Old Lahaina Fire Relief Fund

Please help our Old Lahaina Rum extended ‘ohana recover from the wildfires that struck Lahaina and Maui four weeks ago. Donations will aid our employees, staff, partners, and other local victims of the fires impacted by the tragedy.

Why help us? - because your donations will have a double impact. First, funds contributed will help support the Old Lahaina Rum staff and their families as they begin the long process of rebuilding their lives. Second, our team members will not just stay at home if you donate. We’ll use any non-essential work time to help fill “holes” in island relief efforts. If we’re able to raise more than our goal, we’ll engage other locals to help with relief efforts too.

We began producing Old Lahaina rum in Maui in 2006. Our company is a Maui-based, family owned, true craft distillery with no outside investors. Our rums are made here and sold only in Hawaii. Prior to COVID (and now the Lahaina wildfires), Old Lahaina Rum was the largest selling local rum Statewide. If you have ever visited Lahaina, Maui, or even Waikiki, you’ve probably enjoyed Old Lahaina Rum in one of Hawaii’s world famous mai tai’s. In 2019, we were proudly featured as the main rum in four of Hawaii Magazine’s HAWAII’S TOP 5 BEST MAI TAI’s.

Lahaina looks like Hiroshima right now. Organizational chaos accompanies a disaster like this. Needs are immediate and governments work slowly. We locals must help each other. Funds are available but knowledgeable locals are needed to create/execute impactful plans to use that money wisely. That’s where local small businesses like ours can make a real difference quickly.

A small example of one such issue…. generous mainland and international groups apparently have put together over 500 ocean containers of diapers, bottled water, clothing, canned food, appliances, floor mattresses, kid’s toys, and tons of other hard goods to be delivered in relief. These containers are sitting on the docks on the West Coast. Why? There aren’t warehouses to put the goods in on Maui, or people to figure out who exactly needs what, or transport goods to deliver the mini-distribution centers on the Lahaina side of Maui. We’re working on these issues now.

Sixty percent (60%) of the Maui economy depends on visitors. Horrific videos of the Lahaina destruction and warnings to “stay away from Maui” have caused cancellations of hundreds of thousands of 2023-24 Maui visitor reservations. Unemployment claims are soaring. Plenty of small businesses will fail this year without help. Visitors consume 90% of the rum we make. They will be absent for the next year and our sales will crash. Your donations will help keep our crew together and our staff doing useful work during these next six months.

We deeply appreciate your generosity and say thanks from the bottom of our hearts. If you want to help our business and countless others like us in the long run, please do visit Maui. Tragically, Lahaina is gone. However, the rest of our island remains spectacular and one of the consistently rated TOP FIVE islands in America… many say in the world. When you do come, enjoy a Mai Tai made with Old Lahaina Rum… then take a bottle home like the thousands of others who visit every year do.

If you do have an Old Lahaina Rum story, please let everyone know in the comments below. Your positive notes will help others see we make a great product …. With your help, we’ll be able to keep making rum!

Mahalo Nui Loa