Diageo's spirits outlook with Australia boss Dan Hamilton
From Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson by Wine, Beer & Whisky Network Australia
December 10, 2025 · 45 min
About this episode
Dan Hamilton discusses the challenges and opportunities facing Diageo Australia in the current market.
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…
People in this episode
Guest: Dan Hamilton
Topics covered
- spirits
- Diageo
- Australian market
- craft spirits
- premix
Keywords
- cost of living
- spirits tax
- Johnnie Walker Black Ruby
- Starward Whisky
- Bundaberg Rum
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Johnnie Walker Black Ruby, Bundaberg Rum, Starward Whisky
Places: Australia, Japan
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