Single Malt whisky should come from Scotland. Yes? Well if you're Bill Lark the answer is most certainly 'No', as in 1992 he established Lark Distillery in Tasmania, over a century after the last distillery closed on the island, and is the 'godfather' of Australian distillation!
One of his current projects is as a consultant to the Kingsbarns Distillery, near St Andrews in Fife, which is using his micro distillery as inspiration for it's working tourist attraction. So to learn a bit more about this man, who I am sure will become more well known in the UK as the Kingsbarns project continues, we asked him six questions.
Aside from your own whiskies, what else do you drink on a regular basis?
I often tell people that I am never caught at home without a Talisker and a Highland Park in the cupboard. The Talisker because in my opinion it is one of the best balanced whiskies in terms of wood malt & peat and the Highland Park because you can taste the heather. Apart from those two if I am with friends up in the Highlands fly fishing then I'll always look for a Laphroaig, something like the latest 18yo release would be just beaut. Then of course first thing in the morning when no one feels like cooking breakfast I would look for something like a Clynelish. (I'd just like to point out that the fact that Bill has got a whisky for drinking at breakfast proves that he is exceptionally cool!)
If you didn't make whisky, what would you do for a living?
I used to be a land surveyor for my sins in a past life and although I really enjoyed that time of my life. These days I think I would love to explore my hidden talents in making musical instruments and slit cane fly rods. I am currently working on a violin for my son and a couple of light weight 7'6" fly rods for friends.
What is the best whisky you have tried?
I will never forget being given a sample of a 35yo Glen Grant to take back to Tasmania a few years ago and I took it to the Gillies Club where it scored 10/10, almost unheard of. It was truly memorable and the way Glen Grant should a big sherry cask mellowed with age. The other one that sticks out in my mind was a single cask bottling of Glen Garioch 22 yo Cask Strength, what a beauty, I only had one bottle and I regret now not getting more.
Describe yourself in three words.
I'm not sure I can repeat the words most often used to describe me, but since I can choose the words myself I would say: Adventurous, (yet)Conservative and Traditional. The recent description of me in the Scotsman as being "A tubby, gnome like little fella from downunder" is quite misleading!
What is your first memory of drinking whisky?
Having caught a magnificent 4lb wild brown trout in the highlands of Tasmania on fishing trip with my father-in-law, Max Stewart, (recent Scottish ancestry) we decided to launch into a bottle of Glenfiddich while waiting for our wives to arrive to barbeque the trout in a beautiful park in the Highland town of Bothwell. It was then and there that we decided we should make Malt Whisky in Tasmania, perhaps we had too much Glenfiddich - perhaps we didn't have enough or perhaps it was just being surrounded by wonderful fields of barley, clean highland streams and knowing we had good peat bogs just the road - who knows.
Name three people, real or fictional, living or dead, that would be your ideal dinner party guests.
If I had the opportunity to invite three special guests I would have to include Compton Mackenzie, author of one of my most favorite books, I love his wicked sense of story telling. I'm secretly in love with Nigella Lawson, who my son says I can marry anytime ( I don't think I have approval from my wife, Lyn, not at this stage anyhow), She's the goddess of food, and finally I think I would choose Billy Connolly just because it would be so much fun and we all need a bit of a good belly laugh from time to time.
Lark Distillery Website
Kingsbarns Distillery Blog
Previous 6 Questions with
Gary Horner
Geoff Hardy
Ernst Loosen
Dan Aykroyd
Paul Draper
Dan Connolly
Sir Cliff Richard
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