Brimming with entrepreneurial spirit, Stuart Ingram’s glass is always half full.
Never one to accept half measures, the fiercely focused 44-year-old has poured his heart and soul into House of Elrick, a gin distillery and historic home – once visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie – based in Newmachar.
As bold, sharp and adventurous as the artisan spirits he creates – think coconut gin, pineapple rum and espresso vodka – Stuart’s spirited vision is the reason why there’s a worldwide thirst for his House of Elrick products.
But it’s not just spirits where House of Elrick’s strengths lie as Stuart – who has appeared on the BBC One TV show Dragons’ Den – is opening up Elrick Estate for weddings.
“I’ve invested a seven-figure sum into what I’m doing here,” says Stuart.
“Having invested that amount of money in the estate, the house and distillery, we’re looking forward to next year because we’re starting to do weddings in the house so we’re trying to still do stuff locally and we want to be local.”
Travelling the world and bringing those lessons home
Born and bred in Newmachar, Stuart’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a young age, leaving school to study building surveying at university before carving out a successful career in the oil and gas industry.
“I was working as a quantity surveyor in construction and then went into oil and gas,” says Stuart.
“I extensively travelled the world with my career which allowed me to see new things, new products and how other people apply new business to what they do.
“I wanted to bring that back to Scotland.”
Igniting a fire deep in his belly, Stuart says visiting Brazil and Australia were particularly inspiring.
“There’s an amazing place called Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, Australia and they make beer and cider,” says Stuart.
“I then lived in Zurich and that was when I first came across Hendricks and their original black bottle gin.
“Having seen what Little Creatures Brewery were doing in Australia and then seeing Hendricks in Zurich, I was like “oh this is what I should be looking at.”
Seven figure investment to get ideas off the ground
Following his stint in Switzerland, Stuart worked in London when the opportunity arose to buy Elrick Estate in Newmachar.
“I bought Elrick Estate in 2014 which was the start of my journey,” says Stuart.
“Then I started putting together my plans for what I wanted here in the estate which included the distillery.
“Although there was a lot of notable examples of beer distilleries in the area such as Fierce Beer and BrewDog, I wasn’t a beer drinker so I wanted to go down the spirit route instead.”
Proving that perseverance pays off, Stuart overcame several obstacles to get the House of Elrick brand up and running.
“We put together a master plan which included the house, the walled garden, the distillery, it’s just taken a long time to come to fruition,” says Stuart.
“Before I decided to invest more and build the distillery I ended up taking my product to market in 2016.
“That was to give me the confidence before I self-invested.”
From House of Elrick to Fortnum & Mason
Popular from the off, House of Elrick gin went down very well indeed.
“I started getting traction really quickly with the likes of Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges in London as well as John Lewis stocking it,” says Stuart.
“Then I got into duty free in the airports really quickly.”
Asked why he thinks his gin is so special, Stuart says it’s the brand’s perfect blend of flavour and history with Bonnie Prince Charlie gifting the Jacobite rose to the estate which can be fund growing in the beautiful walled garden.
“Our gin is very much led by citrus so there’s a lot of orange and lemon,” says Stuart.
“It’s also got the aromatics of the peppercorn, angelica and the floral notes of rose petal which is paying homage to Bonnie Prince Charlie gifting the rose to the estate.
“Then you’ve got a sweet finish almost like a liquorice, aniseed finish brought out by the sweet fennel.
“The gin is very smooth, delicate and can be garnished with orange peel and served with a light tonic.”
Walking away from Dragons’ Den offer
Drinking in his early success, Stuart applied to be on BBC business programme Dragons’ Den where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to five multimillionaires who are willing to invest their own cash.
“I got two offers on the show and they all loved the product,” says Stuart.
“I accepted one offer from Peter Jones which I later walked away from as he thought he was getting access to the estate and it just wasn’t for me.
“It was a positive experience though and it gave me the knowledge and the confidence to plough forward to build the distillery and start the production here in Newmachar.”
Late Queen thanked House of Elrick for bottle
From the House of Elrick original gin made using the finest botanicals and the estate coconut gin to the special Christmas bramble gin and the old tom gin, there’s gin to suit all tastebuds.
Perfectly illustrating the exceptional quality of House of Elrick’s gin, the late Her Majesty the Queen wrote to Stuart thanking him for the bottle he sent her.
“Our late Queen had a bottle,” says Stuart.
“I sent her a bottle through a friend of a friend who was the footman for her at Buckingham Palace.
“We got a lovely letter back from her saying she enjoyed it.”
Dealing with tough times and adapting for the future
Today, Stuart exports his products to Canada, America, Croatia, Denmark and the airports.
Despite the global demand for his product, Stuart says the pressure on his business since Covid has been crippling with the cost of energy, transport and delivery costs all rising sharply.
He’s also concerned about the new deposit return scheme (DRS) which is set to come into force in Scotland next year where people will pay a 20p deposit, which they’ll get back when they return their empty bottle or can.
“We understand why they’re bringing in it and we’re on board with recycling but we don’t know how the scheme is going to operate properly and we don’t know how much it’s going to cost as a producer,” says Stuart.
It’s for this reason that Stuart is considering changing the way his business operates, maintaining a local presence with the estate hosting weddings but with the gin production potentially being moved south of the border.
“I’m in a position where I’m considering relocating my premises to England because my Scottish market is so small that it means it would be further decimated by the bottle return scheme,” says Stuart.
“I would make more money by being south of the border.
“It’s becoming unviable to do a business like this in Scotland.”
Recognising the need for his business to adapt and change, Stuart remains positive about the future especially with the estate soon to host weddings.
“I’m not always going to be a one trick pony in that the spirits business is all we do,” he says.
“We do a lot more than that and we’re always expanding and looking for new avenues.”
A round of questions with Stuart Ingram
It’s the end of the day, what do you pour yourself and why?Â
A glass of red wine. Having travelled extensively I appreciate a heavy red wine which is the perfect pairing with food when at home cooking to relax.
If you were a drink, what would you be and why?
Red wine – full bodied and fruity lol.
Most unusual drink you’ve ever tried?
Absinthe when I was in the Czech Republic – would never quite get my head round it.
What’s the most under-rated drink?
Rum.
What’s in your drinks cabinet at home?
Wine, whisky, gin and Guinness.
Best food and drink pairing?
Gin cured salmon, followed with House of Elrick and a garnish of lemon.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks would be there with you?Â
Guinness, Pina Colada and gin.
You have to make a drink to represent Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire. What would that be?
A dark and stormy.
You have to serve your favourite superhero or celebrity a drink. Who is it and what do you serve?
Ian Fleming and I would serve him a vesper martini.
Tell us a secret trick of the trade?
My trick of the trade is trying to do my distillations in sunshine to get the best use of my solar panels. Less energy use.
For more information about House of Elrick, check out their website.