Nine Rivers Distillery have filed their first casks after the distillery fired up their still for the first time earlier this month. Founded in 2018 in Longyan, Fujian Province, China, this event is the culmination of seven years of construction and planning.
The distillery is an entirely crowd funded project, with 300 whisky enthusiasts from 28 different countries backing the venture.
On 20th June the distillery produced their first mash, with the first wash and spirit distillations taking place across 30th June to 2nd July. Samples were taken from these first runs and the distillery formally filled its first whisky cask on 10th July.
As a multi-category distillery, Nine Rivers also has plans to produce other spirits such as vodka, rum, and gin.
With their three stills (two spirit and one wash still), the distillery currently has the capability to produce 1.3 million litres of alcohol annually. However, the distillery has been built with future expansion in mind.
The distillery has a unique, modular design, meaning that more equipment can easily be added to increase capacity. On top of this, there is space on site to build an entire second building, which could see production reach over 7 million litres annually.
Current expansion plans include increasing the number of stills from three to ten, with the new stills being a variety of sizes. Additionally they are looking to add a second 30-ton mash tun.
The site also includes their own malting floor. The majority of the malting process is done manually, with machinery only introduced for the roasting stage. Currently the space dedicated to floor maltings in 4,000 square meters, though this is expected to double in the future.
Nine Rivers will source some of their barley from different countries around the world, allowing for a wider selection of flavours and aromas in their spirit. Notably, they will also use peated malt, though this cannot be produced onsite due to Chinese regulations.
While not in place yet, the distillery also plan to build a cooperage in the near future. It is hoped they will be able to produce 100,000 barrels a year, half of which will be dedicated to Nine Rivers with the rest potentially being sold to other Chinese distilleries.
Nine Rivers are just they latest distillery to open in China. Last year, Diageo unveiled their YunTuo Single Malt Whisky Distillery as part of the drinks giant’s plans to increase their foothold in the country.
Diageo are just one of many international distillers looking to expand into China - a country whose spirits market is considered to have incredible potential. For more information, check out our previous article ‘The Dawn of Whisky Distilling in China’.
