Viewpoint – Bill Lark, the ‘Godfather of Australian

ComingofAGE

AUSTRALIAN WHISKIES ARE IN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION. THERE’S BEEN AN OPENING PARTNERSHIP OF (DAVID) BOON PROPORTIONS, A SOLID FOUNDATION FROM WHICH THE NEXT GENERATION OF DISTILLERS AND ‘MIDDLE ORDER BATSMEN’ CAN GROW. IT’S TIME FOR THE STROKE PLAYERS AND CREATIVE GENIUSES TO PUT THEIR STAMP ON THE INDUSTRY AND TAKE AUSTRALIAN WHISKY TO THE (THIRSTY) WORLD. WORDS BY Ashley Pini.

Cast your mind back to the late 1980s when a Tasmanian (albeit from Launceston) was opening the batting for Australia, and a gentleman from Hobart, by the name of Bill Lark, was about to open the first innings of Australian whisky. It would start with an idea while fishing with his father-in-law, Max. Lark was enjoying a Glenfiddich 12-Year-Old Single Malt, Scotch whisky, celebrating a successful day on the shores of Lake Sorell. Surrounded by everything needed to make high-quality whisky, he asked himself – why don’t we make whisky in Tasmania?

The seed was sown and Bill and his wife, Lyn began a thirty-year journey of drive and passion. A few years later, in 1992, Bill and Lyn received the first distilling licence granted in Tasmania in over 150 years and set up their business on the kitchen bench.

From these humble beginnings, Lark grew to become one of the most celebrated and recognised distilleries in the country, awarded for its distillery and whisky including Whisky of the Year (Australia Whisky Awards 2022), and globally shortlisted for two consecutive years as Worldwide Whisky Producer of the Year, at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2020 and 2021.

In 2007, Bill and Lyn were joined by head distiller and master blender Chris Thomson. Chris describes his work as “being a part of the family.” It’s clear Chris could not be happier in his career and the opportunity to take Tasmanian whisky to the world.

In May this year, Ashley Pini sat down with Bill Lark to discuss Lark’s beginnings, the last 30 years, and its legacy. If Bill Lark has played the opening role akin to David Boon, the stage is set for Chris Thomson to play like Ricky Ponting.

Great to see you, Bill. Thank you for speaking with me. You’re widely credited with being the “Godfather of Australian Whisky,” and you are the first Australian to be inducted into the “World Whisky Hall of Fame” in 2015.

I was humbled and proud to be alongside some of the people in the Hall of Fame. It was a terrific night. The help I got from people such as John Grant from Glenfarclas, way back in 1992, was terrific and very supportive. I may have received the Godfather name as I’ve always been keen to encourage and support distillers to build a more robust industry with quality whisky. It was wonderful to receive the help we did, so when people come to me, I’m happy to help. I see no point in others having to make the mistakes we did. If it can be avoided, it’s better for everyone.

You’ve just released a unique whisky, The Legacy, a 20-year-old aged in port hogsheads coinciding with 30 years since you were granted the licence to distil just a few weeks later. It’s a special time for you right now.

Well, yes, it is. This whisky came when Lynn and I started to take our distillery seriously. We got the licence in 1992, but until about 2000, we weren’t sure where this was going to take us. In 1999 a couple of gentlemen from Canberra came to see me and said — Bill, if we buy this will you give us a year? We want to produce 500 barrels a year. Can it be done with the equipment you have? I looked at it, did some numbers, and said… yeah, sure, I think we can do that. I put on four distillers and worked seven days a week, and I am pleased to say we made 507 barrels of whisky that year.

How did that challenge the way you worked until then?

I should add that they wanted one other thing. They said — we’d like you to make the best whisky in the world. Wonderfully,

one of the whiskies that we made when I was head distiller won Best Whisky in the World Whisky Awards in 2014. So it was a lot of work, but we never compromised on quality. That was the period that set the business up in terms of recognition for our work. Suddenly the world wanted our whisky, but there wasn’t enough to go around.

So how did you manage to keep a hold of this 20-year-old whisky, The Legacy?

This whisky we are looking at now was distilled and put into barrel during my time at the Tasmania Distillery. We managed to get a hold of some lovely old port cask hogsheads. Port was always my favourite type of finishing. We managed to pick up seven of these barrels. The barrels moved to the Overeem Distillery. Casey didn’t know what to do with them. At this stage, we (Lark Distillery) were doing some work with Overeem and acquiring the business, so the barrels came back to us. At that stage (at Lark), we were maturing in small (quarter) casks, so I’d forgotten about these seven hogsheads for quite some time. It was great to find them; it’s given us a fantastic opportunity to look at a 20-year-old Tasmanian whisky.

So why do you refer to this as The Legacy?

I guess Legacy refers to how the industry was back then and the legacy of my journey being a part of Lark Distillery. The past 30 years has been a journey bringing Australian whisky into the international spotlight, led by producers such as Lark, Sullivan’s Cove, Overeem, and Hellyer’s Road. All Tasmanian-based. To celebrate both the second Legacy release and 30 years of Lark is a considerable achievement for the whole Lark team. It’s a remarkable milestone, and we are very proud of the hard work and dedication that has been put in to producing such a quality release.

Is it possible to describe a ‘style’ developed in Tasmania?

We are still not bound by some of the traditions of places like Scotland, so we can innovate where they can’t. This can be a huge advantage. I would also say that most distillers here are producing whisky with a beautiful golden thread of a lovely floral note. I can almost be sure of picking up a Tasmanian whisky on its nose. The whisky’s character can be determined by the shape of the still and the fact that we are using the Tasmanian brewing barley, which gives us an oiliness that is apparent on the palate. I often talk about the whiskies being creamy upfront and oily in the middle – and that’s a true characterisation of Tasmanian whisky for me. There are over 70 distilleries in Tasmania now, and it’s a legacy of which we can all be proud.

LARK - THE LEGACY

Location: Tasmania ABV: 65.8% | RRP $2,500

TASTING NOTE: Legacy is rich, deep and perfectly complex. Finished with oak and spice, Legacy has a long, dense malt palate and hints of black pepper. It’s rich and sweet on the nose, with caramelised pear and vanilla custard, followed by sweet notes, cherry pie, maple syrup, and candied orange. Limited release of 322 bottles only. Available online.