced" at the finest distillery in Hawaii. It doesn't say distilled. While produced suggests distilled, I wonder if the spirit might have been made in Kentucky and possibly just bottled in Hawaii, or maybe it was aged for a time in wood in Hawaii.

If distilled in Hawaii at some point since the 1970's, this is the first bourbon made by a new company since the 1950's.

I wonder if Koji has any information.

Gary