On tasting: The Lark core range – Classic, Cask Strength and Symphony No. 1. Limited cask finish whiskies, including Dark Lark, Muscat, Christmas Cask, Cuvee and Chinotto Cask II. And some Rare Cask Series bottlings: Para 1992, Para 50 II and Mizunara Cask.
Tasting these whiskies over the last few months has been odd to say the least. The last time I sat down to taste single malt whisky with ‘Lark’ on the front label, everything came from, well… Lark Distillery.
Obviously, we’re in a different epoch now, and for the full breakdown on how the House of Lark bottlings came to be, check out my essay on the progression of the Lark story.
At first, when you’re not quite sure where the distillate has come from (Nant, Overeem, Old Kempton?), you can’t help but try to guess. Initially, that’s kind of fun, but when you line-up a big vertical of different Lark whiskies (this is only half of what I’ve tried of late), then things start to get a bit disorientating.
Of course, the elephant in the room when talking about and tasting Lark whisky these days is the price of the limited and rare cask bottlings, predominately $500-$1200, with some between $1900-$2500. You can see my thoughts on the individual bottlings below, but the simple takeaway is, no, of course they’re not worth the money. But the luxury whisky market is certainly not targeted at a middling oaf like me, and if people are finding value in these whiskies then so be it.
My other takeaway – revisit the Lark core range. The distilling team have done a great job improving the quality and consistency of the Lark Classic Cask and Cask Strength over the last few years. They’re my pick of the whole portfolio, but maybe that’s the nostalgist in me coming through.
Of the several thousand limited release whiskies Lark have released over the last two years, there have definitely been hits and misses. Release a couple of new whiskies every month and there’s bound to be some inconsistency. And as much as Lark have been derided for their zanier experiments with jus and chinotto-infused casks, criticism that’s somewhat justified, I actually think some of those bottlings have been their most successful.
Moving forward, it’s going to be fascinating to see what’s pulled out of Lark’s now large inventory of casks. How will the limited release whiskies evolve as other makes are added to the fold? What becomes of Lark’s original Cambridge distillery when Pontville’s up and running? And could more single malt distilleries in Tasmania be brought into the Lark Distilling business? There’s plenty to stay across, so watch this space.
