Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness
There were maybe 15 people in the room. A small JICA-affiliated lecture somewhere in Japan, around 2016 or 2017. The man speaking had left Japan, gone to Laos, cleared raw jungle, planted sugarcane, and was making rum — not as a commercial venture first, but as an act of social commitment. His name was Inoue Ikusaburo, and his distillery was LAODI.
I was completely struck. I could not stay in my seat.
What Is LAODI?
LAODI (Lao Distillery Co., Ltd.) is a craft rum distillery in Laos producing pure sugarcane juice rum — the style known as rhum agricole — using organic sugarcane grown on land that Inoue-san cleared and cultivated from approximately 2005 onwards.
The sugarcane is pressed fresh, and the juice ferments and distills immediately. No molasses. No shortcuts. This is rum made the way the great agricole producers of Martinique make it — but in tropical Southeast Asia, by a Japanese founder, on land carved from primary forest. LAODI was the first craft rum distillery in Laos.
The Mission Behind the Rum
What sets LAODI apart is that the rum came second. The social mission came first. Inoue-san’s vision was to create sustainable livelihoods for local Laotian communities — to employ local people, develop agricultural land responsibly, and produce something that Laos could be proud of on the world stage.
His partner is Sihatha Lason — the bridge between the Japanese founder’s vision and the Laotian community that makes it real. Operating a distillery in a socialist country as a foreign entrepreneur is not simple. The fact that LAODI exists and thrives is, in itself, a small miracle.
The Rum Itself
LAODI’s house style leans toward grassy, vegetal, almost herbal freshness — with a tropical intensity that reflects the heat and humidity of the Mekong basin. For fans of Martinique rhum agricole (Clement, La Mauny), LAODI is a fascinating comparison: same philosophy, wildly different terroir.
LAODI bottles are available at Bar Little Happiness in Hiroshima — one of the very few bars in Japan that stocks them consistently.
Full Japanese report: little-happiness.jp/columns/laodi-distillery-visit-vol1/
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Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp