You founded Archie Rose in 2014 as Sydney's first distillery in over a century. What made you take that on?
My passion for spirits began in my early 20s while I was at university where I began experimenting with homebrew, spirit based infusions and oak maturation, and reading up on the chemistry and engineering that underpins distillation. It was this mixture of hard science and art, the latter driven primarily by the environment and provenance of the spirit and raw materials, that drew me into the world of spirits.
I left uni and began working in management consulting but in 2013 I reached a point where I knew I had to explore my passion for distilling, so I took some annual leave and headed to NYC to check out some of the first distilleries since prohibition in Brooklyn and the surrounding areas. The distillery I spent most of my time at was Kings County, at the Brooklyn naval yards. They had started distilling in an apartment before moving into their heritage building, it was a beautiful old building with a great setup.
After seeing their setups and hearing their stories, I couldn't figure out why no one had started a successful distillery in the City of Sydney since the mid-1800s. Like NYC, Sydney has a rich history of distillation, an incredible selection of craft brewers, and a world-class bar scene where people are genuinely interested in where their food and drinks come from. After researching for about six months, I couldn’t find a valid reason as to why no-one had started a distillery in Sydney, so it was then that I committed to starting Archie Rose.
Archie Rose calls itself Australia's leading independent distillery. What does independence mean to you?
We’re family owned and operated, with myself, my family, and now Chris as the only shareholders. This gives us a unique freedom to create, innovate and distill products that are truly unique to Australia and be fully committed to our mission of bringing the highest value contemporary spirits to the world.
Chris Hemsworth became a co-owner in 2026. How did that partnership happen, and what does he bring?
The partnership was born when Chris and I were introduced by a mutual friend and regular at the Archie Rose Bar in Sydney. Having already been a fan of the brand, I spent time with Chris chatting about Archie Rose spirits and commitment to local sourcing and sustainability, but we also bonded over Australian nature, outdoors, snowboarding, skiing, running, and being dads.
Ultimately, Chris decided to come on board as a co-owner to help bring Archie Rose Australian spirits to the world. He didn’t want to be part of another celebrity booze brand, he was invested in our shared story and Archie Rose’s reputation of producing delicious, homegrown spirits.
Over the last decade, Archie Rose has built one of Australia’s largest whisky operations. With more than 50,000 casks of aging whisky, a range of international awards, and an established production infrastructure, we already have the building blocks of a substantial spirits business. Chris’s role is to take our whiskies and other spirits to the world.
You're launching in the US in late 2026. What do you want Americans to know first?
That Australia produces incredible spirits, underpinned by Australia’s rich landscape and agriculture. We have all the ingredients to produce exceptional whisky - including the world’s best barley and rye, clean water, and a warm, coastal climate that creates unique maturation conditions. The malts in Archie Rose whiskies are 100% Australian-grown and malted, and the flavours really speak to the richness of the land.
Australian whisky is still new to most Americans. How would you describe its style?
Australian distillers have built a reputation for producing whiskies with a distinctive sense of place. The whisky we produce is a new world style that speaks to the land, our rich agriculture, and a traceable, sustainable sourcing approach, while delivering on the quality associated with a single distillery production approach. At Archie Rose, our flavour comes from the malt, we specifically use Australian malted grain which creates a completely unique taste.
The Archie Rose Straight Rye Malt Whisky tastes unlike anything else due to our preference for malted rye over the far more commonly used unmalted rye. Made from rare Australian grown Heritage, Vampire and historic Bevy rye malts, and aged in the maritime air of Sydney, it delivers notes of candied almonds, tropical fruit and nutmeg spice.
Archie Rose Single Malt Australian Whisky is created using 100% Australian grown and malted grains. We use local heirloom & aromatic roasted barley malts, and Australian fortified wine (apera) casks, which contribute to the uniquely Australian flavour profile. The result is a whisky with notes of dark chocolate and sea salt, sticky meringue and a bounty of vibrant tropical fruit.
Archie Rose is known for gin and vodka as well as whisky. Which product best captures the brand?
Our focus is whisky; we’ve been producing both Single Malt and Rye Malt Whisky since day one back in 2014 and we’re incredibly proud to have won over 450+ awards for our spirits. Getting Australian whisky on the global map is our main ambition.
Our Straight Rye Malt Whisky is one we’re particularly proud of. It’s been awarded World’s Best Rye twice, and it features rare Australian grown Heritage, Vampire and historic Bevy rye malts, reflecting our belief that great whisky starts its life in the field.
You make custom-blend gin. Can you explain how that works and why people love it?
Our Tailored Spirits offering allows people to blend their own whisky, gin or vodka online by selecting up to five botanicals, or malt stream in the case of whisky. You can also select from a selection of preset blends already created by our distillers. People can then choose their own label background and personalise the bottle with a name on the front and custom message on the back. We then ship it from our Sydney distillery to your door within five business days. It’s an awesome gift!
We’ll soon be releasing a Tailored Whisky blend that Chris created, just in time for Christmas.
How do Australian native botanicals and grains shape your spirits?
Archie Rose partners with local growers, such as Voyager Malts in Central NSW, Australia to sustainably source and grow heirloom and drought resistant grain varieties for our whiskies, and we also source local and native Australian botanicals from growers around the country, including lemon myrtle, sunrise lime and waxflower for our gins.
Produced at our distillery in Sydney, every spirit is built around an approach that puts Australian flavours first. We ferment, distill and mature each malt separately, allowing its individual characteristics to shine before bringing them together to create the final whisky. Our gins are also produced by cold-distilling each botanical individually to get the optimal expression of each flavour. We believe this creates products shaped by Australian nature.
Gen Z and millennials love experiences. How does Archie Rose create them beyond the bottle?
In addition to the Tailored Spirits experience online, we also offer a range of spirits experiences at our venue in Rosebery, Sydney. The Archie Rose Bar has been operating since day one in 2014, and is home to our original distillery site. The old distillery site (now called The Still Room) is a newly renovated event space where guests can step inside our world and take part in a Cocktail Masterclass, Gin Blending experience, or a Blend Your Whisky experience. We’ve welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to our experiences in Rosebery, and we hope to bring these experiences to the US one day too.
How do you think about sustainability when shipping spirits worldwide?
We’ve always strived to maintain a grain to glass approach to everything we do at Archie Rose. We also maintain a culture of transparency, and a range of community-focused practices, which were formalised through our B Corp™ Certification this year.
With our latest whisky range, we completely redesigned the bottle and box packaging with Chris and Thirst Craft, our design agency. The new custom glass bottles and flat packed gift boxes were designed to be much lighter and compact to reduce overall packaging weight and maximise freight efficiency without compromising quality.
What's the perfect Archie Rose cocktail for a summer evening, and a winter one?
For warm days, we’ve been loving the Salty Dingo: a local twist on the Salty Dog. We actually married two classic cocktails to create this – the Salty Dog and the Paloma.
It features our Australian Original Whisky, a marriage of our Single Malt Australian Whisky and Straight Rye Malt Whisky, mixed with grapefruit soda, and balanced the citrus with honey water, keeping the salted rim for contrast. The result is a sharp, refreshing highball.
For a winter evening I can’t go past a classic Manhattan or Old Fashioned.
What's the long-term vision for Archie Rose?
The ambition is to bring the highest quality Australian grown and made spirits to as many people as possible around the world. Together, the partnership aims to introduce Australian whisky to new audiences around the globe, building Archie Rose's international presence while showcasing the quality of Australia’s raw ingredients and distilling expertise.
In essence, the vision for Archie Rose is for Australian whisky to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
