In the rolling hills of Newberg, Oregon, Ewing Young Distillery has built a reputation for spirits that honor history, craft and a deep sense of place. Their newest release, Old Coxe barrel-aged rum, embodies that mission more than any spirit before it. Rich, tropical and layered with meaning, Old Coxe is both a bold addition to the Northwest’s distilling landscape and a personal tribute from Owner and Head Distiller Bev Root.
While rum is far from the standard in Pacific Northwest distilling, that was exactly the point. “Rum isn’t the first spirit most craft distillers think to make in the Northwest,” Root says. “Whiskey, gin or vodka are more common, but I wanted to do something different, something that could capture the tropical essence of rum while telling a story that connects the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.”
That story begins in 1811 with Naukane, a Hawaiian royal appointed by King Kamehameha I to travel to the Pacific Northwest as a royal observer. On the journey, he earned the nickname “Old Coxe” because of his resemblance to a young sailor named John Coxe. Over time, he became one of the most recognizable figures in the fur trade era, a man known for his humor, leadership and deep integrity.
Root felt an immediate connection to Naukane’s story.
“I named our rum to honor Naukane, one of the first Pacific Islanders to come to the Pacific Northwest in 1811 to live and work. At the time, Britain’s Hudson’s Bay Company, which nominally controlled the area, allowed only rum imported from the Islands as ‘ardent spirits.’ It seemed so fitting to name the rum for Naukane, ‘Old Coxe’.”
Naukane’s life was extraordinary, one that spanned oceans and cultures. Born around 1779, he witnessed the fatal encounter with Captain Cook in Hawaii as a young royal retainer. He later sailed to the Columbia River, traveled twice to England, and became a respected leader within the Hudson’s Bay Company. At Fort Vancouver, he managed herds of more than 700 pigs, and the surrounding area became known as Coxe’s Plain. He lived and worked there until his death in 1850, remembered as a vibrant personality and a cultural bridge between Hawaii and the developing frontier.
“Naukane and Ewing Young had many similar qualities; they were adventurous, great leaders, bold and trustworthy,” Root explains. “Naukane, who is buried at Fort Vancouver, was a member of the Hawaiian royal family and sent with island workers to ensure they were well treated and properly compensated. In this capacity, he would have interacted with Ewing Young, who employed several Islanders and indeed lived with an Islander woman as his common law wife. Old Coxe, a ‘prodigy of wit and humor,’ lived and worked at Fort Vancouver until his death in 1850.”
Choosing rum as the spirit to honor Naukane was not an impulsive choice. Hawaii’s relationship with rum stretches back centuries, rooted first in ancient kō (sugarcane) cultivation and later in booming sugar plantations and a modern craft rum revival. After Captain Cook’s expeditions introduced new forms of sugar production and fermentation in the late 1700s, rum became a staple of Hawaiian trade, culture and hospitality. Bev’s decision to craft rum in Oregon pays homage to this tropical legacy while bringing a distinctly Northwest approach to barrel-aging and complexity.
With Old Coxe, Ewing Young Distillery offers more than a bottle of rum. It offers a story, one that spans oceans and centuries, from Hawaiian royalty to the Oregon frontier. Through Bev Root’s thoughtful distilling and historical reverence, Old Coxe stands as a tribute to Naukane’s remarkable life and to the enduring connections between the Islands and the Northwest.
Old Coxe Rum is available now at Ewing Young Distillery and select retailers. For those who appreciate spirits with depth, character and history in every sip, this release is one not to miss.
