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.