Orkney distillery J. Gow Rum has just added a three-year-old cask aged pot still rum to its core range. ‘Revenge’ has been distilled in Orkney and then aged in ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks for three years. This is the minimum time a whisky must be aged before it is legally allowed to be called a whisky.

J. Gow Rum takes its name from the infamous Orcadian pirate John Gow and the new rum, ‘Revenge’ is named after the ship that the pirate renamed after leading a mutiny on board, due to poor work conditions.

The distillery sits metres from the sea on Lamb Holm, Orkney, and is owned by Collin Van Schayk who does everything from distilling to drawing the illustrations on the labels.

Collin released the UK’s first ever three-year-old cask aged rum, ‘Hidden Depths Vol. 1’ as a limited edition at the end of 2020 which sold out within two weeks, so Revenge will be a welcomed permanent edition to the distillery’s core range.

Collin said: “I started distilling rum back in 2016. My dad owns Orkney Wine Company and suggested that I might take over the family business. Instead, I saw an opportunity to fulfil my ambition to start a rum distillery and used a bit of his winery space to install some pot stills.

“Everything is done on site; from distilling to cask storage to bottling. It’s a tight space but the location is amazing and I love what I do. It’s very important to me that everything is done here at the distillery, so that I can proudly say what I produce is ‘Scottish rum’.

“Rum can be released without barrel ageing, but I want to build up stock of aged rums to be able to release three, eight and 12-year-olds – and beyond – to really showcase Scottish aged rum and the incredible effects casks can have on the end result. I source only the best casks from around the world, and love experimenting with different cask types. In the warehouse at the moment we have chestnut, bourbon, virgin oak, rejuvenated oak, red wine, port, whisky, and a few other secrets! As well as experimenting with casks, I also like trying out new yeasts, and I’m currently cultivating some native wild Orkney orchid yeast for use in a future release.”

J. Gow Rum’s house style is heavy and full-bodied, and Revenge is no exception. The hint of vanilla from the bourbon casks perfectly complements the sweetness and coconut provided by the virgin oak, which results in a rich and deeply flavoured rum without the need for any added sugar, artificial flavours or colourings.

Revenge is best drunk neat at room temperature, or in the signature cocktail – Pirate’s Tale.

Pirate’s Tale Recipe
50ml Revenge
12.5ml Lime juice
12.5ml Sugar syrup
12.ml Allspice dram
4 dashes bitters

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake, strain and serve.

Revenge will be available to purchase directly from J. Gow Rum’s website – http://www.jgowrum.com or from select retailers at an RRP of £38.99.