I’m Chris Pembleton. I’m a Snow Mexican in my 4th decade of existence and I’m here to tell you a story about how a a nerdy gamer like me got involved in a startup single malt whisky distillery that is Dramfunded.
I’m not exactly new to China. I’m not one of those freshies that walked over the border crossing at Hong Kong with a back pack, an “amaaaaazing idea” for a Kickstarter thingyamajig that was going to make me gazillions of greenbacks. I actually first came here in 2008 to visit an old friend, then met an amazing woman and decided to stay here. We’re long since married, have children and it’s almost a happily ever after.
14 years in, I’m working in education (no….I’m not a FCM!) and as well as work and spending time with my wife and sons, I let off steam a couple of nights a week with a bit of online gaming, with a few glasses of the good stuff (whisky – and of course I don’t spell it with an “e” – even a Snow Mexican can spell!).
I’m part of a team (ironically called The Snowflakes) that are spread out all over China, and we all play a game called Overwatch. There’s 26 of us, and we play in 5 x 5 battlefields, essentially killing each other (and other teams) for our version of fun. This is how I know Phill Stout, one of my close friends and a fellow whisky lover, and we tend to do more whisky drinking during the game while our (much better players) other friends do all the hard work!
Like most other people’s stories here, an enjoyment of whisky is something I just inherited from my family. I grew up in the rural suburbs of London, Ontario (authentic Snow Mexican land – we make Moose Tacos in them there hills…..) and as a family we would all come home from our respective jobs and catchup with a drink or two while watching TV. Canada, as I’m sure everyone would agree, has a rich history in creating some amazing whiskies, so in that way, all of us Snow Mexican brothers and sisters are born blessed.
That was something I missed in China. Being tired of supermarket selections (and super jealous of some of the baller bottles that Phill used to show off with) I was brought into the Oak and Barley whisky community that Phill was attached to and became part of one of the whisky groups. I was amazed how the community felt so different from the normal stuck-up and holier-than-thou attitudes of some other people who post whisky waffle in some of the other whisky communities I’d dipped my toes in over the years (no names, everyone in China knows the types of groups I’m talking about….)
It was here, in the Oak and Barley community, that I first heard about the Nine Rivers Distillery project. I was quickly christened “Snow Mexican” by none other than Whisky Jesus himself, so I now wear that badge with honour.
The Nine Rivers Distillery Project
For those reading about this for the first time (which should in fact be blasphemy, but anyway) Nine Rivers Distillery is a mixture of absolute madness, with a sprinkling or two of genius. It’s currently a couple of hundred whisky lovers, smashing their piggie banks and pooling their money to build a single malt whisky distillery.
One of the major differences to most other startup distilleries (and yes, there are hundreds, if not thousands popping up all over the world in the last few years) is the sheer scale. While most startups are kicking off with a small (1000 litre capacity of less), hybrid still (one of those things that look like an industrial vacuum cleaner with a fancy attachment) so they can crank out whisky in a single distillation and also put out some gin and vodka, and measure their production capacity in thousands of litres per year – 9RD is going big.
While I’m no expert in the art of distillation, I was sharp enough to recognise that statistics like 10 stills, the largest two being 30,000 litres each. Production capacity of 7.5 million (yes, MILLION) litres of pure alcohol per year. Circa 17 million bottles a year and eventually filling 50,000 casks a year. This was going to be big.
In fact, it was the size and scale of the ambition that was the reason I didn’t get involved from the start. It just seemed too much to be real. Absolute madness.
Almost Three Years Later
The chatter turned into slide decks and concepts. The story started to unfold on social media (I’m totally hooked on them and this is why I wanted to be in one of the articles!). The concepts turn into land deals. Products were developed (I bought the whisky glasses – they really are amazing!). Bottles were launched (I was lucky enough to get my hands on the first two bottles so far). The Plenum was launched (and yes, I got my brick!). Then the photos and the videos started popping up and I found out there was already other Snow Mexican whisky lovers involved…so I just couldn’t be on the outside anymore.
I’d decided after a few conversations with Jay. Phill Stout introduced us and Jay made some time for me across a couple of evenings to talk me through the project, the vision and the roadmap over the first 5 years.
Then he went on to blow my mind with loads of really nerdy stuff about patents and IP on stills and making oak casks, some biochemistry project with a big Australian company around developing local yeasts to create an authentic terroir (I don’t know what that word means, let alone how to pronounce it!), then something about unique barley varieties and something about peat.
I piled in on Series A2. I just missed Series A1 by a couple of weeks, but better late than never as they say. Like the vast majority of people I’m just a micro-investor. I’m no trustafarian with a fat bank balance. I’m just a normal working class kinda guy. So I came in on the minimum investment.
As with most of the investors, I contribute a few hours a week of my own time. I’ve been working on the Social Media content, and I’m also working on a few hush hush things that I’m not allowed to talk about. All I can say is, they are going to be really cool.
A Shout Out To The Snowflakes!
I can’t end my story without a shoutout to all my gaming friends in The Snowflakes. If anyone reading this is into Overwatch (and whisky of course) then feel free to get in touch with either Phill or I. We’re always keen to get more good players to carry Phill and I while we sip the goodstuff. Of course, if you’re a fellow Snow Mexican, you’re more than welcome!
Would You Like To Read More?
If you enjoyed reading about how we currently don’t see any alternatives to dramfunded, 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.
Would You like To Know More About Helping Nine Rivers Distillery?
One of the easiest ways to help our project succeed is to take an interest in anything we have for sale. You can find out what we have if you CLICK HERE and go to our shop. We’ll make a few percentage points (after sales tax) and this goes directly to our project.
You could help us by simply buying your very own Brick for Life – a brick with a steel name plate wrapped around it, which will be cemented into The Plenum (our feature wall) in July 2023. Every brick owner is entitled to a free dram for life every time they visit us in Longyan, Fujian.
Or, you could learn more about being involved and help us grow to our target of 1000 stakeholders. You can read more about how we are Dramfunded if you CLICK HERE. Remember, we currently have no alternatives to dramfunded!
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Hell yeah!