Our Process

Proudly established 1992

From the Island

From the moment Bill and Lyn Lark overturned a distilling ban that had held since 1839, we've been driven by one belief — that Tasmania, this wild, edge-of-the-world island, had something extraordinary to say.

Every decision we make, from the very first stage of production to the final drop in the bottle, honours the island that made us. We work closely with Tasmanian farmers, sourcing our barley from the fields of Devonport.

We smoke our water with apple-wood from Tasmanian orchards. We draw our peat from the moors of the Central Highlands. We open our fermentation tanks to the Tasmanian air itself.

This place doesn't just inspire what we do — it is what we do.

Our Process

Barley

Our Tasmanian barley, malted at Devonport, is where everything begins. Oilier, richer and more viscous than conventional barley, it coats the mouth with a velvety texture that lingers long after the last sip.

Its bold, expressive ester profile creates a robust canvas of aromas — the foundation upon which everything else is built.

Our Process

Fermentation 

Fermentation, for us, is an act of invitation. We open our tanks to the Tasmanian air and let the island in — welcoming the wild, living character of Tasmania directly into the spirit through natural wild yeast inoculation.

We then ferment for seven full days, far beyond the industry norm, because great flavour cannot be rushed. The result is a deeply complex spirit that could only have come from this island.

Our Process

Smoke

Smoke has been part of our signature from the very beginning — woven through our whisky in two distinct ways. We mine our own peat from Browns Marsh in Tasmania's Central Highlands under our own mining licence, the first and only of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

That peat imparts a gentle, earthy smoke that is entirely unique to LARK — softer and more herbal than anything you'd find in the Northern Hemisphere, and impossible to replicate anywhere else on earth. We also cut our Single Malt with apple-wood smoked water, sourced from the orchards of the Apple Isle itself.

This unique technique adds layers of discovery to the finish, enhancing mouthfeel and deepening the signature umami complexity found across our portfolio.

Our Process

Wood

Bill and Lyn Lark knew that great whisky needs great wood. Bill sought out the best — travelling to the Barossa Valley to find Seppeltsfield Wines, established in 1851 and home to one of Australia's most remarkable fortified wine legacies.

Over a conversation with proprietor Warren Randall, a lifelong friendship was born — sealed not with a contract, but a paper napkin. A partnership that endures to this day.

Our Process

Maturation

LARK's barrel maturation programme is unique in the world. We use rare casks from Seppeltsfield, carrying an unbroken lineage of fortified wine dating back to 1878 — the oldest of its kind in Australia.

Some of these casks have been holding fortified wine for over a century, and when our spirit enters that wood, it isn't just interacting with oak — it's interacting with generations of concentrated fortified wine character that no other distillery in the world has access to.

Every cask we hand-select is individually assessed before it enters our programme, chosen for the story it will tell and the richness it will bring to every drop of LARK.

Our Process

Cask Seasoning Program

Our bespoke LARK Cask Seasoning Program takes this partnership even further, making it entirely our own. One seasoning is created using Australian PX (Pedro Ximénez), Apera (Sherry) and Muscadelle, imparting sweetness and Christmas pudding depth.

The second adds Seppeltsfield Tawny Port — some over 100 years old — along with Australian PX (Pedro Ximénez), Apera (Sherry) and Muscadelle, delivering intense sweetness underpinned by leather, tobacco and umami complexity.

Together, they complete what we call the beautiful triangle of the LARK house style: sweetness, silkiness and a distinctly New World umami.

Our Process

Tasting

At LARK, taste is our compass — guiding every decision we make from the first day of fermentation to the moment a whisky is ready to meet the world.

We taste our spirit up to 70 times throughout its journey, from daily checks during fermentation through to yearly audits once the whisky passes the critical three-year mark.

It's the most intensive tasting program in Australian whisky, and it exists for one reason: to ensure that flavour and texture lead, and everything else follows