Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 October 2026
1. Who we are
This website, jgowrum.com, is operated by VS Distillers Ltd, trading as J. Gow Rum.
Registered business/contact address:
VS Distillers Ltd
Lamb Holm
Orkney
KW17 2SF
Scotland, United Kingdom
In this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to VS Distillers Ltd.
We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and applicable privacy and electronic communications legislation.
Privacy contact: info@vsdistillersltd.com
2. Personal information we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal information when you visit our website, purchase our products or contact us.
Information you provide
This may include:
- Your name, email address, telephone number and billing or delivery address.
- Order details, products purchased, order history, refunds and customer service correspondence.
- Information submitted through contact forms, email enquiries and business or trade enquiries.
- Information relating to wholesale, distribution and cask enquiries.
- Your marketing preferences and newsletter subscription status.
Information collected automatically
Depending on your settings and how you use our website, we may collect:
- IP address, browser type, device information and operating system.
- Pages visited, referral information and interactions with our website.
- Website performance, diagnostic and security information.
- Cookie identifiers and analytics information, where permitted.
Payment information
Payments made through our online shop are processed using Stripe.
Stripe may process payment details, transaction information and relevant fraud-prevention data to complete payments and protect against fraudulent activity.
We do not intentionally store full payment card details on our website. The exact information processed and retained depends on the payment configuration and services used.
For further information, please refer to Stripe’s Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/privacy
3. How we use your information
We use personal information for the following purposes:
Order processing and fulfilment
To process payments, confirm orders, arrange delivery, manage refunds and returns, and provide customer support.
Customer enquiries
To respond to questions about our products, services, distillery, events and business activities.
Trade and commercial enquiries
To manage wholesale, distribution, cask and other business enquiries.
Website operation
To operate our WordPress and WooCommerce website, maintain customer accounts where available, troubleshoot technical issues and improve the customer experience.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website and to help us improve its content, functionality and performance, subject to our cookie and consent settings.
Security and fraud prevention
To protect our website, detect suspicious activity, prevent unauthorised access and investigate potential fraud or abuse. Our website security measures may include Wordfence and security services provided by our hosting company.
Marketing
Where permitted by law, we use your contact details to send our email newsletter, including information about J. Gow Rum products, new releases, events and other relevant news.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting info@vsdistillersltd.com.
Legal obligations
To maintain required business records, comply with applicable tax and accounting requirements, respond to lawful requests and establish or defend legal claims where necessary.
4. Our lawful bases for processing
We rely on the following lawful bases, as appropriate to the circumstances:
- Contract: to process orders, arrange deliveries, manage refunds and provide services you request.
- Legal obligation: to meet applicable accounting, tax and other legal requirements.
- Legitimate interests: to maintain website security, prevent fraud, administer our business and improve our services, where these interests do not override your rights.
- Consent: for activities such as non-essential cookies and analytics where consent is required, and for marketing communications where consent is the applicable lawful basis.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This does not affect processing carried out lawfully before consent was withdrawn.
We will not use your personal information for incompatible purposes without providing any additional information required by law.
5. Email newsletters and marketing
If you subscribe to our newsletter, we may use your email address to send news about J. Gow Rum, product releases, events and other relevant updates.
We will send marketing communications in accordance with applicable electronic marketing and data protection laws.
Where consent is required, we will obtain it before sending marketing emails. Where the law permits another basis, such as the applicable existing-customer exception, we will ensure that the relevant conditions are met and that an appropriate opportunity to opt out is provided.
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails or by contacting info@vsdistillersltd.com.
If you unsubscribe, we may retain limited information necessary to record your preference and ensure that you do not receive further marketing communications.
6. Cookies and Google Analytics
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to provide essential website functions and, where permitted, analyse website traffic.
Essential cookies
These may be necessary for the website to operate, including shopping basket, checkout, session and security functionality.
Analytics cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our website. Depending on the configuration, Google Analytics may process information such as page views, device and browser details, approximate location derived from IP-related information, and online identifiers.
