J. Gow rum is produced in Orkney, Scotland, on Lamb Holm a tiny island (0.15 square miles). Home to the Italian Chapel and connected to mainland Orkney by the Churchill barriers. The distillery began in 2017 and sits metres away from the sea. It may well be one of the smallest rum producing islands in the world.

All of our rum is made entirely in Orkney, from start to finish. High grade molasses is imported (unfortunately it’s hard to grow sugar cane in Orkney) and fermented for 5 – 14 days, in our temperature controlled 2000 litre fermenter and 2000 litre pot still. We ferment to around 8% ABV and double distil.

We produce a range of rum styles, using various fermentation techniques with different percentages of backset/dunder. Mainly focusing on heavier, more full bodied rums. Casks are laid down every year, with the aim to release 8 and 12 year old rums as and when they are ready. We currently have a mixture of chestnut, virgin oak, ex bourbon, ex red wine, ex port and ex whisky casks. 

J. Gow Rum takes its name from the infamous Orkney pirate John Gow. His short, violent career began in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and ended in Orkney. He was imprisoned, tried and hung. Not once, but twice, (after the rope snapped the first time) at London’s execution dock on the 11th of June 1725. While the name conjures up images of pirates, it also creates imagery of the brutal seas and rugged coastlines surrounding Orkney.