Our Story

The foundation of our story is built on the simple principle of balancing people, planet, and profit. We understand that restoring and protecting our planet and treating people with respect is for the good of everyone. Our intention is to produce spirits that are the best for the world while being the world’s best.

Where it all started

Back To 2014…

The story of Ellers Farm Distillery begins with our founder. Chris Fraser began making cider at home as a hobby back in 2014 after discovering an abandoned orchard at the bottom of his garden, where he noticed apples were falling to the ground and going to waste. As someone with a passion for sustainability and a disdain for waste, he decided he would take this raw ingredient and make a cider from it. Bringing in the help of those around him, his initial hobby eventually grew into a multi-tier consortium producing about 350 litres of cider.

The Lightbulb Moment

Exploring new routes for his cider, Chris was inspired by an obscure vodka in New York that was made from apples. Seeing the potential upon returning to the UK, he started experimenting with a tiny pot still at home. His obsession with seeking perfection started him on the journey to making our now iconic Dutch Barn Vodka. Over the course of the years, he upgraded his equipment and deepened his knowledge of the craft, until he got his recipe to a point where it was drawing surprisingly good feedback.

New Beginnings

Chris would come to realise with time that if he was going to make his vodka any better, he would need to think bigger. He discovered an old Dutch barn outside of York and something about the name felt right for the birth of this vodka brand. Inspired by the rich agricultural heritage of North Yorkshire and driven by a commitment to sustainability, Dutch Barn Vodka is an embodiment of his unwavering dedication to quality, creativity and craftsmanship, in his pursuit of sustainable perfection.

Founder at Ellers Farm Distillery

Chris Fraser

"I wanted to do something different. About 10 years ago I found an abandoned orchard in the grounds of the house I was living in. I couldn’t bear to see the windfall apples going to waste, so I started messing about with cider making as a hobby for a bit of fun. It’s been an incredible journey so far... what started as a small passion project at home has evolved into running a state-of-the-art distillery in North Yorkshire with the capacity to produce a million bottles of vodka a year."

The Journey So Far

January 2022

Our Brand New Distillery Is Built In Yorkshire

Built from the original design of the old Dutch barn that once stood on our farm in North Yorkshire, we complete the build of our new innovative distillery with custom-built equipment handcrafted from Italy.

March 2022

Dutch Barn Vodka Launched

Following the first production run in our new distillery, Dutch Barn is officially launched as ‘The Original Orchard Vodka’ and made available to customers online and in-store across the UK.

Learn more

June 2022

Whisky Collaboration with Theakston Brewery

We announced our extraordinary partnership with the legendary Theakston Brewery, a brand boasting nearly 200 years of brewing heritage. By blending their elegant porter-style beer with our state-of-the-art equipment and expertise of our distillery team at Ellers Farm, this unique collaboration takes the finest local ingredients to craft a premium single malt English whisky, proudly celebrating our Yorkshire roots.

Learn more

February 2023

Orchard Planted

Our team planted 361 apple trees in the field behind our distillery, working under the supervision of three tree-planting experts and with the help of 18 volunteers from Portakabin. Our 28 different apple tree varieties are made up of a mixture of cooking, eating and cider apples, with 12 varieties originating in Yorkshire alone. We hope to someday harvest apples from our own trees for use in our products, as well as our trees contributing positively to the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.

September 2023

Became B Corp Certified

As a business with sustainability influencing every decision we make, we were excited to become a certified B Corp organisation back in September 2023. This certification perfectly embodies our unwavering dedication to doing business the right way - for both people and the planet.

Learn more

November 2023

Ricky Gervais Joins As Co-Owner

Global superstar Ricky Gervais announced to the world in late 2023 that he would be joining as the new co-owner of our distillery. Wanting to work closely with a sustainable and ethical spirits business that does good for the planet, Gervais has taken creative leadership in building global brand awareness and marketing efforts for our company’s range of spirit brands.

Explore our Spirits

  • Vodka

    Dutch Barn Vodka

  • Liqueur

    Cherry Liqueur

  • Gin

    Y-Gin
View All