The Art of Rum Making at J. Gow Distillery: COLLIN VAN SCHAYK

Collin van Schayk has been making rum at the J. Gow distillery, located on the uninhabited island of Lamb Holm, for almost 8 years. In 2015, his father tried to get him to take over his fruit wine business (founded in 2001), but Collin decided to go into rum production. Thus, he took half of the building for rum production. He ferments and distills all of the rum at J. Gow, as well as designing all of the company’s labels and graphics.

TRL: How do you see the rum market evolving in the next 5-10 years, and what trends do you think will shape the future of the industry?

There’s a growing demand for quality rum especially older aged rums as they become more readily available and consumers learn more about the amazing range of rums available outside of the supermarket norms. It’s an exciting time for Scottish rum as the older rums come of age, it’ll be really cool to see 8 and 12 year old Scottish rums in the not too distant future.

TRL: Can you share a personal experience or moment that significantly influenced your brand’s direction?

Being in Orkney and having the story of John Gow it made sense to name a rum brand after him. As cliché as rum and pirates is there’s no escaping it, and as I’m quite into heavy metal it also meant I could put skulls all over the bottles and no one would question it. The company does share the same ethos as my dad’s wine business (he makes sulphur free vegan fruit wine with 100% natural ingredients). In that we make good quality products free of additives.

TRL: How do you balance tradition with innovation in your approach to rum-making or marketing?

We do use certain techniques associated with heavier styles of rums, but we’re not trying to copy anyone else, we have our own take on it. We can’t grow sugarcane in Orkney and the molasses is imported, but we still want to use something native from the islands. This is where the 2 secret ingredients in the spiced rum come in or the native wild yeasts that we isolate from various plants and flowers growing around the distillery. This gives us unique strains that create very interesting flavoursome rums.

TRL: What are some recent initiatives or products you’ve launched that have been particularly impactful?

We recently release Fading Light XO which has been aged in a chestnut cask for 6 years, making it the oldest UK produced rum on the market. Chestnut itself is quite unique, it’s far more porous than oak so works very well at counteracting the slow maturation associated with our cold climate. We also just launched (today the 28th of February) our first aged wild yeast rum. We isolated a strain of yeast from northern marsh orchids grown beside the distillery. Scaled it up to ferment the wash, distilled it and aged it in Moscatel casks for 3 years.

TRL: How do you educate consumers about your rum, and what’s the most important lesson they should take away?

We are as transparent as possible with our products. We don’t add any sugar, colouring or additives to our unaged or aged rums. The only thing we add anything to is our spiced rum. We try to educate consumers by letting them know what it says on the bottle is exactly what you’re getting which isn’t always the case with other rums. Another thing would be to drink it how you like to drink it. Don’t feel bad about mixing it or using it in a cocktail, your cocktail is only as good as the ingredients you put in it.

TRL: Can you share a collaboration or partnership that helped elevate your brand to new levels?

We’ve been featured in the 1423 24 days of rum advent calendar which helped get the rum out to new people. We also did an Indy bottling though Boutique-y rum which really helped get the name out there as the rum was very well received by those who managed to get a bottle. The initial release old out in 10 minutes.

We have also been able to use some of the casks from Orkney wine (my dads company) which make for very interesting finishes for the rum that have never been done before. This works both ways as he recently aged an elderberry port style wine in an ex rum cask of ours.

TRL: What is your long-term vision for your rum brand, and how do you see your role in the evolution of the rum industry?

I’d like to be known for making great quality honest rum. I want to have a full core range of aged rums, 8 year old, 12 year old and beyond. As well as to continue experimenting with yeast types and different casks. So consumers can come to us for something unique and exciting, while knowing exactly what they’re getting in their bottle. Our core range 8 year old is due for release in spring 2026.

TRL: What’s one piece of educational advice you would give rum lovers to better understand the spirit?

Don’t be too quick to dismiss white rums. I hear it every day. “I don’t like white rum”. There are far too many good ones out there and they’re all quite different with plenty of flavour to offer. It’s not just pure alcohol. 

TRL: How can people learn more about you? Website? Social media page?

www.jgowrum.com https://www.instagram.com/j.gowrum/