It’s that time of year when we all have to smash those piggy banks, count out all the shineys and then spend it all buying (mostly) overpriced junk that won’t last out the month. But let’s be real, these kinds of trinkets won’t be a long standing momento communicating your warmth, love and caring all […]
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It’s that time of year when we all have to smash those piggy banks, count out all the shineys and then spend it all buying (mostly) overpriced junk that won’t last out the month. But let’s be real, these kinds of trinkets won’t be a long standing momento communicating your warmth, love and caring all the way through next year.
So, this year: Why not put your money towards something that is going to last a lifetime? Something that will, in its own right, be individually a little piece of history and collectively a part of something amazing.
A brick for life.
As with everything relating to Nine Rivers Distillery, it’s not going to be any old brick. It’s going to be a brick redefined, improved on, and beast mode activated. This is a brick that, in the singular, will feature your name (or the name of someone you’d like to dedicate the brick to as a Christmas brick) and, within the collective, be part of a grand wall of dedication on the grand staircase leading up to the observation platform in one of our distillery buildings.
Let’s start with what it is. At its simplest, it’s a hand crafted brick made of local materials. Coal Gangue sintered bricks.
But then, here’s where it gets interesting: the brick face is layered with a sheet of corrosion resistant, stainless steel. Your choice of letters are then laser etched into the steel, with enamel paint then used to show your name (or the name of someone special that you want to dedicated your brick to) and finally a layer of protective varnish. It truly becomes a brick for life.
Of course a brick on its own is just part of the entire experience. Every single brick owner will be invited to the Nine Rivers Distillery site in Da Chi, Longyan, on XXXXXXXX DATE to be involved in our Bricking It Jamboree. We’ll have lots of people there, a huge Texas barbecue, truck loads of grog, circus clowns, jugglers, a lion tamer, and Hayden dressed as an Oompa Loompa.
(Okay so we don’t have clowns, jugglers, or a lion tamer, but it was fun to write about that…we’ll just take it back now, really quickly).
Lets start with a context of what the distillery is going to look like.
From the left, the third building, the malting, milling, mashing and fermentation house.
A close-up of the grand staircase that will be one of the two routes to the observation platform.
There is a huge amount of space here, although, the usable area (where guests will be able to view the names on the bricks) is about two meters in height, for the entire length of the stair case.
Here’s an example of where the Christmas bricks would be located. We think we have enough space for about 1560 bricks. At the time of this article’s publication, XXX have already been reserved.
Hand made bricks, weatherproof stainless steel plates with your choice of name or dedication is already enough. But, again, this is Nine Rivers Distillery and we have to set the bar a bit higher right?
Every single brick owner gets the added bonus of 1 free measure of any Nine Rivers Distillery alcohol, every time they visit us in Da Chi, Longyan. By measure, we mean of course a decent sized, 50ml slug.
Just a small word on the fine print for free alcohol – the brick owner must be over the age of 18 years old, the drink must be consumed on site, it can’t be taken away to be resold, and the drinker should not be driving. Oh, and obviously, you can’t drink what we don’t have – it will be a few years before there is mature whisky to drink so in the early years your options will be other spirits or new make whisky.
Okay, so here’s the link to buy your very own Nine Rivers Distillery Brick. CLICK HERE.
If you enjoyed reading this, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
If you have enjoyed reading this and want to learn more about Nine Rivers Distillery, then use the QR Code below to follow our WeChat Official Account. Stuart MacPhersonn a million years
Alternatively, if you prefer Linked In then you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
For just over 200 people both in China and across the world, there was only one thing that we all wanted for Christmas – our building permit. As everyone knows, at this time of the year, if you really really really want something, it’s time to get a pen, some paper, and write a letter […]
Read MoreFor just over 200 people both in China and across the world, there was only one thing that we all wanted for Christmas – our building permit. As everyone knows, at this time of the year, if you really really really want something, it’s time to get a pen, some paper, and write a letter to Father Christmas. So that’s what we did.
Whether it was the articulate wording, the threats of elves being tortured, or the fear of Rudolf being robbed of his carrots, we’re never be entirely sure. But Father Christmas delivered!
In Chinese it’s actually called “建筑工程施工许可证” but for the sake of simplicity, let’s just call it a Building Permit. Some countries might call it a construction permit, but it essentially all means the same thing. It’s that final piece of paper that gives the authorisation to begin construction.
Here it is in all it’s glory. Issued today, Thursday 15th December 2022.
We weren’t actually expecting the building permit until 25th December, the normal day for Father Christmas to deliver the Christmas wishes of all the boys and girls that have been well behaved all year long. It was a bit of a last minute rush early this morning to get all our Feng Shui sorted out.
The 9RD team went for a “dig a hole in each of the 4 corners of the site, and one in the middle” kinda thing. Our construction partner (Rong Tian) went for the old “fish, chicken, lump of pork, incense sticks, joss paper burning, and lots of loud fireworks”. The plans for the sacrificial “Zou lamb” were temporarily postponed….(we still need him for other things over the next year or so).
