Lark Distilling MD Geoff Bainbridge on Shene deal, labelling controversy & more

Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
It’s been a massive year for Lark Distilling Company, which recently announced the $40 million acquisition of fellow Tasmanian distillery Shene Estate, and has released a raft of new whiskies finished in fortified wine casks.
Managing director Geoff Bainbridge joins us this episode, about 18 months after he last spoke with Drinks Adventures for a two-part story on the podcast website.
Remember you can visit DrinksAdventures.com.au and sign up to the newsletter so you don’t miss stories like that one.
At the time, Geoff and I discussed the rebadging and relaunch of Lark Distilling, formerly known as Australian Whisky Holdings, and the process the company went through to exit the Nant barrel investment scheme, and sell Overeem Whisky back to the Overeem family.
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Lark’s share price has been on an absolute flyer ever since, with the company reporting strong sales results having refocused itself on a single whisky brand, and continued to build its whisky inventory.
There’s been some criticism however about an alleged lack of transparency surrounding the provenance of whisky released under the Lark name.
I addressed those issues with Geoff in this follow-up interview for the podcast.
We also discuss some of the recent developments of late in Australian whisky generally, like the discussions around a potential Tasmanian Whisky appellation, and the controversial Archie Rose patent.
That’s coming up after Geoff gives you an update on some of the other changes at Lark Distilling in recent times.
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