A day in the life of...

Stuart Ingram, House of Elrick.

Published: 12th March 2019

Our exclusive ‘A day in the life of’ editorial feature series provides a short and snappy insight into a day in the life of someone who works in the Scottish Gin sector. This might be a distiller, shop owner or bar owner, but all play a role in the story of Scottish Gin.

Next in the series is Stuart Ingram, founder of House of Elrick Gin; made in the new purpose built distillery within the grounds of the House of Elrick Estate, which has been in Stuart’s family for generations. Having recently wrapped up the day job, 2019 looks to be a very busy and productive year for Stuart and the House of Elrick brand.

7am – 8.30am

Alarm Call… snooze for an extra 15 minutes but don’t actually get up until 7.30am. I’ve never been one for breakfast during the week, I like to save that for my poached eggs at the weekend, so it’s straight down the road, a gentle stroll from the house to the distillery.

8.30am – 9.30am

I check over all the equipment following the previous day’s distilling, wash down and tidy up before transferring the spirit to a holding tank.

9.30am – 10.30am

I begin to run through all emails from the previous day, as managing multiple email accounts takes time, making sure not to miss any important ones. I process orders from my stock account, which I do electronically so that I never miss an account order.

10.30am – 11am

Working coffee break with the best Colombian I can find!  Typically, I will do stock takes every day so that I know exactly what my stock levels are, as controlling my dry goods is one of the bigger headaches and not one that people tend to talk about much. There are 4 products in the House of Elrick range and a couple of special editions in progress. Today I am meeting the designers to sign off product designs, which is a pretty exciting part of the process.

11am – Noon

I have a morning call with Wonderhouse, my Edinburgh marketing team. Twice a week we go over plans, press opportunities, influencer campaigns and brand partnerships which might be suitable for the brand. We agree on our next few projects.

Noon – 1pm

Once I am up to date with the gin admin, I get a chance to head back to the house and over to the gardens to check on the latest construction. I am balancing the distillery with the refurbishment of my home, Elrick House, along with a couple of other accommodation projects and path construction in my soon-to-be gorgeous walled garden. I can often be found in the digger doing the work myself, which typically results in hitting 2pm and realising I still have work to do.

1pm – 2pm

I start preparing my shipments. Today we have another order going to Russia so I spend time pulling from our stock, preparing the HMRC docs and checking everything is in order for tomorrow’s collection. With international shipments, I like to imagine where and with whom the bottles of House of Elrick gin might end up! I always enjoy hearing from international gin connoisseurs on our social media platforms.

2pm – 3.30pm

A visit from our wonderful Danish customers, who have come to visit the distillery and learn more about House of Elrick gin. We are working towards having something unique for customers to come and see at the estate as it’s a great experience. I always feel that even though we are at the building and planning stages with the House and the grounds and early days with the distillery, it is an important stage for people to see. Welcoming visitors to the site at this stage will make them feel like they are part of the process and they will hopefully, enjoy watching it grow and develop into the destination that we are working towards.

3.30pm – 4pm

Mad dash for the train to Edinburgh!

4pm – 6.30pm

It’s a working train journey, with calls to the interior designer regarding the house and restaurant plans. My Pinterest account makes for interesting viewing! A sandwich and coffee from the train trolley will suffice for tonight’s dinner before arriving in Edinburgh and jumping in a taxi to this evening’s event.

7pm – 10pm

There are always events happening, so tonight I have the pleasure of hosting a pop-up House of Elrick bar at a Charlotte Tilbury beauty launch in Edinburgh. With sleeves rolled up, my cocktail making skills are put to the test!

10pm – 1am

Thankfully I have a base in Edinburgh so it’s a short taxi home and the admin continues until the wee hours!

1am

Bed!

You can learn more about House of Elrick here.

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