It may have been once available but is no longer through any NJ distributor. Any on any store shelves has been here for sometime. Wine-searcher.com suggests the Shopper's Vineyard in Clifton, NJ has three different bottlings. I frequent this store on occasion and have not seen any on their shelves. Could be there inventory is wrong and they have still have it listed on their site, or it's hidden from view? That said, the most affordable is $147 and the least $200.
Wally's in L.A. is the only other U.S. retailer showing a bottling. At $180, it looks like the same bottling Shopper's prices at $200.
Wally's may have somehow acquired it through their auction connections or perhaps directly imported it themselves? (California liquor and distribution laws much more liberal than NY and NJ's..)
But herein lies the problem: Even at $147, who's going to try it? Most people will buy 2-4 Scottish malts instead. Also, at this pricing, no distributor is going to keep stock of it. They get a one time sale to a few restaurants and a couple retailers who have somewhat developed malt selections but no restock orders because the product simply sits on the shelf - not to mention most U.S. malt consumers probably know nothing of the Australian whiskies and have never had a malt whisky other than Scottish or Irish. I can almost guarantee most of the staff in the stores which may have a bottle know nothing about it!
Anyway, if any U.S. based malt nuts are interested in getting their hands on a bottle of Aussie malt, I'd suggest they call Shopper's or Wally's because they are indeed rare. Beverage Media in both NY and NJ don't list any Australian whisky with any distributor, and I know of no distributor who doesn't list their portfolio with Beverage Media who has any.
I just did some additional web searching and the Whisky Shop in San Francisco list two different Larks at $185 and $250, though they look to be virtual listings and not likely in stock on the shelf.
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