"Anyone can start a hundred million dollar spirit brand. There is no single decision in that process that is hard to make. The problem is that there are hundreds of thousands of decisions, and it's incredibly hard to make all of them well yourself." Seb Reaburn has just finished judging the 2026 Melbourne Royal Australian International Spirits Awards as co-head judge. He also runs Anther in Geelong with his partner Derv McGowan, consults to new producers, and has spent thirty years moving up the supply chain, from clearing glasses to building distilleries for other people. So this is a summary of where Australian spirits sit right now, from someone who has tasted the whole field blind, and then a straight conversation about what separates the brands that climb from the ones that stall. Not sure where your own growth is stuck? Start with my free growth readiness diagnostic. It takes seven minutes and asks the same questions I ask before I work with anyone. You finish it knowing where your gaps are. In this episode: Why the worst spirits in Australia are getting better every year, and what that says about the category you are enteringThe 20% rule that quietly breaks production businesses, and how you can grow yourself brokeWhat changed in the last twelve months about how producers arrive at a consultant, and why it is a good signThe safety conversation that costs people an entire warehouseSeb's framework for a brand that works: have a sense of what people are drinking. Understand how they are drinking it. Know where they are drinking it. Then place your brand in front of that customer and make your story sticky enough that people notice it. On product, two things. Take on the feedback, because the competition is one of the most stringent in the world and very hard to get a gold from, so interrogate what that feedback says. And taste the category, because a great product that is not to style is very difficult to judge well. On route to market, the plain answer: own local, and have a really clear reason to be there. It does not mean you have to have the best brand. It means you have to be relevant in the places you are going. And underneath all of it, the humble pride, where you have absolute faith in your product while at the same time being totally open to feedback. As Seb puts it, that is a hard space to occupy every day. His closing reframe: "It's a long game, and if you're not loving what you do at work every day, it's really hard to sustain." Mentioned in this episode: Anther → Seb's distillery and consulting practice. He and Derv McGowan work on everything together, so as he says, you can never hire just one of them. Cellar door at Federal Mills, 33 Mackey Street, North Geelong. Reach him at seb@anther.com.au or @CocktailSeb.Melbourne Royal Australian International Spirits Awards → the double-blind competition Seb co-head judges alongside Holly Klintworth.Spirits Victoria Association → the SVA Annual Conference in Geelong, where Seb and I were both on the floor and route to market was the question everyone was asking.Beudi → the Australian agave brand Seb calls out as doing online content properly. Funny, tongue in cheek, and true to their identity. Their cocktail book has the avocado on toast margarita in it.Four Pillars → Cam on production, Stu on brand, Matt on strategy. Seb's example of splitting responsibilities early.Never Never Distilling Co → Tim in production, George on the business, Sean out in market. The second half of that example.The Gordon → the Geelong TAFE partnership that puts Anther in front of local chefs, producers and their local MP.Heartbreaker and 1806 → the two Melbourne bars Seb opened before he started distilling.Want to talk about your own growth? I work with food, drinks, hospitality and tourism businesses on where growth comes from and how to resource it. Most people start with a free 30 minute Growth Call. hollyformosa.com · Growth Insights Hub · The Growth Edit on Apple Podcasts
