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Jerry Can Spirits®

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Founder & Director

Dan Freeman

Former Royal Signals Corporal

Dan Freeman - Founder & Director of Jerry Can Spirits

Quick Facts

Role

Founder & Director

Service

Royal Signals

2012 - 2024 (12 years)

Rank

Corporal

Deployments

Falkland Islands, Afghanistan, Estonia

Qualifications

Essentials in Distilling (CIBD)

Associate Member

Favourite Spirit

Expedition Spiced Rum

Signature Cocktail

Zombie

Did You Know?

Since leaving the forces, Dan hasn't shaved his beard once and has no intention of starting now.

Military Service

Dan served in the Royal Signals for 12 years (2012-2024), working in communications and information systems. He deployed to the Falklands, Afghanistan, and Estonia, with exercises across Europe and the US. Nothing heroic. Just the usual soldiering.

Ask Dan

The story

What was the hardest transition from military life to civilian life?

The costs of everything going up took a little getting used to. The army provides highly subsidised housing, so paying full whack was and still is a shock to the system.

What did you get wrong in the first year?

Loads. The main one was not accounting for a marketing budget at all when we first raised the initial capital.

Is there a moment when it stopped feeling like a hobby?

It still feels a little like a side hustle at the moment. We want to scale and grow so this becomes our full-time work, but it takes time.

The why

What does "pride in your kit" mean to you?

It is made to a standard I accept. We are not driven by profit to the point of lowering our standards to allow compromise in our drinks.

Who do you make the rum for?

People who have already been through the supermarket spiced rum phase. They have tried a few, they want something with character, made by people rather than corporations, and they want something that tastes really good.

The drinks

How do you take your spirits?

All of the above. Depends on the situation and the time.

What is your go-to serve?

At home, a rum and cola, loads of ice, ideally with Franklin & Sons cola. Out, cocktails are a staple for me.

Desert island bottle, any spirit?

I would be daft if I did not say Expedition Spiced Rum. Got to back ourselves.

What is in your bar at home?

I love tiki culture, so lots of different rums: aged, spiced, dark and light. I always have sugar syrup, grenadine and plenty of juice in the fridge.

Which cocktail should a beginner try first?

An Old Fashioned or similar. Sugar, bitters, spirit. Difficult to go too far wrong, and you get to really taste what the spirit is about.

Is spiced rum only for mixing?

Spiced rum is such a varied spirit. Some are just for mixing, undoubtedly, but some make amazing spirit-first drinks, or work really well in an Old Fashioned. There are thousands out there. It is all about finding the one that works for you.

The person

What does a normal working day look like now?

I work a day job to fund Jerry Can Spirits. I finish, come home, make dinner and feed the dogs, then spend around two hours working through emails, making the decisions that come out of them, and working on the website behind the scenes.

What is in your workflow right now?

Budgeting for Batch 2, getting ideas ready for new products, and starting ideas for the Christmas period.

Best piece of advice you were ever given?

Never ask anybody to do something you are not prepared to do yourself.

One piece of advice for a veteran thinking about starting a business?

At some point you have to stop planning and thinking and just go for it. It is hard work, but it is really enjoyable.
The story

Behind Dan

The Journey to Jerry Can Spirits

The idea of making rum had been coming up for years, one of those conversations that kept happening whenever Dan and Rhys got together. In July 2025, Dan decided to stop just talking about it and actually have a go. Having tried well over 100 different rums and genuinely loving the stuff, it felt like the right time to create something worth drinking.

Since then, it's been a lot of learning: getting the Essentials in Distilling qualification from the Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers, sorting out the personal alcohol licence, navigating HMRC for AWRS approval. The usual stuff you have to figure out when you're starting from scratch. Read more about how we got here.

Role at Jerry Can Spirits

Since leaving the forces, Dan's been doing a bit of everything: operations, finance, legal compliance, building the website, SEO, product development. When you're a small outfit, you end up wearing a lot of hats.

The military taught him to pay attention to details and plan things properly, which comes in handy when you're trying to build something from nothing. His approach is pretty simple: make something you're proud of, and don't cut corners.

"Jerry Can Spirits matters to me because we built it ourselves, from scratch, without shortcuts. No outside agenda. No corporate brief. Just two blokes who wanted a proper drink and decided to make one."

Dan Freeman
Read Our StoryMeet RhysMeet Joshua SissonMeet Danny

First Pour

The book that comes before the bottle.

First Pour is our short companion to Expedition Spiced Rum. How it is built, how to drink it, and the first serves to try. Yours free, with 10% off your first order.