I’m always an early riser – after all I did create ‘The website that never sleeps’ – but I was certainly up with the Larks yesterday as the old idiom goes (one derived, incidentally, from the high-pitched early-morning singing habits of this particular songbird).
These Larks though were the human kind, representatives of the outstanding Tasmanian distillery of the same name, located in Pontville, about 30 minutes north of the Australian island’s capital Hobart.
Founded by Bill Lark – considered the ‘Godfather’ of Australian whisky – and his wife Lyn, Lark has grown from a fledgling first release in 1998 to a whisky house rightly renowned nationwide for the excellence of its myriad single malt expressions.
On Australia Day 2026, in recognition of his pioneering status, Bill Lark was made a member of the Order of Australia, one of the nation’s highest honours.
Fresh water sphagnum peat is mined from Lark’s own peat bog in the Tasmanian Highlands, transported to the distillery, and used every day to smoke Australian-sourced barley to create the distillery’s own wash on site.
Add in some of the most pristine water on the planet and a commitment to sustainability (Lark was Australia’s first certified carbon neutral distillery). Mix in a giant splosh of passion and professionalism and you have the makings of a whisky house steadily emerging from its status as a local favourite to one with rising international credentials.
The result, as I note in the latest episode (below) of The TREX Factor – Moodie Davitt STUDIO’s film series dedicated to travel retail-exclusive (TREX) products – is a rich, viscous house-style, world-class in quality and, I would argue, world-beating in its sublime packaging.
The birds featured on Lark Distillery labels and packs are Skylarks, an avian species which serves as the brand’s official mascot and a tribute to the distillery’s Tasmanian origins.
Skylarks represent freedom, creativity and the wild, natural beauty of the island.
Yesterday I caught up with two well-known travel retail and drinks sector figures, Stewart Graham, Lark’s Head of Commercial – Oceania and Global Travel Retail, and Alfred Goh, Commercial Director Asia, over a nice lunch at the top-class La Petite Maison (more widely known by its acronymn, LPM) in Central, Hong Kong, one of my favourite local restaurants.
Both have enjoyed successful drinks and wider career journeys before joining Lark; Stewart with Lion, Bacardi, Archie Rose Distilling and Diageo; Alfred with Heinemann Asia Pacific, Japan Tobacco International, Lavazza and Zamora.
All that collective experience is being deployed to good use. I learned a lot about Lark’s determination to expand its international footprint and how the company is setting about that mission in a carefully calculated manner – backed by strong in-store support for retailers – rather than simply trying to plant flags in the ground everywhere.
Given the quality of Lark single malts and the rising renown of Australian whiskies, per se, it’s a mission I believe will succeed, not overnight but certainly over time.
Later, Stewart and I reconvened for drinks at Captain’s Bar in nearby Mandarin Oriental with none other than Lark Managing Director CEO Stuart (Stu) Gregor and his wife Sally Lewis, a renowned Australian hospitality and media executive.
Many readers will recognise the former’s name, for this is the very same Stu Gregor who co-founded the extraordinarly successful Aussie drinks enterprise Four Pillars Gin (sold in a phased purchase from 2019 to 2023 to Japase drinks conglomerate Kirin’s Lion subsidiary).
Having sold Four Pillars, he returned to the driver’s seat with Lark after a near two-and-a-half-year break, bringing the same qualities of ambition, innovation, passion and strategic savvy to the new role.
Stu describes himself (he may have a very large business card) as a drinker, drinks whisperer, eater, investor, loud talker, professional speaker, business owner and author. Phew. And you might add to that list, great, funny and down-to-earth company.
Over a schooner or two of Captain’s Bar Beer (and in my case a Petit Chablis, as nicely chilled as the conversation), Stu told me what had drawn him back into business when he no longer needed to work.
At 57 (a mere spring chicken to my 70, I pointed out), it’s quite simple: for the love of it, the buzz, and the feeling he can make a difference. That rang as true to me as the clang of a bell at the start of a heavyweight boxing contest.
Stu, Sally and Stewart had to rush off to some promotional functions that evening so we said our fond goodbyes and I promised to take up their invitation to sojourn down to Tasmania in the near future.
But I won’t have to head all that way south to taste Lark’s great whiskies again.
(Drinks) whisper it quietly, but the company is poised to announce some key international distribution gains. So, chances are that many readers will be able to sip (and sing) with the Larks from a store or bar near them in the near future. ✈
