There have been quite a few pieces written by some of the investors in the Nine Rivers Distillery project. I’ve just been told it’s my turn, so here goes everything (or maybe nothing). I want to talk about my journey into the Nine Rivers Distillery project, but it requires knowing a little about who I am and what whisky means to me. Daniel Liang
My name is Daniel Liang, and while I might not look like it, I was trained to be an engineer by universities in Asia and North America. I spent the early days of my career in tech, similar to Joy Tan who our last article was about (you can read about her by CLICKING HERE). I also traveled all over the U.S. and China. While my travels allowed me to experience many wonderful places, I’ve actually spent the past 20 years in China as a businessman. Dongguan is where I have most recently ended up getting involved in some good old fashioned traditional manufacturing. In this time, I’ve seen some incredible changes from the “Wild East” of Dongguan to the more mature environment around us today.
Even though my factory work may not seem connected, alcohol is nonetheless a big part of doing business in China, especially in traditional manufacturing. Back in the (good old?) days, a business meeting or collaboration usually started in the office with drinks, then continued over dinner with more chugging, followed by KTV where the madness was turned up to 11, with everyone zipping past comfortable levels of BAC.
Nobody would think of calling in sick the next day; it was just the feeling of successful business, even if it didn’t quite feel like it. Plus, the next day might be a rinse and repeat, so I just ate lots of carbs, reached for that energy drink, and kept going! Thankfully, those days are gone; even typing all that out and reliving those memories makes me exhausted. Despite that, I am proud to say that I am among the few who have strolled past the corpses and survived. Daniel Liang
Then I met Jay…
No, he didn’t push me into the dark world of alcoholism, despite the ominous one-line introduction. Through the interactions I had with him, I found that behind the abrasive online persona there is a passionate person with an encyclopaedic knowledge of whisky. He reminded me of an M&M – hard candy shell but melts in… never mind.
In my conversations with him, I quickly realized that I was on the far-left side of the Brian-Dunning Curve. For the uninitiated, and to prove I’m not a total idiot in comparison, by this I mean I didn’t even know enough about the subject to realize I was ignorant about it. His passion for whisky and creating something disruptive and game changing in the global whisky industry through Nine Rivers Distillery was contagious. I got interested and then involved initially as an investor, and then later as a member of the Board. Daniel Liang
To understand how I got involved with Nine Rivers, it helps to know what whisky means to me and why I felt the motivation to get involved.
My father was a wine enthusiast. We “enjoyed” some nice bottles together, although with my unrefined palate at the time, I consider the wanton abandon in which I guzzled those bottles as a crime.
After he passed away and I was going through his estate, I was shocked to see rack after rack of incredible bottles in his private collection, still waiting for the special occasion that would never come. As I stood before all that expensive fermented grape juice, lost in thought, it occurred to me that those who die with the most toys do not, in fact, win anything. I decided then and there to be the one who isn’t afraid to open bottles and consume them, rather than keep them for value speculation. While others might derive more joy from the process of collecting rather than consuming, I don’t. Daniel Liang
What Whisky Means to Me
For me, whisky is about creating and accentuating memories, which is all we truly own, and what ultimately matters in the end. It’s about the special bottle to welcome a new job. The sherry bomb to celebrate becoming a parent. The fruity bottle at a birthday. The smoky dram at a wake with the respectful swig at a cemetery. In between all these milestones and events, whisky helps us commemorate these anniversaries by taking a sip and getting lost in memories. Daniel Liang
It’s about “making the ‘remembering self’ remember the ‘experiencing self’”, in Daniel Kahneman’s words. It’s about humanizing the human condition – we should be creating new memories and enjoying life, not dwelling on past glories or events. That is why I refuse to buy “investment” bottles or collectibles that are not meant to be consumed. All of my bottles are drinkers – granted, some may call for a very special occasion, but nonetheless they are all ready to be popped and enjoyed.
Some might ask, “Why whisky? Doesn’t this apply to most alcoholic drinks?” It’s true that alcohol is an excellent stimulant, analgesic, anesthetic, and in sufficient quantities, a memory wiper. Yet few have the depth and range of whisky that make it so versatile. And if you’re going to drink something, it might as well taste good. I’m not advocating for a hedonistic lifestyle; after all, you can’t drink money. Daniel Liang
One of my favourite milestones in the Nine Rivers Distillery project is the ability to buy a private cask. (If you want to read more about reserving your private cask, CLICK HERE.). A friend and I decided to share the cost of a single cask but add our own personal twist. We will age our cask at the distillery until one of us outlives the other. If this sounds like an illegal tontine pledge, we cleverly circumvent it by extracting one bottle every few years for tasting. Getting old does have its perks.
My Role Within 9RD
Having gone through the motions of building factories from the ground up here in China (sure, a distillery sounds much nicer, but fundamentally it’s a whisky factory and subject to all the same challenges, rules, regulations and safety issues as any other factory in China) the other board members were keen to bring my experiences into the project. Daniel Liang
I’m not really one to brag or boast about my contributions, but I’ve been involved in the design, architecture, environmental impact report, process design, and all of the hoops we need to go through in order to secure a construction permit. I was there with the team at 3 A.M. on February 18th laying our foundation stone and taking part in the two public ceremonies we had later that day. I’ll continue to be actively involved through construction to production in my capacity as Board member and Senior Vice President Super Boss Chief Laoban Taster (a title I’m currently lobbying the rest of the board to make official).
It’s a Wrap
I’ll wrap up by saying that while I understand Nine Rivers is a financial investment, it also speaks very personally to the qualities that I value: the people involved in this project all have a voice in what we want our product to be. My contribution to these discussions is that I want us to create a product all people can enjoy in good times or bad, forging memories that last long after the bottle is empty. I know it sounds cliché’ but my life experiences have made me realize the truth of the statement that “life is short,” so we might as well enjoy it. Daniel Liang
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