The history behind Tasmanian whisky powerhouse Lark has everything you want in an origin story: a villain, a hero and a moment of inspiration that would change everything.
The villain: Lady Jane Franklin, wife of the governor of Tasmania in 1838, who did not like whisky. So much did she not like it that she is said to have pronounced: “I would prefer barley be fed to pigs than it be used to turn men into swine.” She convinced her husband, governor John Franklin, of the ills of the demon drink, and he outlawed distilling in Tasmania that year. And thus it remained until 1989, when we meet...
The hero: Bill Lark, founder of his eponymous distillery. Bill was and is a whisky lover, and it was on a fishing trip with his father-in-law that inspiration struck.
The inspiration: Bill Lark and his father-in-law sipped single-malt whisky on a fishing trip on the Clyde River. As he took in the cool, wet climate, so like Scotland, he wondered: why wasn't single-malt whisky made in Tasmania? With some digging, he discovered the antiquated distilling law and lobbied to get it overturned. A few years later, in 1992, the Lark family was the first in 154 years to produce single-malt whisky in Australia.
Bill's question ushered in a generation of whisky-making in Tasmania, and the state is now an international powerhouse in the world of whisky.
With such a grand origin story, it's only fitting that Lark has a distillery that's equally impressive. Lark bought the Pontville distillery in early 2022 from Shene Whisky and took over production on the site. The distillery site is 30 minutes drive from Hobart, and visitors can do tours for $99 on Saturdays and Sundays. Tours take in the numerous heritage sandstone buildings on site (including the allegedly haunted stables), along with interesting tidbits about Lark, whisky and the distillery itself, once a grand colonial homestead. Tours also include tastings of some pretty special Lark drops, including from casks that have never been available to the public, as well as a special dram made with waters from the aforementioned Clyde River.
Tours take about an hour and end up in Pontville's on-site bar, a cosy space with a fire and large windows looking out over the rolling fields of the property. The extensive back bar includes flights or 15ml or 30ml serves of Lark's various releases, and bottles can be purchased to take home, including some that are unique to the distillery. The label's gin range, Forty Spotted, is also available for tasting or purchase.
For those who really want to make the Lark experience their own, the distillery offers a 'Fuse' experience, where visitors can blend their own, personalised bottle of Lark under guidance from a Lark whisky specialist.
Lark is also Australia's first carbon-neutral distillery, so raise a glass of truly excellent whisky to the environment while you're there.
