Episodios

  • Beer entrepreneur Steve Jeffares on his next chapter

    Beer entrepreneur Steve Jeffares on his next chapter
    Jul 2 2025
    We’re joined this episode by Steve Jeffares, co-founder of The Local Taphouse and Stomping Ground Brewing Company in Melbourne, as well as GABS, the Great Australian Beer Spectapular festival. Steve’s new solo venture is Happy Camper, a community-focused venue in Glen Iris, Melbourne, in the site formerly occupied by Deeds Brewing, which ceased operations last year. As you’ll hear, it’s a deliberate step back from scale and spectacle — and a return to Steve’s roots in hospitality and curating great drinks experiences. Coming up, Steve talks us through what inspired the concept and how it reflects his evolving relationship with beer and hospitality. We also get into the changing landscape of Australia’s beer industry — from the early days of craft, to the maturing market we see today, and what he thinks the next generation of breweries will need to get right if they’re to survive and thrive.
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    27 m
  • Australia's forgotten spirits, with historian Luke McCarthy

    Australia's forgotten spirits, with historian Luke McCarthy
    Jun 19 2025
    In this episode, we welcome back Australian spirits writer and historian Luke McCarthy to discuss two new books he has published in 2025. The first is Forgotten Spirits: A History of the Distilling Industry in Victoria — a landmark publication commissioned by Spirits Victoria and supported by funding from the Victorian Government. This is the first time anyone has attempted a comprehensive historical account of distilling in Victoria. And what Luke uncovered is an industry far older and more dynamic than many of us would have assumed. Distilling in Victoria dates back to the 1830s, and by the early 1900s the state was producing spirits on a truly global scale, only for Federal Government policy decisions to ultimately bring the industry undone later that century. The second book is St Agnes Distillery: The First 100 Years 1925–2025. It celebrates the centenary of St Agnes – one of Australia’s most iconic spirit producers – which featured on this podcast back in 2022 when the company launched its new Camborne Single Malt Whisky. Through family archives, historic photographs and in-depth interviews, Luke chronicles how the Angove family built the St Agnes brandy house from the ground up in Renmark, South Australia – enduring fires, floods, economic upheaval, and even the existential threat of changing consumer tastes. It’s a pleasure to welcome Luke back to Drinks Adventures for a timely conversation that connects the past, present and future of Australian spirits.
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    41 m
  • Taking Tasmanian whisky global with Greenbanks

    Taking Tasmanian whisky global with Greenbanks
    Jun 5 2025
    We’re joined this episode by John Slattery, co-founder of Greenbanks Tasmanian Whisky Co. Greenbanks started production in late 2023 with Tasmania’s largest capacity still that is fully optimised for producing whisky of all styles. In fact, the capacity of the production still at Greenbanks exceeds the combined capacity of all other whisky distilleries on the island. This scale is designed to support Greenbanks’ goal of producing a Tasmanian whisky that can hit shelves at the globally competitive price of around $80 for a 700ml bottle. And this scale, combined with other efficiencies, means Greenbanks can offer accessibly priced contract production services to its fellow Tasmanian distillers, along with aspiring whisky brands. This is a special episode of Drinks Adventures, produced in partnership with Greenbanks. Coming up, you’ll hear from John how he, Hugh Roxburgh and Tim Salt came together to found the business. First up though, I wanted to find out a little bit more about how John originally found his way into the whisky industry.
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    33 m
  • How Fielden is championing English rye whisky

    How Fielden is championing English rye whisky
    May 29 2025
    We’re joined this episode by Charlie Echlin and Chico Rosa from Fielden Whisky of England, which has recently launched its range in Australia. Fielden began life in 2017 as The Oxford Artisan Distillery, a company focused predominately on white spirits that it distilled from scratch using historic grain varieties. But it also laid down for maturation small quantities of grain spirit that underpinned its relaunch as Fielden Whisky and relocation to Yorkshire with the target of having 30,000 casks under maturation by 2030. This is a special episode of Drinks Adventures, produced in partnership with Fielden Whisky. Coming up, you’ll hear about Fielden’s differentiated approach to English whisky, championing rye, first and foremost, and highlighting the benefits of regenerative farming, working exclusively with heritage grains that have been grown entirely without chemicals. Just like several other brands we’ve previously featured on this podcast – Starward, Westward and Stauning – Fielden Whisky received a minority investment from the Distil Ventures accelerator program. Spirits giant Diageo recently announced it would no longer fund Distil Ventures, so later on in this episode I ask Charlie and Chico what this means for their business. We get their thoughts on some of the recent economic malaise surrounding the whisky industry globally. And, even though they’re focused on making rye whisky, Charlie and Chico give their view on the definition of ‘single malt’ in the proposed English whisky geographical indication that has caused quite a bit of controversy in recent months.
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    41 m
  • Lion co-leaders James Brindley and Anubha Sahasrabuddhe

