From manual stirring with paddles to automated production systems, the evolution of Archie Rose reflects the trajectory of the Australian spirits’ sector. Dae Hong writes.
Dave Withers, master distiller at Archie Rose Distilling Co., comes from a family of winemaking.
“My dad was a winemaker, my grandfather was a winemaker,” he said. “Wine was prominent for me in my early years – it was in my blood.”
His school holidays were spent at the winery, scrubbing out tanks and taking car trips to wineries across Australia. However, a passion for a different alcoholic beverage took over.
“While I still drink a lot of wine, my passion is definitely in spirits,” said Withers.
With a newfound passion, he began to work with whisky, ranging from brand ambassador roles to liquor retail before meeting Will Edwards, founder of Archie Rose, in 2014. At the time, Edwards was building the distillery and was looking for a production manager.
“I took a bit of chance on him, and he took a bit of chance on me,” said Withers. “I became the fourth employee at the time.”
Fast forward to 2026, the production operation has grown to include 50 staff across distilling, bottling, maintenance and warehouse functions, with total operations staff numbering more than 60.
With more than a decade of experience in the spirits sector, Withers highlighted the growth of the industry in Australia. He said that at the time Archie Rose was founded, the Australian distilling landscape was limited, with only a small number of producers operating nationally.
“When we started in 2014, there were only about 20 distilleries in Australia,” said Withers.
Since then, the category has expanded rapidly, with hundreds of distilleries now in operation. Against this backdrop, Archie Rose positioned itself by focusing on Australian provenance and production identity.
Celebrating Australian
Rather than replicating traditional international models, the company built its approach around local raw materials. This includes grains for whisky production and botanicals for gin, sourced from Australian growers. The intention has been to reflect local agricultural conditions and create a distinctly Australian product offering.
“One of the amazing things about Australia is we have such great quality raw materials,” said Withers.
The business works closely with farmers to source specific grain varieties. Similarly, botanical sourcing is treated as a key part of product development, with certain releases built around individual ingredients grown in Australia.
“For example, we released a yuzu gin last year which is grown in central Victoria,” said Withers.
For whisky, Archie Rose sources heirloom and old varieties of grain that offer more pronounced flavour profiles.
“We try to celebrate the growers,” he added. “Sourcing these ingredients, working with the farmer, and making sure that we’ve got distinctly Australian produce is important to us.”
At the Rosebery site
Withers oversees an operational scope that extends beyond distillation itself, covering production, bottling, procurement, dispatch and supply chain, effectively managing the end-to-end manufacturing process.
“My title as a master distiller is just a fancy way of saying head of operations,” he said.
Withers highlighted that the company’s growth required a shift in manufacturing capability. Its original distillery in Rosebery operated as a manual, labour-intensive facility. Early production methods involved combining ground up grain with hot water to extract the fermentable sugars, producing a whisky wort.
“We used to stir half a tonne of grain by hand using a giant paddle,” he said. “It’s a 45-minute process that was performed twice daily.”
Once the wort is produced, which Withers described as a sugary liquid, yeast is added and the fermentation process commences. Fermentation takes between two to four days, during which the product transforms into a “funky and strange kind of beer”.
The resulting liquid is distilled twice to concentrate alcohol and develop flavour. At this stage, the spirit is clear and does not resemble whisky in its finished form. Maturation in barrels is essential, with time playing a critical role in developing colour and complexity.
This requirement introduces long production cycles and storage needs, which are integral to the distillery’s infrastructure. Withers said this approach limited scale and output, producing relatively small volumes of finished product.
“What we did was old school,” he said. “This process made about 200 litres of the finished product.”
As demand increased at the Rosebery site, the need for expanded capacity became clear.
“We grew so rapidly that we really needed to expand the production capacity of the distillery,” said Withers.
The expansion
By 2017, the business committed to developing a new distillery in Banksmeadow NSW, designed to increase production while improving efficiency and consistency. What began as a small-scale craft operation has grown into a large, technology-driven manufacturing facility.
“We moved from a largely manual system to a fully automated system on a greenfield site,” said Withers.
The new site represented a scale up, increasing production capacity more than twentyfold. Alongside an automated system, the facility incorporates a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) controlled production environment, allowing for centralised monitoring and control of operations.
Key equipment includes an automated brewhouse, fermentation systems and distillation units sourced from international manufacturers. While the equipment itself is advanced, the system has been adapted to suit the company’s specific production methods.
“We needed a very custom approach for the way we produce,” said Withers.
The facility also incorporates large-scale barrel storage, required for whisky maturation, which can take several years before the product reaches its final form.
When asked about the difference in output since the expansion, Withers said where early production yielded small volumes, the facility now produces around one million litres of pure alcohol annually, with capacity to reach higher levels depending on demand.
Drinking less but better
Alongside production scale, Archie Rose is also responding to changing market dynamics.
“People are drinking less, but drinking better,” said Withers.
Consumers are becoming more selective, prioritising provenance, ingredient quality and production methods. There is also growing interest in transparency, with consumers seeking to understand where products come from and how they are made. This mirrors trends seen across the broader food and beverage industry, where origin and traceability are becoming more important.
For Australian producers, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. While the domestic wine industry has strong local representation, the spirits category remains dominated by imports.
“Around 80 per cent of wine we drink in Australia is Australian,” said Withers. “On the other hand, only four per cent of the spirits consumed in Australia are Australian.”
Locally produced spirits account for a small share of consumption, leaving room for growth. Archie Rose is positioning itself to capture this opportunity by emphasising Australian identity and quality.
At the same time, the business is looking beyond the domestic market, with export forming a part of its growth strategy. The company is already present in international markets and is planning expansion into larger regions, including the US and parts of Asia.
However, the operating environment presents ongoing challenges. Like many manufacturers, the business is affected by rising energy and fuel costs, which directly impact production and logistics. In addition, excise tax remains an issue for the sector.
“Australia is one of the largest alcohol tax regimes in the world and it is indexed to increase every six months,” said Withers. “If you’re buying a cheaper type of spirits from a big chain, about 80 per cent of the cost is just the tax on the spirit.”
He noted that this places pressure on both the industry and consumers. Despite these constraints, the company continues to invest in production capability and market expansion. The focus remains on maintaining product quality while scaling operations and strengthening supply chain resilience.
At a broader level, the business reflects a wider narrative within Australian manufacturing. There is an emphasis on supporting local production, building capability and maintaining industry competitiveness in the face of global pressures.
“Australian manufacturing is always seen as being very high quality and it should be something that we endorse,” said Withers. “We can and should be proud about our spirits industry in Australia.”
