On Thursday 23rd September the White Lodge Hotel will be hosting a glittering dinner to commemorate the 242nd anniversary of the Battle of Flamborough Head.

On sale at the bar will be a special run of lowland rum named John Paul Jones, in honour of the Scottish born captain of the American ship the Bonhomme Richard. The ship was famously sunk during the battle, but it has become an iconic ship in American naval history and John Paul Jones himself is often credited as being ‘the father of the US Navy’.

John Paul Jones Lowland Rum

The rum draws inspiration from the life of John Paul Jones. Aged in charred American Oak and steeped in handpicked Scottish seaweed, it has a complex flavoured rum with maritime salty notes complimenting the quintessential flavours of vanilla and honey, leading into a light and smoky finish.

The dinner itself is sold out. However, there will be a spectacular public firework display on the putting green in front of the White Lodge at 9pm. The dinner itself will be followed by an address from across the Atlantic by the Filey Bay 1779 Group’s Honorary President, American author and historian Donald Shomette. Filey-based Dr David Pendleton will then give an assessment of the battle, did John Paul Jones actually win the battle? Or were the Royal Navy, in protecting the huge convoy they were escorting, the actual winners? Finally, Bruce Blackburn, of the Harrogate company Merlin Burrows, will give an update on the search for the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard.