The Story

Norway can claim responsibility for first inspiring Casey Overeem’s interest in distilling. When visiting relatives there, Overeem was amazed by the microdistilleries people had in their cellars, and when he returned to his home in Hobart he started to do some experimenting of his own.

To further stoke Overeem’s passion for distilling, the Tasmanian whisky industry began to take off. He eventually befriended many of the emerging Tassie distillers, and after years of homework and research trips to Scotland, he obtained a distillers license in 2005 and began producing Overeem Single Malt Whisky in 2007. Similar to his relatives in Norway, Overeem constructed his distillery at home in the Australian form of the cellar – his garage. It was a remarkable site, two gleaming Knapp Lewer copper pot stills huddled together inconspicuously producing some of Australia’s finest malt whisky.

The stills were almost identical to those at the Lark Distillery, and initially Lark produced wash for Overeem. It’s mashed from equal proportions of peated and unpeated barley and the yeast used is proprietary to Overeem as well. Spirit was then filled into 100 litre casks that have previously held tawny, apera and Bourbon, with the two former being the predominate expressions.

Also significant is the location Overeem’s whiskies are matured in. The majority of the casks were housed in an underground cellar with a relatively static ambient temperature, leaving many to speculate about whether or not this has contributed to the consistency and integration of their releases.

Either way, once it was released, Overeem grew a cult following among enthusiasts in Australia. And when the whisky found its way overseas, many top UK whisky boffins became enamoured with Overeem as well. Soon it started appearing on BBC programs and even in Selfridges, an English chain of high-end department stores – the first Australian whisky to do so.

What started out as a hobby was soon consuming Casey Overeem, which was never the intention. So in 2013, upon Casey’s retirement, the Old Hobart Distillery and the Overeem brand was sold to Lark Distillery Pty Ltd. Production of Overeem was eventually moved to Lark, and Jane Overeem, Casey’s daughter, continued as brand ambassador. But two years later, Jane left Lark so she and her husband Mark Sawford could create Sawford Distillery, their own distilling enterprise.

Then, incredibly, in early 2020, Jane and Mark announced that they’d reacquired the Overeem brand from Australian Whisky Holdings (AWH), the owners of Lark, Forty Spotted Gin and Nant Distillery.

‘When we sold Overeem I never expected to be able to get it back,’ Jane told Oz Whisky Review at the time. ‘But I think a part of me always wished that we could. I’m excited that the brand will now be back under family ownership…’

Whisky distilled under the Sawford label will now be used for Overeem in future (the specs were almost identical). That whisky, once it reaches maturity in 2022, will help to satisfy future Overeem demand, along with specific stock that’s been purchased from AWH and can be traced back to the original still house.

Casey Overeem is continuing as a casual brand ambassador for the new venture, and Jane and Mark are thrilled to drive the brand forward under family ownership.