Swift + Moore have added the Tasmanian whisky, a winner at March’s World Whisky Awards, to its portfolio of luxury spirits.
Spirit Thief will join Rosebank, Glengoyne and Tamdhu in Swift + Moore’s range of single malts, and is currently the distributor’s only Australian whisky.
Cameron Crowley, Managing Director of Swift + Moore, commented on the addition, saying: “We are very excited to partner with Brett [Steel] and the Spirit Thief team.”
“Tasmania has always been the pinnacle in Australian craft drinks and represents purity and a closeness to nature in the minds of the Australian and international consumer. Spirits Thief’s unique approach has already shown its worth among the world’s finest,” Cameron continued.
The Spirit Thief team has a strong grounding in the Australian wine industry.
Master Blender, Rod Faulker, grew up in Morphett Vale, and picked grapes from the age of eight at the Emu Winery, leading to a career as a sommelier, working on pairing Tasmanian wine and foods.
Brett Steel, the Founder of Spirit Thief, grew up in Reynella, just outside the McLaren Vale. Ray Drew, Brett’s grandfather, served as Marketing Director of Hardy’s Wines, Brett describes him as offering “my first introduction into the professional world of wine and spirits.”
“I worked as a Cellar hand at Renmark’s Renmano winery before heading overseas and discovering a love of single malt whisky. Spirit Thief is the dream that allows these two passions to co-exist as one.”
Brett is referring to the fact that Spirit Thief single malts are aged in former wine barrels of French and American oak, with the brand leveraging Brett and Rod’s experience to produce a whisky which combines both Tasmania’s wine and whisky making industries.
Rod commented on this combination of worlds, saying: “I love the blending of science and art that is the craft of the Master Blender. Combining our beautiful fruit driven spirit with the finest French and American Oak, toasting and charring our casks, and then being patient, allowing Mother Nature to do the rest.
The joy is creating something special from very simple ingredients that speak of place, and the people who have toiled to create it.”
Like Cameron, Brett is delighted for Spirit Thief to be joining the Swift + Moore stable.
“The opportunity to join Swift + Moore and to be sitting in the portfolio alongside such renowned global whisky brands as Rosebank, Glengoyne, and Tamdhu, is a real milestone in our journey to take Spirit Thief whisky to Australia and the rest of the world,” Brett says.
“The [Swift + Moore] team really understands our brand and our alignment of bringing the dual worlds of Tasmanian whisky and wine together. We aim to make Tasmanian single malt whisky for connoisseurs of fine wine, with a real focus on refined elegance and balance of spirit and oak.”
Spirit Thief was awarded ‘World’s Best Design’ at the recent World Whisky Awards, held in London, with Brett hailing Tucker Creative, the Adelaide marketing and design agency that Spirit Thief collaborated with.
“We are extremely proud of the work we have done with the talented team at Adelaide agency, Tucker Creative, in designing our bespoke bottle and packaging that really speaks to our story and philosophy of bringing wine and whisky together,” Brett says.
“They have done an incredible job in bringing our brand to the market in a way that is both classic and contemporary.”
The Spirit Thief range currently distributed by Swift + Moore is the ‘Cellar Reserve Series’, including whiskies matured in American Oak Shiraz casks, French Oak Grenache casks and a combination of American Oak Cabernet and Bourbon barrels. A ‘Discovery’ gift box is also available, which contains all three whiskies.
