Two Veterans. One Decision.
No Shortcuts.
We served. We got out. We wanted a proper drink and couldn't find one. So we made it ourselves. No grand plan. Just a decision to get on with it.
What Service Taught Us
Service with the Royal Corps of Signals took us to places where your equipment really gets put to the test. That military background shapes everything about how we approach our craft.
Lessons from Service
I served with the Royal Corps of Signals. Deployments to the Arctic and desert outposts – places where your equipment really gets put to the test. We learned to put our faith in gear that gets the job done, not in the likes of flashy new kit. The most reliable stuff is the unflashy stuff.
Life after the military was different for all of us. We all went on to do our own thing, but we retained that same basic understanding. A piece of kit that works, a design that's functional, a product that's reliable – these are non-negotiables. Whether you're on some grand expedition or just getting through a tough Tuesday, that's what matters.
We learned what reliable means with service
That's tested in the field, under pressure
Function over form, always, is our way
Getting the details right, every time
The Idea That Wouldn't Die
"Let's make our own rum..."
That was the phrase that kept coming up, over and over, every time we got together to chat. Every shared experience, every conversation, every passing minute. There was this nagging feeling that someone ought to have a go at engineering rum, with the same kind of precision we brought to everything else. That we could leave the pirates and palm trees behind and craft something that was truly worth drinking.
What We're All About
Designing rum with purpose and integrity to begin with
What We're Making
Rum that does what it's supposed to. Made properly. Worth drinking.
Our Slogan
"Rum that earns its place on the shelf"
When We Stopped Talking and Started
The point at which we stopped just dreaming about this and started actually doing it – with a bit of purpose to boot.
When Talk Turns to Action
We'd been talking about this for years, all of us. Then one day, it just clicked. If we really believed we could do something better, why were we still just talking about it? There wasn't a single eureka moment – just a growing realisation that we needed to stop jawing and get on with it.
Facing the Music
We knew it wouldn't be easy. We all had other lives, different careers. But that shared vision, that idea that just wouldn't quit. It kept us going.
Taking the Leap
"Right, let's bloody well do it." Not some grand business plan – just a simple decision to take a chance and see where it takes us. We were going to build this properly. Together.
The Leap
"The biggest risk is maybe not taking any risks... in a world where things are changing fast, if the only strategy that is bound to fail is dusting off the old playbook and sticking with it, then taking risks is the only thing that makes any sense."
The mindset that finally gave us a nudge in the right direction
Building Something from Scratch
The gritty reality of bootstrapping a business yourself: stuck in a home office, learning as you go, and somehow building something you can be proud of.
The Hard Bits
- •Funding entirely out of our own pockets – no safety net, no way out
- •Figuring out complex regulations on the fly – trial and error all the way
- •Building a whole business from the ground up, solo
- •Finding reliable suppliers and partners when nobody knows who you are
The Reality Check
"This isn't some corporation with a team the size of a small army behind it. This is just us, in our home office, trying to build something real."
• Learning the regulations on a daily basis – and loving the challenge
• Our home office is the real HQ. That's just how it is.
• Quality is the one thing we can't compromise on
The School of Hard Knocks
- •Every obstacle is a chance to learn something new
- •The same standards in the business as in the bottle. No cutting corners.
- •Building relationships one conversation at a time – they're everything
- •Quality doesn't need a big budget to deliver
David vs the Goliaths
We're not trying to compete with the marketing budgets of massive corporations with teams of marketing gurus. We're competing on authenticity, on care, on the kind of attention to detail that only comes when you genuinely care about every single thing you do. When you're living off your own savings, when you're figuring out regulations as you go, when you're building every single relationship from scratch, you simply can't afford to cut corners. Read more about our values.
The Jerry Can Promise
It's not just a name. It's the standard we hold ourselves to.
How Did "Jerry Can" Come About?
The jerry can wasn't designed to win awards for looks – it was engineered to be reliable. As a team born of the service industry, we totally get that. Function over form, purpose over pretence.
Jerry Can Spirits is built on the same principles. When you need a drink that delivers on character and quality without compromise, that's exactly what we're engineered to do. We're rum with purpose, with integrity.
Reliable
We'll be there when you need us
Dependable
Built to last, designed to perform
Purpose
Every single thing we make has a purpose – and we're proud of it
Still Good, Still Unchanged
Designed in 1937. Still up to NATO standards today. Still the go-to choice for overlanders trekking across the Sahara, sailors navigating the Atlantic, and aid workers in some of the most remote areas of the world. 88 years without a redesign and we're not done yet – when you get it right, you don't need a new version.
That's the philosophy behind every single bottle we craft.
"Every bottle we craft carries this promise: when you reach for Jerry Can Spirits, you're reaching for something you can depend on. A quality that you can trust. A flavour that delivers."
Our Commitment to You
The Vision
Where we're headed. Honest about where we are now. Clear about where we want to go.
Where We Are Currently
Still tweaking our inaugural rum, still learning, still building. We're not yet turning a profit, but we're getting there.
Current Focus
- Perfecting our first rum – it's a work in progress
- Building quality relationships – they're everything
- Setting up the foundations for our brand – this is hard work
- Learning every day – this is a business, after all
What We Know So Far
- Quality can't be compromised
- Relationships are everything – they're worth more than any budget
- Authenticity has a way of resonating with people
- We're just getting started – and we're excited
5-Year Vision
- • Build a rum worth talking about, without help from a marketing department
- • Have a range of world class rums on the market
- • Have a strong retail presence – we want to be seen in the right places
- • Have a loyal customer community – people who love what we do
10-Year Dream
- • Own our own distillery – this is the ultimate goal
- • Have a full range of spirits on offer, each one made the same way as the first
- • Be known internationally. For the right reasons.
- • Source responsibly. Use what's close to home where we can. Don't add to problems we can avoid.
The Legacy
- • We proved that small can beat big
- • Quality is always the top priority
- • We've got a real story to tell – one that people will listen to
- • We've got our own team who's made this all possible
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Jerry Can Spirits and our story.
Is Jerry Can Spirits veteran owned?
Yes, we're British veteran owned. We both served in the Royal Corps of Signals before getting into spirits. The military taught us to appreciate kit that just works – nothing flashy, just reliable. That mindset stuck with us. Meet the team.
Where is Jerry Can Spirits based?
We're based in the UK. It's a home-office operation – nothing glamorous, just us working away. Our Expedition Spiced Rum is made with Caribbean rum and molasses, blended at our British partner distillery right here in Britain.
What does the Jerry Can name mean?
The jerry can is the ultimate "function over form" design – invented in 1937 and still used today because it just works. No frills, no nonsense. That's the approach we take with our spirits. We're not trying to be flashy, we're trying to make something that's genuinely good.
When was Jerry Can Spirits founded?
We launched in 2025, though the idea had been kicking around for years. It started as one of those "we should make our own rum" conversations that kept coming up whenever we got together. Eventually we stopped just talking about it and actually had a go.
What makes Jerry Can Spirits different from other rum brands?
Honestly? We're small and we're learning as we go. We don't have a big team or marketing department – it's just us, figuring out regulations, building relationships one at a time, and trying to make something we're proud of. When you're funding everything yourself, you care about every detail because you have to.
Be Part of Our Story
We're just getting started. Join us as we build genuinely good rum for people who expect quality and don't accept shortcuts. Having veterans behind the scenes means every bottle is made to a standard we'd stake our name on.
Follow our journey from home office to distillery