First, a big thanks to our Board of Directors. It’s their experience and leadership that has brought us all so far.
Thanks to everyone that has invested in our project. It’s your money that has helped fund our project. It has required a lot of patience from all of you and we really appreciate your dedication.
Thank you to everyone that continues to support our project. There are literally hundreds of you helping to share our story on social media with your friends and your networks.
Finally, thank you to Hayden, Winnie, Joe and especially to Maggie. For those that don’t know, it was the last minute efforts of Maggie, working late on Wednesday 14th, that helped us to finally secure our building permit today.
If you enjoyed reading this, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
If you have enjoyed reading this and want to learn more about Nine Rivers Distillery, then use the QR Code below to follow our WeChat Official Account. Stuart MacPhersonn a million years
Alternatively, if you prefer Linked In then you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
[Longyan, China, December 11, 2022] Nine Rivers Distillery today announced that Fujian Rong Tian Construction Company have been appointed as the construction partner for their project to build Nine Rivers Distillery in Da Chi, Longyan, Fujian. “We compared propositions in a formal tender process which involved 8 different construction companies who all bid to build […]
Read More[Longyan, China, December 11, 2022] Nine Rivers Distillery today announced that Fujian Rong Tian Construction Company have been appointed as the construction partner for their project to build Nine Rivers Distillery in Da Chi, Longyan, Fujian.
“We compared propositions in a formal tender process which involved 8 different construction companies who all bid to build Nine Rivers Distillery. The offer from Rong Tian was not only aggressively priced, but it included a much more rounded and complete vision of what we want to achieve with our architecture and construction” said Robertson. “This initial phase of construction is just one of many that we have on our roadmap. We needed to chose a partner that would be with us, side by side, as we grow both here in Longyan and nationally across China”.
Fujian Rong Tian Construction Company is a family owned business, based in Shanghang in Longyan, Fujian. They have successfully delivered construction projects across Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces. The company is built on a moral ethos of putting people first and giving back to society, something that has frequently earned Fujian Rong Tian recognition and awards.
“Here at Fujian Rong Tian, we like to choose projects that we think will make a positive difference to China, both locally and Internationally. When we heard about Nine Rivers Distillery and their people-led approach to put China on the International whisky map – we knew we had to win this project” said Huang. “I put the very best of my people to the task of ensuring that our bid was both technically correct and commercially correct. It was a proud day for me and all of my team to win the project to build Nine Rivers Distillery”.
If you enjoyed reading this, and you would like to catch up with some of our past articles, then please CLICK HERE and go to our News Section, where most of our other content is published.
If you have enjoyed reading this and want to learn more about Nine Rivers Distillery, then use the QR Code below to follow our WeChat Official Account. n a million years
Alternatively, if you prefer Linked In then you can CLICK HERE to follow us.
Facebook users, you can CLICK HERE.
Neil Playfoot joins Nine Rivers
Saturday 26th November 2022, a date laser etched into the brain of a lot of whisky lovers across China, the night of The Founders’ Flight Live. 11 cities planned. 11 cities stepped up. 11 event organisers did everything they needed to do. Unfortunately a few of those cities had some restrictions and so were unable […]
Read MoreSaturday 26th November 2022, a date laser etched into the brain of a lot of whisky lovers across China, the night of The Founders’ Flight Live.
11 cities planned. 11 cities stepped up. 11 event organisers did everything they needed to do. Unfortunately a few of those cities had some restrictions and so were unable to have a social gathering. For those that still held their event, it was a fantastic experience for all. For those cities that missed out, there will be a reschedule in the near future.
We’ve put together some highlights from each of the cities and you can link to them from the list
Beijing was organised by our very own Steve G. If you’d like to see some highlights of the Beijing event, then CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Chengdu, then CLICK HERE.
Tim, Daniel and the rest of the Dongguan whisky loving team, took it to the next level once again with their whisky night. If you’d like to see a few highlights then please CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Guangzhou, then CLICK HERE.
Aaron is the person to thank for The Founders’ Flight Live Nanjing. If you want to see some of the highlights then CLICK HERE.
Jason and Navin pulled together something special for The Founders’ Flight Live Shanghai. If you’d like to see some of the highlights then please CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Shenyang, then CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Shenzhen, then CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Shenzhen, then CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Wuhan, then CLICK HERE.
If you want to see some of the highlights of The Founders’ Flight Live Xiamen, then CLICK HERE.
Continuing on from our series of articles about the “feedback” we frequently get from the non-believers, this week we provide a brief overlook regarding our approach to mashing and fermenting and how this will be different from other types of whisky. No One Will Buy Chinese Whisky – It’s Not Going to Taste the Same […]
Read MoreContinuing on from our series of articles about the “feedback” we frequently get from the non-believers, this week we provide a brief overlook regarding our approach to mashing and fermenting and how this will be different from other types of whisky.
One relentless critique that has been lobbed at us more than a few times is the comparison with Scotch; somehow, the fact that our whiskies won’t taste like Scotch is a bad thing.
