Kentucky has Bourbon and Tennessee has Whiskey.
Hawai‘i has ‘ōkolehao.
The alcohol is distilled from the kī — known also as ti — root, resulting in a strong liquor comparable to rum or tequila. It was likely introduced and refined in the years and decades following 1778, when British sailors introduced the technology of distillation with iron implements to Native Hawaiians. Since then, the debate over ‘ōkolehao’s status in the Hawaiian Islands has aged for over two centuries.
Confusion surrounding the drink’s status in Hawai‘i are arriving at a new, fascinating chapter in the 2026 Legislative Session. It is inspired by a fear that the term ‘ōkolehao may be abused by out-of-state brands intent on capitalizing on the beverage.
Over the past month, House Bill 2475 and its Senate compassion, Senate Bill 3248, have been making their way through the 2026 Legislative Session. Both measures aim to provide stricter labeling requirements for products made with ‘ōkolehao.
An Underground Past
Hawai‘i has either been embarrassed or proud of ‘ōkolehao. It is illegal and disgraceful or legal and venerated. It is a mark of sin or a source of pride.
Century-old newspapers, for instance, advertise the sale of "ales, wines, and liquors" while reporting on the arrest of Native Hawaiians for the distribution of ‘ōkolehao. This was largely because ‘ōkolehao was typically made in the underground, where it was untaxed and unregulated. Only the poor (often Native Hawaiian) made the beverage. A law passed in 1892 effectively criminalized its production without a $250 liquor production license (or $8,700 in 2025 USD).
It was signed into law by Queen Lili‘uokalani on January 13, 1893, less than four days before the Hawaiian Monarchy’s overthrow.
However, it was also a beverage of rising class–and taste. A formative moment arrived for the beverage in 1889, when a smuggled bottle reportedly won a Bronze Medal for the Kingdom of Hawai‘i at the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris.
Even though it was ironically all-but-illegal to produce, political officials at the time like Lorrin Thurston and Sanford Dole were reportedly keen on procuring bottles for themselves, according to the smuggler, Eben P. Low.
Low, a paniolo from Hawai‘i Island, had managed to win the medal on the Kingdom’s behalf. Nearly 50 years later, Low still had a bottle of his 1889 ‘ōkolehao.
In the early years of statehood, Hawai‘i attempted to encourage the development of locally based alcoholic beverages, enacting a measure (Act 26, SLH 1960) that exempted ‘ōkolehao and pineapple wine from the state excise tax on wholesale liquor sales.
The measure’s constitutionality ultimately earned ‘ōkolehao some infamy at the national level. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately determined that the State’s preferential treatment of ‘ōkolehao to the detriment of out-of-state products violated the U.S. Commerce Clause. During the whole debate, ‘ōkolehao was recognized as a local brandy.
With ‘ōkolehao’s steady return, there is a push to rectify this mis-labeling of sorts.
A New Era of Higher Standards
As of this writing, at least three distillers produce ‘ōkolehao across three different islands.
Hanalei Spirits operates out of Kilauea, Kaua‘i. Meanwhile, I continue to spy bottles of ‘ōkolehao from Island Distillers of Honolulu, O‘ahu distributed at Costco and Safeway. Perhaps the most dogged producer, however, is Ola Brew of Hawai‘i Island.
Ola Brew operates from Hilo, is another such venue. According to founder Philip Fukushima, Iron Bottom Spirits of Kailua-Kona also aims to begin production shortly.
On February 13, House Bill 2475 had received a hearing before the House Committee on Economic Development & Technology. The measure was co-introduced by nearly every member of Hawai‘i Island’s delegation in the State House.
It also ultimately earned the support of two members of the Hawai‘i County Council: Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba (the Council Chair) and Rebecca Villegas.
Among the proponents of the measure is Nahealani Breeland, a co-founder of Ola Brewing Company of Hilo, Hawai‘i Island. Breeland appeared in-person before the February 13 hearing.
In a vein similar to Kona Coffee, Breeland believes it is important that the State of Hawai‘i formally protect ‘ōkolehao as a beverage uniquely tied to cultivated kī leaf production and distillation in the islands.
“Because ‘ōkolehao has never had a clear legal definition,” Breeland explained, “it has been diluted, mis-represented, [and] commercialized in ways that have erased agriculture–our agricultural and cultural foundation.”
In April 2021, Ola Brew debuted their ‘ōkolehao at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. “We didn’t have a bottle, so naturally we entered our ‘ōkolehao in a plastic jug with some blue construction tape on it saying, ‘FDA-approved. Please enjoy.’”
Like the Paris Exposition in 1889, Ola Brew’s ‘ōkolehao attracted international attention in San Francisco in 2021, winning two medals at the competition. The traction has been enough for Ola Brew to pursue expanded operations and greater protections for ‘ōkolehao.
Is ‘ōkolehao Hawaiian?
Marshall Fawley, an attorney with Lehrman Beverage Law (a firm based out of Virginia), is presently representing Ola Brew as it confronts many of the hurdles associated with alcohol production and protections at the state and federal levels.
At the February 13 hearing, Fawley shared that his firm continues to petition the U.S. federal government to recognize ‘ōkolehao as a unique class of alcohol. Currently, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau (TTB) regulates alcohol production in the United States.
Recognizing ‘ōkolehao as a beverage uniquely produced in the State of Hawai‘i could result in added federal pressure. Currently Fawley tracks products that have applied for labeling before TTB as ‘okolehao. Standards run wild and are inconsistent.
Since 2015, Fawley estimates that nine products have applied for labeling as ‘ōkolehao. “Several are described as rums. Some are just described as spirits. One is even a blend of bourbon, whiskey, rum, and spirits distilled from cane and ti roots.”
Fawley argues that a clear, state-based definition of ‘ōkolehao can bring some stability to the market. “When you have a product that is unique, is authentic to a specific place, and has clear definitions so consumers know what they’re getting, they’re more likely to purchase that product than a product that they really don’t know.”
At least one international producer of ‘ōkolehao, Alexander Molyneaux of the United Kingdom, cautions that ‘ōkolehao itself is an international beverage. “ʻŌkolehao’s heritage is rooted in a centuries-old Pacific cultural exchange between British and Polynesian communities, encompassing but not limited to Hawaiʻi,” Molyneaux contends.
To his point, the British production of ‘okolehao was a common across Polynesia. However, that does not give a non-Hawai‘i company the free license to use the Hawaiian branding to create products that bear no relation to Hawai‘i’s products, farms, and businesses.
It is a dilemna that has already played out with Macademia and Coffee production. Products with little to no relation to Hawai‘i still invoked Hawai‘i to sell their products without providing any economic benefit to Hawai‘i businesses.
The logistics of regulating ‘ōkolehao’s production and labeling still face logistical hurdles. So far, the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity has publicly supported this measure. However, it has requested that the legislation provide one full-time equivalent position for a Measurement Standards Inspector (whose pay shall be $65,000). As their testimony explains, this person shall oversee the development of inspection processes and product regulation.
On Feburary 17, Senate Bill 3248 passed out of the Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs without any in-person testimony. Both measures, for now, are alive.
‘Okolehao may get more hearings in the future.
Hawai‘i Island’s farmers, elected officials, and existing ‘ōkolehao producers are especially invested in these measures.
"If we wait,” Breeland warns, “history shows us what happens."
