Island Hopping - From the UK to Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery

Short straws drawn, so now it’s my turn to pile in with some words about me, my life in China and how I’m part of the connection between Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery.

So let’s start with the basics: my name is Marc Alexander, I’m 33 years old and I’ve been in China for a decade. Like a lot of expats here in China, I’m involved in education and I teach at an international school in Xiamen.

Leeds and the Aire

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery — ***When aye we’ young (imagine a Yorkshire accent) t’ looked nothin’ like this. They cleaned i’tup.***

I’m originally from Leeds, which is probably unheard of to most people unless you’re a soccer fan. It’s a city in the north of England built around the River Aire, with the name Leeds being derived from some ancient word that means fast flowing river. Soccer aside, it’s the home of carbonated water (which was invented in Leeds in the 1760’s) and used to be a major mill town alongside iron foundries, engineering companies and printworks. But as you can probably see from the picture above, it has absolutely nothing to do with Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery!

The China Connection

Had I been born in Sheffield (about 60 km away) I could make some smart reference to pottery, ceramic and of course China (the English definition of China being porcelain ceramic ware) but I wasn’t, so I can’t.

I actually came to China for a year of doing something left field and unconventional in a plan that saw me originally going back to the UK to fall into a conventional life of teaching. That was a decade ago. I’ve since got married, started a family and have no real interest to leave.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery - Xiamen Sunset — ***Watching the sun set on the beautiful sea views in Xiamen – would you want to leave and go back to Leeds?!***

China very quickly became not only a part of my life, but it created the environment for me that I wanted to live in. There’s a huge comfort in China due to the overall safety of living here and when you factor in salaries and it’s relativity to the general cost of living, then the QUALITY of life here in China is higher than I would have if I went back home to the UK.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery - Xiamen View — ***I have literally thousands of photographs of the never ending beauty that is Xiamen.***

Getting Into Whisky

Everyone has their own story about how they got into whisky. For me it was half pushed and half dragged by Bajan Jeremy (he claims to be from Canada, but he has this fantastically rich accent that can only be described as Bajan Creole).

***I had to include some pics of Jeremy. He loves his dressing up. Not quite sure why. He claims its work related. Some people think he has a side job as a one-man Village People tribute act.***

I wasn’t exactly kicking and screaming but had some initial reservations due to typical stereotypes associated with whisky drinking and whisky drinkers in general.

A night out on a quick crash course with Bajan Jeremy and I enjoyed it enough to join some of the whisky groups that Jeremy was a part of, and start my journey into whisky.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery - drinking with Jeremy. — Jeremy and I at a whisky night. I know, you’re wondering if Jeremy quantum leaped from a 1960’s beach holiday in Bulgaria with a shirt like that. He claimed it was the height of modern fashion…..no doubt it was. When he stole it. From a beach. In Bulgaria. In the 1960’s

Through the groups I learned about Nine Rivers Distillery and chatted to a few people that were already involved in the project. Eventually I talked with Jay a few times and, due to the passion, the creativity and the vision I experienced, I decided to get involved as an investor in the project.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery - Marc and Jay — ***A snap of me with Whisky Jesus himself. I managed to nick this picture from the photographer that was present that night. Absolutely no Photoshop – he really is THAT grey!***

Doing my Part – Kind of

One of the key things that distinguishes this project from every other startup distillery that I’ve read about is the involvement of us as investors. Sure, there are a few people that have slung in some wedge and done nothing. Whether they are actually just too busy in life, or just lazy slobs, is something they can best answer themselves. But for me, I always wanted to be a part of it.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery - Marc with his quaich — Well, Scotland has its “quaich” (a traditional wooden or metal cup with two handles) – I’m now officially a Keeper of The Gōngdào bēi (公道杯) and yes, I really did use this to drink whisky!

I don’t know how to make whisky. Like the vast majority of whisky lovers I know the theory. We all know it’s about malting, milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, casking and then eventually bottling. But to actually make something, there are far too many things I don’t have experience in. But where I have at least some time and skill, I throw in some effort.

I help out on writing content. I help out on social media. I get involved with organizing and hosting the Xiamen Whisky Networking events – the very same events that were the catalyst for the Nine Rivers Distillery project. The Founders’ Flight in Xiamen was an amazing night!

Marc Nosing whisky — ***My first experience at a Whisky Networking event in Xiamen. I was trying to detect all these aromas being talked about – to be honest, it just smelt like whisky to me!***

Every little helps and every hour I put in takes an hour of pressure away from the core team so they have more time for the more important and strategic stuff. It also gives me the pride of being able to say I was more than just an investor. I got involved and helped make the project happen.

Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery

Being based in Xiamen, I’m less than 2 hours drive away from the site. Not quite on my doorstep but close enough to go up on a weekend at least once a month and get involved in the construction. Even if I’m just making the coffees, I want to be a part of the energy on site that will go into building our distillery. I’m not the only person based in Xiamen that is involved in the project. There’s a whole crowd of us, and let’s not forget that the very first investment agreement was signed in Xiamen at CIFIT back in 2019. (There was another agreement signed last year for the Red Rock Mountain Cooperage project!)

All this adds up to make the Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery connection really strong. Perhaps we won’t unseat Shenzhen as the spiritual home of the project, but we’ll be number 2 on the list of candidates for sure.

The Plenum

I will be leading a group of us investors from Xiamen and we will be spending a lot more time at the site in Longyan during July to help out with The Plenum, a wall featuring names on steel plates that will be wrapped around bricks and cemented into the wall. There will be an event at the end of July where of our investors and everyone that has bought a brick, will be invited to our site for a day long event.

The building of this feature wall is going to be a huge milestone for everyone involved in the project. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else there at the end of July 2023!

Marc Alexander

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Island Hopping – From the UK to Xiamen and Nine Rivers Distillery