We actually see the opportunity of creating something distinctly different as an exciting challenge. In fact, the vast majority of time and effort from our research and development sector, that will underpin our project, is to create a whisky in a completely distinct product category. This is similar to the way that Irish whiskey has some clear defining characteristics that make it different from Scotch. American whiskeys are distinct through the globally respected bourbon whiskey style. Wales also has its own character for whisky, led by our friends at Penderyn. English whisky too, now has it’s own style and approach.
We aim to do the same for China. Not only to say “hey look, China can make whisky too”, but to bring something unique to the table of global whisky producers and say “this is how we define it”.
Simply trying to copy what already happens in Scotland and to make a knock-off Scotch would undermine the potential of this project and demote it to more of a national embarrassment as opposed to the flag waving symbol of national pride that we believe Nine Rivers Distillery can be. The 200+ investors, at the time of this writing, did not rally together to make a copy; instead, we are eager to showcase our originality.
There are a few things that all whisky production shares, irrespective of the country it’s made in. There are some things all distilleries need, without exception:
First, good quality grains (remember, only single malt needs to be made from 100% malted barley – but other grains in the mash bill can make some really exciting and interesting whiskies – just look at some of the amazing whiskies coming out of the USA over the last couple of years!).
Second, good quality water. Scotch producers typically prefer to work with “soft water”, while a lot of American whiskies credit some of their quality to the use of “hard water”. Soft water is typically rain water or surface water with little or no dissolved minerals, while hard water typically comes from underground sources with dissolved minerals.
We did an article just over a year ago about barley and how we plan to use barley differently than most of the global whisky producers (if you missed it you can CLICK HERE to go back and read it). We have also announced our intention to build our own cooperage (if you missed that you can CLICK HERE to go back and read all about that).
Grains contribute to creating differences; this is best seen when comparing bourbons, as a different mash bill will create a different whisky, even with all other influences remaining the same.
Casks are believed to be responsible for 40-60% of the final flavour of whisky although, with some heavily seasoned casks, it’s easy to believe that the vast majority of the aromas and flavours derive from the previous use of the cask.
One thing almost no one is talking about in the whisky world, the real elephant in the room, is fermentation.
While no doubt most of the people reading this understand the basic end-to-end process of making whisky (malting grains, milling grains, mashing grains, fermenting, distilling, casking and then blending product before bottling), very few people look deeper at fermentation. The assumption is generally “it’s the bit where beer is made and it’s not important until it gets to the still”.
From a scientific perspective, fermentation is probably the most complex part of the entire process. Sure, a lot of whisky makers can kinda just wing it: Cook the high yielding GM grains, chuck in the yeast and come back when it stops bubbling. A lot of whisky makers aim for the quickest and cheapest fermentation possible. This means logging just 50-60 hours to get as much base alcohol as possible, with a few thousand generations on the same yeast culture purchased 10 years ago, to save money.
That type of logic makes sense if you’re making neutral grain spirit to be turned into vodka. When you’re taking alcohol off a column still at 95 or 96% ABV and the aim is for it to have absolutely no flavour or aromas, then there’s no need to care about fermentation. Cheap and quick is the order of the day.
But when crafting whisky with an intention to cask it at 55%-65% ABV, then the distillation process is actually creating a concentration of aromas and flavours that come from…Yes! You’ve guessed it…FERMENTATION!
While we’re not about to let all the cats out of the bag right now, we can at least reveal how we will do things differently.
Absolutely no 50 to 60 hour fermentations in our distillery. Aromas and flavours take time to develop. Just ask any brewer about the time it takes to make a really good beer; after all, the base of all whisky is essentially a type of beer.
Absolutely none of this mass market, industrial scale distillers yeast that will convert every single milligram of sugars in the mash into insanely high ABV wash. Sure, it’s about 80% cheaper than brewing yeast, but you get what you pay for.
Absolutely no rigid clock-driven fermentation process. Each batch will be ready for the next stage, when our Master Brewer decides it’s ready. Maybe it’s a week. Maybe it’s 2 weeks. Maybe it’s longer. It is what it is and that’s all there is to say.
Yeah, that’s another difference with our approach. While most distilleries build their brand around a “Master Distiller”, we think that’s little more than marketing fluff. It seems to be really popular as a title for startup distilleries. In fact, there’s currently over 5000 Master Distillers on LinkedIn right now (we just counted). We don’t have a Master Distiller and never will have.
Distilling is largely a predictable and routine process. Aside from deciding when to cut the heads and the tails, the rest of it is a case of sitting back on a chair. watching the world outside the window, or playing Candy Crush. Sure, there are highly skilled professionals in the whisky industry, but those skills are mostly science driven. There is science around (and crafting of) casks. There is science around fermentation. There is science around maturation. Then there are the people that normally understand a bit of all of this and have an exceptional sense of smell and taste. These people, we’d call them Master Blenders (although they have other names) and are normally the people that decide what’s going into a bottle.
Well, we have a Master Brewer and it’s likely we’ll introduce them to you all over the next few weeks.