30 Years of Lark Distillery
30 Years of Lark Distillery LARK DISTILLERY CELEBRATED ITS 30 ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE WITH A HUGE BIRTHDAY BASH AT PONTVILLE IN TASMANIA. ASHLEY PINI CAUGHT UP WITH HEIR APPARENT HEAD DISTILLER CHRIS THOMSON TO DEBRIEF ON THE NIGHT BEFORE AND MUSE ON THE PAST AND BRIGHT FUTURE OF THIS 30-YEAR-OLD TASSIE ‘START UP’ TAKING ON THE WORLD.
In 2007, Chris was 19 years old and doing a science degree when he worked out it wasn’t for him. He needed a job, and the first step was to start working on the bottling line at Lark Distillery. After six months of bottling, Chris underwent some palate testing and, in his words, ‘got lucky’. He moved into the distilling team and took over as head distiller in just a couple of years. The distillery celebrations were poignant for Chris as they highlighted the growth of Lark and the way the business has continued to act like a big family. “Last night, I was reflecting on when I started. We kept all of our stock on one pallet. We’d have a scattering of boxes, a bit of gin, a bit of vodka, and that was it. Now we ship full pallets. It’s a surreal journey to think how far we’ve come,” said Thomson. “I’m humbled at having the opportunity
16 drinks trade
We’d have a scattering of boxes, a bit of gin, a bit of vodka, and that was it. Now we ship full pallets. to work for and grow with the company from such a young age. I see myself as having this incredible privilege,” said Chris. “Last night there was real emotion for me. I’m proud of Bill. I would’ve loved Lyn to be there. She’s an incredible woman who is amazingly talented but doesn’t want to get up on stage. Right across the business, you get the same family feeling. Last night you could see marketing, sales and finance; they were all there, opening the doors, waiting, and pouring wine. We’re a family and do
what we need to do. Even though we might be a publicly-traded company now, we’ve not lost that culture. You’re never too big to do any one job.” The Lark company’s collegial culture developed from years of back to the wall trading where the business could’ve gone under numerous times without an all-handson-deck attitude and local trade support. It’s built a strong sense of community within Lark and the broader Tasmanian whisky industry. With more whisky coming to market over the next few years, the opportunity to offer a Tasmanian whisky at a lower price point seems to be not far away “Lower-priced whisky is a natural thing that will happen. As more supply comes on, costs come down. At the moment, the industry is heavily investing in itself. It’s so capital intensive and prohibitive to getting the price down but it will happen. This is one of the great things about whisky – it’s not a commodity. The real connection is in the story and the brands being a part of that. Within our community, it’s important to be buying into the Tasmanian whisky story, then larger and smaller distilleries can work together and have whiskies at different price points.” Addressing how Tasmanian whisky can develop while protecting quality and allowing for innovation, Thomson said, “Right now, I would be more inclined to leave the freedom there. I think we have some incredibly talented and responsible people in this industry. One of the great advantages for us is the lack of regulation giving us the freedom to discover what Tasmanian and Australian whisky can be. When you look at the Scottish industry, I’m a huge fan. There’s a sense that not much has changed over the last 200 years,
