The Distillery Co Fiji has just released its new white rum KaloKalo.
A Fijian family-owned business this is the next in their line of product line up.
The company initially launched its flagship Blue Turtle Gin.
Chief executive officer, Paul Clark, said the company wanted to create a great rum that really reflected Fiji, and its amazing sugar cane.
White rum
White rum is known as a fairly bland mixer that hides behind other cocktail ingredients.
“We had no interest in making a dull rum,” Mr Clark said.
“KaloKalo is along the lines of the Agricole and true Barbados-style rums that exhibit flavors and notes from the raw materials.
“KaloKalo has beautiful notes of vanilla and caramel and presents more like a darker rum, but with a clean smooth finish.”
It was bottled at 43 per cent alcohol bottle volume, which allows the character to work well across a range of classic cocktails, Mr Clark said.
“It makes a brilliant Mojito, and outstanding Daquiri, and our favourite is a Baravi,” he said.
The Baravi
The Baravi is The Distillery’s take on a Ti Punch – which comprises one third of a lime muddled, one teaspoon of sugar, two shots of KaloKalo and plenty of ice in a tall glass, it is a brilliant sipper that really let’s the rum shine.”
Since it began, The Distillery Co Fiji has remained dedicated to creating world class products that feature Fijian grown produce.
Unlike many distilleries worldwide, they produce their own ethanol from scratch.
The company uses sugarcane byproducts, which supports the many thousands of Fijian cane farmers.
Their international success with Blue Turtle Gin has lifted the level of interest in the industry worldwide.
The company has since been busy with new international customers since.
“We have had a large amount of interest from overseas, and we are now in the process of scaling production to meet these demands, “ Mr Clark said.
“We know Blue Turtle has already proved very popular, and we believe KaloKalo will follow in its footsteps.
“Our uniquely rich KaloKalo is very much on trend with some of the large international distilleries also moving towards white rum that has depth and flavor.”
New equipment
The Distillery Co has recently invested heavily in new equipment, including a very high tech continuous distillation system, and a further 100,000 litres of storage tanks.
“We are looking to the future, and will keep investing to create a world class distillery that will ship products worldwide,” Mr Clark said.
“Like many industries, we are dealing with massive increases in shipping costs.”
However, increased efficiencies in the distillery have allowed the company to keep products at reasonable prices.
“The year ahead will be very challenging as we grow our Fijian distillery,” Mr Clark said.
“Our wonderful staff are up for the challenge and we look forward to flying the Fijian flag around the world in the years to come.
KaloKalo is the first rum produced by The Distillery, and a first in a while for Fiji.
The company aims to bring its other rums to market.