Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson

We’re joined this episode by Dan Hamilton, managing director of Diageo Australia. When Dan took on the role in October 2023 it was a homecoming to Australia after 20 years working abroad, 12 of which were in senior commercial positions at Diageo. And he was joining the Australian business at a particularly challenging time, with consumers facing significant cost of living pressures, high inflation propelling spirits tax beyond $100 a litre of alcohol, and some of Diageo’s products having lost a bit of relevance with consumers. So in this special episode of Drinks Adventures - produced in partnership with Diageo Australia - we’ll talk about some of the wins the business has had over the last couple of years, and why Australia has become a bit of a testing ground for new products like Johnnie Walker Black Ruby. We get Dan’s insights on how different cultures interact with spirits, and what makes the Australian market unique. That of course starts with premix, a category that has only recently been embraced in markets overseas, but was actually pioneered by Diageo’s Bundaberg Rum in the 1940s, somewhat incredibly.  We talk about the craft spirits boom of recent decades, and what Dan thinks the Australian industry can learn from other markets such as Japan. And we get a significant update on Diageo’s investment in Starward Whisky following the global company’s decision earlier this year to stop funding the Distil Ventures accelerator. That’s just some of the territory we cover in this wide-ranging conversation with Dan Hamilton.

We’re joined this episode by Merrick Watts and Ed Stening, co-founders of Posca Hydrate, a recent start-up that takes inspiration from one of the oldest drinks in recorded history. Posca shares its name with an ancient concoction of red wine vinegar, water, salt and flavourings that was consumed by the Roman army for its hydrating properties, at a time when clean water was often hard to come by. It was Merrick, the comedian, broadcaster and wine expert, who conceived the idea of resurrecting this beverage for modern consumers. The result is Posca Hydrate, a sparkling, sugar-free prebiotic drink that combines electrolytes and antioxidant-rich red wine vinegar to support hydration and gut health. Merrick teamed up with Ed Stening, a marketing executive formerly of companies including Lion and Suntory, to refine the product and bring it to market. And it's early days, but Posca looks destined for big things. They’ve assembled a crack team of advisors to join the company’s board, and achieved some impressive milestones including qualification with the ATO as an Early Stage Innovation Company, and a distribution partnership with SPC Global. That’s all coming up in this brilliant conversation with Merrick and Ed.

In this episode, we welcome Matt Hobson of Nil Desperandum Rum back to the show. Matt was last with us on the eve of Queensland Rum Day 2024 to discuss the debut release of The Rum Consortium, a history-making blend of rums from four Queensland distilleries including icons Bundaberg and Beenleigh. Queensland Rum Day 2025 is coming up this Friday October 2025, so there’s events and another special Rum Consortium release for you to suss out after listening to this interview with Matt. This time, we’re talking about the labelling laws for Australian rum, which Matt argues must be properly enforced in order to protect the reputation of Australian rum on the world stage.

In this episode we’re joined by Chris Kelly of Australia’s first mobile canning provider, East Coast Canning. Chris founded the business in 2016 to provide small breweries with access to professional-grade packaging without them needing to invest in expensive canning lines of their own. Nine years on, East Coast Canning has a fleet of four mobile canning trucks and a static packaging facility in Melbourne that together have filled more than 33 million cans for customers on Australia’s eastern seaboard. Chris reflects on some of the highs and lows so far; such as the “sku-mageddon” groundswell of limited release beers; the lockdown era packaged beer boom; and the craft beer insolvencies that nearly brought the business undone. You’ll hear about the some of the emerging sectors of the drinks industry that are calling on East Coast for packaging services; and the company’s new Bulletproof can innovation, billed as the world’s most durable digitally printed can.

We’re joined this episode by Emilia Fazzalari and Quentin Job of Cincoro Tequila. Cincoro is the ultra-premium tequila brand launched in 2019 by a group of NBA club owners including the legendary Michael Jordan, who it turns out is also a tequila aficionado. Also in the founding group are Emilia – the company’s executive chairperson who we’re speaking to today; her husband Wyc Grousbeck – owner of the Boston Celtics; and fellow basketball figures Jeanie Buss and Wes Edens. Our other guest today, Quentin Job, is an Asia Pacific-based drinks industry veteran who is leading the expansion of Cincoro into international markets including Australia, where it has recently arrived under a distribution agreement with Minleki Spirit Traders. From the outset, the founders aimed to create a tequila that could sit confidently alongside the world’s great luxury spirits. The team worked closely with producers in Jalisco, Mexico to develop a distinctive style, blending agave from both the highlands and lowlands to create a tequila that balances elegance with depth of flavour. Launched in 2019, Cincoro is rapidly carving out a space for itself in the competitive tequila category. But in this episode – produced in partnership with Cincoro – Emilia and Quentin are quick to emphasise that the brand’s success is about much more than star power. It’s about liquid that speaks for itself, supported by careful brand-building and a long-term commitment to quality.

We're joined this episode by Guinness global brand ambassador Padraig Fox. Padraig was recently in Australia as part of Guinness’s sponsorship of the British and Irish Lions rugby tour, which coincides with a massive global resurgence for the brand. And, as you would have heard in my recent interview with Lion bosses James Brindley and Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Australia has not been immune to the trend. In fact, Lion sold about 2 million litres of Guinness during the recent tour, when there were 2650 venues pouring Guinness in Australia, which was an increase of 850 new tap accounts on last year. In his role, Padraig is responsible for sharing the Guinness story with audiences all over the world. And in this episode – produced in partnership with Guinness – we discuss how the brand has managed to stay relevant and exciting in a crowded beer market, what’s behind its recent growth, and how it balances its long heritage with the need to keep evolving.

We’re joined this episode by West Australian beer writer and retailer, Guy Southern, winner of the Beer Media prize at the Australian International Beer Awards 2025. Guy may be familiar to you from his regular reporting for The Crafty Pint, where he’s covered the West Australian beer scene for well over a decade. And he was also lead researcher and writer for a mini-documentary on WA beer history that screened on a loop at the Liquid Gold: A Taste of WA Brewing History exhibition, held last year at the State Library of Western Australia. Coming up, Guy shares how the project reshaped his own understanding of WA beer history — particularly in uncovering early examples of brewing that predate much of the accepted historical record. We revisit how WA sparked the first wave of Australian craft beer, as well as finding out how the local industry is faring today, and getting some of his recommendations on the breweries and beers we should be keeping an eye out for in years to come.

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.

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.

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.