Meet the Producers | J. Gow | 2024

Named after Orkney’s very own 18th-century pirate, John Gow, the rum distillery is situated just metres from the sea on Lamb Holm, a 0.15-square-mile, uninhabited island, which likely makes it the smallest rum-producing island in the world.

After rejoining the family business in 2013, Collin Van Schayk, the Head Distiller, spent several years working for the Orkney Wine Company, producing fruit wines. Although his father intended for him to eventually take over the entire business, Collin chose a different path. In 2017, he took over half of the building and installed a 2000-litre pot still to start making rum.

Every step of the rum-making process, from fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling is meticulously carried out on-site at the J. Gow Rum distillery. Molasses is imported, mixed with water and yeast, and then fermented to around 8% for 5 to 14 days, depending on the recipe. It’s then double distilled for a traditional pot still spirit, or distilled in a single pass utilising the column on top of the pot. This takes the spirit from 8% to 85% in one run. The rum is then left unaged, spiced, or filled into casks for several years to mature. Once ready it’s bottled and labelled by hand.

Several different recipes are produced using various fermentation techniques. Some are made with backset (waste left in the still from a stripping run) instead of water in the ferment. Others also incorporate dunder, a bacterially fermented still waste that contributes to the development of esters; creating the funk, and enhancing the complexity and richness of the spirit.

Now, after two years, the new cask warehouse is complete, offering ample space to house several hundred casks. This expansion allows for the relocation of all casks from the production hall to the warehouse next door, freeing up vital space for the distillery tours to resume in the summer. It’s an exciting time for the distillery as older rums mature for release, including a single cask 6 year-old planned for later this year, and a single cask 8 year-old next year, followed by a core range 8-year set for release in Spring 2026.

The distillery’s first release in 2017, the Spiced, is made using their double-distilled pot still rum as a base, infused with seven different spices from around the world, including two secret ingredients grown in Orkney. With only 5 grams of added sugar per litre, it’s a full bodied rum complemented with spices, subtle citrus notes, and warm undertones of stem ginger and a smooth, rounded sweetness, with a long warming spice finish.

The second release in November 2018 was Fading Light, their first cask-aged rum matured in chestnut casks for a minimum of two years. It’s a pure single rum with no added sugar or colouring. Chestnut was chosen for being more porous, pairing perfectly with Orkney’s cold climate. Oak has an angels share of around 1% in Orkney while chestnut is around 9% meaning you get a slightly faster maturation.

Revenge, launched in April 2021, is their 3-year-old pure single Scottish rum aged in ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks.  It’s a rich and deeply flavoured rum with no added sugar, artificial flavours or colourings; light funk, acidic fruit and caramel on the nose and stone fruit, spice and toffee on the palate with over ripe peaches on the finish.

Culverin, is their unaged white rum, at 50% - named after a two-tonne cannon, a nod to the power and punch that this rum packs.

You can sample all rums that J.Gow has to offer at the 2024 Scottish Rum Festival.

Website | jgowrum.com

Facebook | fb.com/J.GowRum

Instagram | @j.gowrum

Twitter | @JGowRum