Surf’s up: The new grom turning heads at Bondi

The smile was there long before the new whisky brand of Australian TV legend Larry Emdur started making waves. In fact, the smile was there from the start, with a characteristic coastal lifestyle lack of stress. This is perhaps because The Ben Buckler was never meant to be a commercial enterprise – it was founded by Emdur in celebration of his 60th birthday to give as a specialty-batch gift to his closest friends.

“I originally just wanted to make 60 bottles of whisky for 60 mates for my 60th birthday,” says the Gold Logie award-winning television presenter. “It was never supposed to become a business, it was genuinely just a fun thing to do with friends. Then suddenly people started asking where they could buy it, venues wanted to stock it and before we knew it, this little side project had completely taken on a life of its own.”

This has all occurred since Emdur’s 60th birthday on 9 December 2024. Over this period, the whisky named after the iconic Bondi headland has won a swathe of gold medals in international spirits comps in Asia and the US. But it wasn’t until last week that the Bondi single malt whisky brand, produced out of Corowa Distilling in southern NSW, evolved into a much more serious form, with more serious plans and ambitions. 

What happened last week was the appointment of rockstar drinks marketer Kristy Bloomfield as its first CEO. 

“For me, it was a real no-brainer,” Kristy Bloomfield tells Whisky Magazine about joining the up-and-coming premium whisky brand. “It’s a great opportunity to work with a phenomenal founder, extraordinary liquid that's award-winning already, and build an aspirational brand platform.”

The Ben Buckler's new CEO Kristy Bloomfield

Given the former Sullivans Cove Distillery and Lyre’s Spirit Co Marketing Director's track record in turning tiny drinks brands into global success stories, it is a safe bet to assume you will be seeing a lot more of The Ben Buckler in years ahead. 

Importantly, however, you as the whisky educated are not the main target audience – after all there are enough surfers already in the water trying to catch that break. Instead, under Kristy's leadership, The Ben Buckler is hoping to become a serious coastal lifestyle brand that will appeal to single malt’s achilles heal, young adults. 

As she puts it, “there's no brand that's coming out actively saying ‘we're going to recruit people into the whisky category’ … That's what I really think The Ben Buckler gets up every day and does.” 

But enough about the nerdy stuff… 

What about The Ben Buckler brand?

Although you won’t likely hear about it on their Instagram account, The Ben Bucker is a blend of ex-Tawny Port and ex-Bourbon barrels that offers a smooth and sweet profile full of floral, citrus and creamy flavours. It is a non-age statement whisky bottled at 40% ABV, and is available nationwide now at $95 for 700ml.

This profile and value is crucial to The Ben Buckler’s goals, says Kristy. 

"Not all whisky is easy drinking and it's not meant to be,” she says. “But in this case, The Ben Buckler is really palatable. It's so smooth and, in cocktails, it’s a really versatile beverage offering to be able to recruit the next generation into the category."

The CEO flags its founding story as the second key factor it has in its favour. 

“People just genuinely really love Laz. As I said to Larry when I first met him: ‘You've come across a really, really happy accident, and I think that's one of the best brands in the world. Not a brand that is created by people who are greedy and money hungry and want to have their own whisky brand, you created a product that's built off the fact that you really deeply loved your mates and you want to say thank you’.” 

Stepping into her new role, Kristy Bloomfield is confident The Ben Buckler will be a part of the Australian whisky revolution. 

She concludes: “The Australian whisky market is just getting started. I think it's at the most exciting point and it's wonderful to see all these brands really producing some of the best liquid and some of the best marketing and some of the best work in the world.”