In Conversation: Adam von Gootkin On His New Private Members’ Club

Adam, what inspired you to start House von Gootkin?

It has come about as a result of spending a lot of my own time in clubs around the world - many of them are customers of our Highclere Castle gin. So I’ve seen a variety of all different sorts of clubs that I’ve spent time in - and of course London was sort of the birthplace of the exclusive club centuries ago, and many of those same clubs are still around... Here in the States we also have similar clubs, but we also have a much more robust club culture in terms of country clubs and yacht clubs.

So, I spent a lot of time in clubs and I noticed that there were some missing components. I also get an overwhelming sense that the idea of exclusivity really doesn’t exist anymore. What they do is they use price as the gate for exclusivity, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the soul of the club - which is made up by its people - is truly curated.

You end up with this model where it’s scale-driven and profit-driven, and you end up lacking the curation components so the soul of the club starts to feel very commercialised. Those elements of the private club today give it a lack of true wonder and magic. 

For me, this transition of my expertise in spirits and as a lifelong entrepreneur, the time felt right for me to be able to really analyse the world’s leading clubs and challenge this. We call it ‘the cure for the common club’. Considering that I’m very fortunate to have a very extensive network of people around the world that can give us access and portals to unbuyable places and experiences, I thought that instead of just me using that myself, that it was a really great opportunity to open up this portal to not only friends and colleagues in my network, but other people outside of the network that we think would add great magic and sense of purpose to the experiences that we’re crafting.

What are the key components of your private members' club, and how will it stand out from the crowd?

I think that what people are seeking now more than ever is meaningful engagement. As we become stuck to our phones, as well as [there being so] many transactional experiences with humanity, [I kind of get the sense] that we’re losing who we are and we’re losing that human touch.

For some clubs, it’s all about the sport, whether it’s tennis or golf… At other clubs it’s all about the cuisine and the ambiance. But when you belong to a traditional club, after a while, that club becomes routine… It becomes this methodical routine. There’s nothing wrong with that... but it pretty soon starts to loose its lustre.

The key differentiation for House von Gootkin is that we are providing portals to unbuyable locations and experiences around the world. So the idea is that we do not so much have a clubhouse. For the club membership to really make sense, you have to be regularly travelling for business in London or you have to live around Mayfair for it to even make any sense.

As opposed to that, [we offer] destination experiences. It’s securing privately owned palaces and castles, or superyachts and other unbuyable exclusive locations. For the members to get together and really focus on the celebration of heritage, fine hospitality and cuisine, and most importantly, the ability to develop a rapport and relationship with the world’s most fascinating people. 

It’s really about engineering a group of people that come from wildly diverse backgrounds, professionally, but most importantly have achieved incredibly wondrous things in their own careers.

Would you like there to be a multigenerational aspect whereby members have the same shared goals?

Yes, exactly. A shared wonder of the world, a desire to experience the finest of magic and hospitality, and a sense of adventure - they want to go to new places and experience loads of new things.

Will the club have a physical hub?

The very point of House von Gootkin is to not have an 'old' club. We’re launching officially in January, and right now we’re basically bringing in the founder’s circle - initial membership.

We’re building the club around the idea that we’re not just [based in] one physical location. That being said, in 2027, our plan is to purchase a country house in Italy. We’re calling it a country house and not a club because we foresee members using it as a home, and only club members having access to it.

[It will be run] in the style of an old country house by a super-premium global hospitality company… So think of the top-tier Michelin-starred chef, the butlers… but really kind of designed for the members’ individual loves and requirements.

Can you touch more on some of the cultural experiences that will be offered to members?

We’ve got these events [running] throughout the year that we call the privé series. These are happening in unique locations. And then we also have our very big, singular event every year that we call Nuit Royale. It's [curated] in the fashion of the royal courts of old, smashed together with modernity. This will take place next year in an Italian palace that one of our club members owns.

Around all of these events, we have a travel concierge that has incredible access to bookend the events with other experiences that are not necessarily designed for the club… Our inaugural event in January will take place in New York City at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral - who is also a club member - will be hosting us beneath the altar in this cavernous, medieval private room, and we’re going to be having a candlelit dinner for members.

What do you have in the pipeline for 2026?

By the end of next year, we’re looking to purchase a thoroughbred racehorse that will be fractionally owned by all the club members, with invites and opportunities to go to many of the races in the UK.

We’ve also got some sites identified for the country house, but this will be a 2027 project. We’ve got a whole lot of other things in the works as well - opportunities for members to really engage and stay in touch with the release of a private social media app.

For more information, visit: https://housevg.com/