LARK

Lark is Australia's original single malt whisky, and the brand that launched a craft distilling revolution in Australia. Founded in '92 by Bill and Lynn Lark, who were given Tasmania's first commercial distilling licence in over 150 years, Lark has grown from a kitchen-table operation to a publicly traded company with three distilleries under its control. In many ways, Lark wrote the handbook on Australian craft whisky, sourcing small-format fortified wine casks from storied wineries like Seppeltsfield to give the whisky its signature fudgy, fruity sweetness, using long fermentation times for complex flavour and character and employing a unique post-malting smoking process using local Tasmanian peat to give the whisky a whiff of smokiness. It's a style much copied across Australian whisky, and many a distiller has learned directly or indirectly from Bill and Lynn, who are always happy to share their knowledge. That openness has been a boon to the Aussie whisky industry, and Bill and Lynn deserve their titles as the Godfather and Godmother of Australian whisky. But for nearly two decades, the production at Lark has been run by Head Distiller Chris Thompson, guiding the whisky in the bottle with a steady hand despite plenty of turbulence on the business side of things. Consistency has been an ongoing issue for Lark among a seemingly unending parade of special releases. But since acquiring the Shene estate in '21, providing visitors a world-class distillery experience for the first time, the company has begun to consolidate production and jettison unnecessary assets, all helping to move both their whiskies and their underlying business in the right direction. We look forward to seeing Lark maintain its critical legacy as the founder of the modern Australian craft distilling industry. -FRED SIGGINS