Elrick House is a family estate in rural Aberdeenshire with a fascinating history – this crowdfunding campaign is seeking investment to build a restaurant with 2nd distillery within the walled garden at the estate – transforming it into a must-go destination for this beautiful part of Scotland.
House of Elrick is a new, premium brand created and founded by Stuart Ingram. Stuart purchased the family B-listed home, Elrick House, in 2014 and has to date completely self-funded the work done on site which includes the creation and launch of the hugely popular House of Elrick gin which recently featured on Dragon's Den.
The pledges!
We have a number of pledge packages available that offer great discounts across House of Elrick products, including our Original House of Elrick Gin and our new House of Elrick Old Tom gin and Old Tom Coconut gin. Take a look through our offers to pick a great deal.
Since the launch of the gin Stuart has sold more than 10,000 bottles in nine countries. It is also available to buy in the UK directly from House of Elrick, Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges, John Lewis and at World Duty Free across five airports. House f Elrick gins are a complement of juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root and citrus peel, built around a core of heather, pink peppercorns, sweet fennel and rose petals. All distilled with purified water from Loch Ness.
But Stuart’s vision does not stop here, he has also created a number of other products under the House of Elrick brand including an Elrick tartan and a home fragrance range. Cushions, kilts, ties, pashminas as well as hand washes and candles are already available, with many more in the pipeline.
Further plans include the complete renovation of the house and grounds to provide a creative retreat for those who wish to enjoy the beautiful Aberdeenshire country side.
Where will your investment go?
The restaurant and distillery.
Continuing with the goal to create a brand that represents both quality and creativity, funds raised through this campaign will be used to resurrect the stunning (and incredibly rare) listed walled garden that sits at the centre of the estate’s grounds. The forecast budget for full delivery of the project is £850k, with planning permission already fully granted, we are therefore seeking partial support to kick start the project. Stuart will build the restaurant and a 2nd distillery within the walled garden. The restaurant will feature a fully glazed front wall to blend the restaurant and distillery with the beauty of the garden outside – providing a unique and personal dining experience.
The restaurant will offer locally sourced, sustainable, field-to-fork fine dining, with a vision to provide the area with a core business that will attract visitors both locally and nationally.
The distillery, set at the heart of the restaurant, will house a 100 litre, locally-smithed copper still that will become the focal point of the building.
Stuart also has planning permission to bring public footpaths back through the estate to welcome both local and visiting ramblers through the gardens as he returns them to their former beauty. The Jacobite rose is documented as being heavily present in the garden (rumoured to have been gifted to the estate by Bonnie Prince Charlie himself) and will be re-planted, clippings being supplied directly from Balmoral after a previous owner of Elrick House had gifted the famous Scottish flower to King Edward in the late 1800s.
Stuart hopes that through the build of the restaurant and restoration of the garden, he will create an exciting and proudly Scottish brand that will bring visitors to the area.
Local Job Creation
With the continued growth of the brand and on-going construction we are proud to support local companies and during construction so far, have engaged all our labour locally. It is perceived that over the course of the next 12 months we will be recruiting and growing our local presence, by adding the addition of the restaurant and second distillery, this will again increase the need to recruit locally.
Why now?
To date, Stuart has funded the brand entirely and seen great success with House of Elrick gin, however revenue is not enough to fund both the planned new liquids and the restaurant build. This is an opportunity for those who are looking to fund a local business dreaming big.
Please note that at this time we can only ship product rewarded through pledges within the UK. If you are outside the UK please contact us.
A little about the estate
Built in 1720 Elrick House has a particularly colourful history. Owned by entrepreneurial farmers who often travelled to Italy, they were influenced by the Enlightenment that had swept Europe and found themselves amongst a number of particularly maverick thinkers, doers and philosophers that led the Scottish Enlightenment of the same time period. It is this creative past that fuels everything that House of Elrick is and will be.
You can read more about the story here: www.houseofelrick.co.uk