Analytics cookies or similar technologies will be used only in accordance with applicable consent requirements and our cookie settings.
Managing cookies
Our website provides a cookie consent banner with options to accept or reject non-essential cookies.
You can change your preferences using the cookie settings available on our website, where provided. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
Google’s privacy information is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
The exact cookies, retention periods and Google Analytics settings depend on our installed plugins and configuration. We will ensure this policy reflects the tools actually active on the website.
7. Who we share information with
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
We may share relevant information with trusted service providers where necessary, including:
- Stripe, for payment processing and fraud prevention.
- Google, for website analytics where enabled and permitted.
- Krystal and other relevant hosting or technical providers, to host, maintain and secure our website.
- Wordfence and related security providers, where applicable, to protect the website and investigate suspicious activity.
- Delivery and fulfilment providers, to deliver products and manage shipments.
- Email marketing providers, to manage newsletter subscriptions and send communications.
- Professional advisers and public authorities, where required for legal, accounting, regulatory or other lawful purposes.
These organisations may act as processors on our behalf or as independent controllers, depending on the service they provide.
We expect providers processing personal information on our behalf to protect it appropriately and to comply with applicable contractual and legal requirements.
8. International transfers
Some service providers, including Stripe, Google or security and email providers, may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.
These safeguards may include applicable adequacy regulations or decisions and approved contractual protections.
You can contact us at info@vsdistillersltd.com for further information about relevant transfers and safeguards.
9. How long we retain information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, taking account of applicable legal requirements.
In general:
- Order and accounting records: retained for the period required by applicable tax, accounting and other legal obligations.
- Customer account and order information: retained while necessary to administer accounts, fulfil orders and meet legal obligations.
- Customer and trade enquiries: retained for as long as needed to respond to enquiries and manage the relevant business relationship.
- Newsletter information: retained until you unsubscribe or your information is no longer required, subject to any necessary suppression records.
- Analytics information: retained according to the Google Analytics data-retention settings configured for our website.
- Security logs: retained for a period appropriate to security monitoring, investigation and operational requirements.
- Cookies: retained according to the lifespan of the relevant cookies and our consent configuration.
We may retain information for longer where necessary to comply with the law, resolve disputes, establish or defend legal claims, or prevent fraud.
When information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it where appropriate.
10. How we protect your information
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure or destruction.
These measures may include:
- Access controls and secure administrator accounts.
- Software and security updates.
- Website security monitoring.
- Backups and recovery procedures.
- Secure payment processing through Stripe.
- Restrictions on access to customer and order information.
No method of transmitting or storing electronic information can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess it and take any action required under applicable data protection law.
11. Your data protection rights
Under applicable data protection law, you may have the right to:
- Access your personal information.
- Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request erasure where the legal conditions for deletion are met.
- Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Object to direct marketing at any time.
- Request data portability where the relevant legal conditions apply.
- Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
These rights are subject to applicable legal conditions and exemptions. For example, we may need to retain certain order or accounting records even if you request deletion.
To exercise your rights, contact info@vsdistillersltd.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/
12. Children’s privacy and age restrictions
J. Gow Rum produces and sells alcoholic beverages. Our products are intended for adults of legal purchasing age in the relevant jurisdiction.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing purposes. If you believe a child has provided personal information inappropriately, please contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.
Age verification and purchase restrictions may apply in accordance with applicable law and our sales procedures.
13. Third-party websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites and services.
These websites operate under their own privacy policies and terms. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and we recommend reviewing their policies before providing personal information.
14. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our website, services, data-processing practices or legal obligations.
The latest version will be published on this page, with the update date shown at the top.
15. Contact us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, requests relating to your personal information, or concerns about how we process your data, please contact:
VS Distillers Ltd — J. Gow Rum
Lamb Holm
Orkney
KW17 2SF
Scotland, United Kingdom
Email: info@vsdistillersltd.com
Website: https://jgowrum.com/