    Lion co-leaders James Brindley and Anubha Sahasrabuddhe
    May 8 2025
    We’re joined this episode by James Brindley and Anubha Sahasrabuddhe of brewer Lion Australia. After his previous 28-year stint with Lion finished in 2021, James surprised the industry when he announced his return as managing director in May 2024, under a somewhat unorthodox arrangement where he would share the leadership with Anubha. With a background in CPG – consumer packaged goods – Anubha held senior leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company and Mars Wrigley across Asia Pacific and North America, prior to returning to Australia to join Lion in 2021. Anubha’s title now is chief growth and commercial officer, and coming up, we’ll hear a bit more about the unique co-leadership arrangement she has with James, which is just coming up to its 12-month anniversary. This is a special episode of Drinks Adventures produced in partnership with Lion’s Ultra Zero Carb range that has been rolled out across the Hahn, XXXX, Tooheys and Byron Bay Brewery brands. But the interview was also an opportunity for me to ask Anubha and James about some of the challenges and trends currently confronting the brewing industry, like the struggles of the craft beer sector, the rise of premix spirits, the future of the non-alcoholic segment and more.
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    42 m
  • How Canefields Distillery is pioneering heirloom sugarcane rum

    How Canefields Distillery is pioneering heirloom sugarcane rum
    Apr 17 2025
    One of the standout sessions at the recent Australian Distillers Association conference was presented by Dr Marlize Becker of the University of Queensland and Luke Farrelly of Canefields Distillery on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Luke is a fourth-generation cane farmer who wanted to carry on the family tradition and decided rum was the most logical vehicle for him to do so. But the discovery of ten different ‘heirloom’ sugarcane varieties growing on the family property led him down the path of exploring which of them would be able to provide the most distinctive flavour profiles. Enter Marlize, whose research over the last decade has focussed on understanding the flavour and aroma compounds in wine. Funded by a university grant, Marlize undertook a study of the sugar cane varieties growing on Luke’s farm that enabled the application of her wine expertise to assist Canefields. The initial results are exciting, offering the potential for Canefields to elevate its cane juice rums and bolster what is surely one of Australia’s most unique agritourism experiences.
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    25 m
  • Sydney Rum Distillery outlines global ambitions

    Sydney Rum Distillery outlines global ambitions
    Mar 27 2025
    We’re joined this episode by Steve Magarry and Jonny Croft of Sydney Rum Distillery, which has just unveiled its new home in the former Oak milk factory in Muswellbrook. Now, that is of course a few hours north of Sydney, in the Upper Hunter Valley to be precise. In fact, the historic Oak site was most recently utilised as a winery. But the selection of the Oak factory follows an exhaustive search across Sydney for a site that could accommodate the company’s ambitious plans to create a globally scaled rum and brandy business. As you’ll hear in a moment, Sydney Rum Distillery is a holding company that in the first instance will produce bulk cane spirit and rum for export markets. But there are also plans to create its own brand portfolio in addition to Cargo Cult, the south pacific rum brand that Johnny founded in 2014. I caught up with Steve and Jonny at the distillery in Muswellbrook following a briefing and tour the company held for the local community, media and potential investors in March 2025.
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    25 m
  • Fred Siggins' expert buying advice for Australian spirits

    Fred Siggins' expert buying advice for Australian spirits
    Mar 21 2025
    Fred Siggins is a Melbourne-based spirits writer with more than 20 years of experience in the drinks and hospitality industries. He joins us to discuss what I think is a fairly momentous development. Halliday Wine Companion, the definitive guide to Australian wine for almost 40 years, is expanding its remit to include spirits. Launching in April 2025, Halliday Spirits offers comprehensive reviews and ratings of Australian-made and international spirits, aiming to elevate the industry with the same dedication to quality and insight that has defined Halliday's legacy in wine. Distillers will be assigned annual star ratings, based on scores achieved throughout the year, and the Halliday website, winecompanion.com.au, will host a directory of distillery profiles. Fred will be acting as lead taster, and joining him is gin expert Jess Clayfield, who has a profound understanding of Australian botanicals. Coming up, Fred explains why he thinks consumers are crying out for expert buying advice on spirits. You’ll hear which Australian spirits categories he’s most excited about, and he shares a few specific recommendations on the best value spirits currently on the market. Interested distillers can find out how to get involved here: https://winecompanion.com.au/spirits-submission-process
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    32 m