CHAPTER 2
The Great Reinvention BY ANDREW DERBIDGE
New beginnings in old spirit
M
ABOVE: Lark's first commercial release. 26
y first encounter with Australian whisky was around 2001 when one of the first releases of Sullivans Cove – the one in the fancy decanter bottle – appeared in a few independent bottle shops in Sydney. It retailed for around $80, at a time when Lagavulin 16yo retailed for $55. It had been bottled and released locally in Hobart just a year or two earlier, and it was the first widely distributed commercial Australian whisky endeavour of the new era. Sadly, the quality of what was inside the decanter was extremely poor, doing the newborn category no favours. When the 2000 edition of Michael Jackson’s “Malt Whisky Companion” came out (for those not familiar, Jackson’s book was considered the whisky equivalent of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack), the section at the back devoted to “International whiskies” listed both the aforementioned Sullivans Cove, plus one of the early Cradle Mountain releases. The reviews and scores assigned to both whiskies were less than flattering. With the ghost and spectre of Corio lingering in the
memories of many, this is the backdrop against which many drinkers became aware that Australian whisky was a thing once more. You’ll note that the name Lark does not appear in the preceding three paragraphs. Even in the earliest years of the industry’s re-birth, it seems there was a distinction between making craft whisky and actually making a commercial or retail venture of it. But let’s go back to the beginning and start with Episode IV… Despite most references to the early days revolving around Bill Lark’s determination and incredible efforts (and we’ll explore that in just a moment), the first whisky of the modern era was distilled by Brian Poke in 1991 (or 1989, depending on who you believe) by what – after a few name changes – would come to be known as the Small Concern Distillery Company. The company had been formed a few years earlier and was established to test the suitability and viability of the newly developed Franklin variety of barley for the production of malt whisky. It was a short-lived affair, filling two casks only, and the distillery had essentially been dismantled by 1992.
