Whisky Unfinished

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In this episode of Whisky Unfinished, Rickesh Kishnani (Whisky Chief) sits down with Alex Schultz, founder of Turnberry, to discuss his journey from investment banking to building an international seafood trading and logistics business.

After moving to Hong Kong, Alex realised that the corporate path wasn't the future he wanted. Instead, he took a chance on entrepreneurship, entering a completely unfamiliar industry and learning how to build a business from the ground up.

From starting with just $10,000-$25,000 to navigating international supply chains, earning customer trust, and dealing with products that have only days of shelf life, Alex shares what building a business actually looks like beyond the success stories.

Along the way, Rickesh and Alex explore four whiskies, comparing flavours, discussing their backgrounds, and discovering some unexpected parallels between the worlds of seafood and whisky.

Hosted by Rickesh Kishnani - The Whisky Chief.

WHISKIES FEATURED
🥃 Woven Super Blend
🥃 GlenDronach 18 Year Old
🥃 Macallan 32-Year-Old Cask Sample
🥃 Peated Glenturret

⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 From Goldman Sachs to Seafood Logistics
09:46 The Accidental Start of the Lobster Business
12:19 Tasting the Woven Super Blend
19:39 How Turnberry’s Seafood Supply Chain Works
28:54 GlenDronach 18-Year-Old
32:30 Staying Scrappy as an Entrepreneur
40:41 Tasting a 32-Year-Old Macallan
45:00 Leadership, Reliability and Communication
52:09 Peated Glenturret and Final Whisky Rankings

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#WhiskyUnfinished #WhiskyChief #RickeshKishnani #Entrepreneurship #GoldmanSachs #BusinessPodcast #Whisky #Macallan #GlenDronach #alexschultz

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Season 2 of Whisky Unfinished continues with Kam Daswani.

Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Kam - co-founder and Managing Director of Dram Good Stuff and Keeper of the Quaich - to talk about collecting, rare whisky, luxury, and why some bottles are meant to be opened rather than stored away.

From watches and private events to Macallan 40, rare single casks and the growth of Dram Good Stuff, Kam reflects on how he helped turn extraordinary whisky into something people could actually experience, share and enjoy.

The conversation goes beyond collecting into time, scarcity, community, cask ownership, the meaning of luxury, and why the real value of whisky often comes from the moment around the bottle rather than the price of the bottle itself.

Kam also shares the story behind becoming a Keeper of the Quaich and what the recognition means after years of helping build Hong Kong’s rare whisky culture.

Hosted by Rickesh Kishnani - The Whisky Chief.

⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Kam Daswani and Dram Good Stuff
02:45 Four Rare Single-Cask Whiskies
03:26 Borders Distillery: Macallan-Style Whisky
10:10 Building Dram Good Stuff
13:00 Creating the Luxury Whisky Experience
20:00 37-Year-Old Invergordon and the Value of Time
25:27 Mortlach 1990: The Beast of Dufftown
30:00 Cask Ownership and Multi-Generational Whisky
40:00 How to Enjoy Whisky at Home
50:00 Whisky, Community and the Experience Beyond Investment
55:25 Caol Ila 2012: Peat Meets Sherry
57:30 Becoming a Keeper of the Quaich
1:02:20 Final Ratings and Closing

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#WhiskyUnfinished #KamDaswani #KeeperOfTheQuaich #DramGoodStuff #RareWhisky #ScotchWhisky #WhiskyCollector #LuxuryWhisky #Macallan #Mortlach #CaolIla #WhiskyExperience #WhiskyPodcast #RickeshKishnani #WhiskyChief #TheWhiskyChief

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This episode of Whisky Unfinished is a little different.

No whisky. No tasting. Just a conversation about what happens when you commit early, go deep, and let time do the work.

Rickesh Kishnani sits down with entrepreneur, China digital expert and author Ashley Dudarenok to talk about entrepreneurship, personal brand, AI, China’s digital transformation, consumer behavior, community, and why some of the most valuable things in business take years to build.

Ashley reflects on the decisions that shaped her career - from leaving a corporate job and building her first agency, to becoming a public voice on China’s digital economy, investing nearly a decade into thought leadership, and eventually naturalizing as Chinese.

⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Ashley Dudarenok
10:00 China’s Shift from Cheap Manufacturing to High-Tech Innovation
14:34 Building Thought Leadership Before AI Takes Over
20:16 Why Ashley Chose to Become Chinese
24:05 India, China and the Power of Ancient Civilizations
30:00 China’s Resilience and Its Economic Transition
38:26 The Rise of the Emotional Economy
44:47 How Businesses Can Enter the Chinese Market
50:00 Casks of Significance and Multi-Generational Whisky
51:26 The Hidden Switch: Spotlighting Emerging-Market Founders

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#WhiskyUnfinished #AshleyDudarenok #ChinaBusiness #ChinaInnovation #PersonalBrand #ThoughtLeadership #AI #Entrepreneurship #RickeshKishnani #TheWhiskyChief

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Eddie McDougall didn’t build his career around one vineyard, one country, or even one continent.

He became The Flying Winemaker - travelling across the world making wine, discovering emerging regions, and eventually taking that journey to television.

In this episode of Whisky Unfinished, Rickesh sits down with Eddie to talk about how a winemaker from Australia and Hong Kong built an international wine brand, turned his global travels into a television series, and helped bring a more approachable style of wine culture to audiences across Asia.

Hosted by Rickesh Kishnani - The Whisky Chief.

⏱ CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Eddie McDougall, the Flying Winemaker
01:33 EJ McDougall Wines and Today’s Whisky Lineup
03:44 Rebuilding Australia’s Fine-Wine Reputation
12:05 The Glass of Wine That Changed Eddie’s Life
20:00 Secret Highland 20-Year-Old PX Whisky
24:42 Scottish Roots and Whisky Cask Investment
30:00 Discovering Peat, Clynelish and Ben Nevis
35:11 Dalwhinnie 28-Year-Old Cask of Distinction
40:00 The Story Behind the Flying Winemaker
50:00 Talisker 40-Year-Old and Delicate Peat
56:43 EJ McDougall Wines and Personal Milestones
1:05:23 Lagavulin 27-Year-Old
1:10:00 Entrepreneurship, Patience and Adapting
1:14:39 Final Thoughts and Whisky Rankings

🔔 Subscribe for a new episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT
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#WhiskyUnfinished #WhiskyChief #TheFlyingWinemaker #EddieMcDougall #Winemaking #WhiskyPodcast #ScotchWhisky #SingleMalt #RickeshKishnani

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How did a quirky Speyside malt, used mostly for blending, become the benchmark for luxury whisky? Ken Grier, creative director of The Macallan from 1998 to 2018, tells the story from the inside.

In the Season 2 opener, Rickesh Kishnani (The Whisky Chief) and Ken taste four whiskies: a Glen Fraser 21 Year Old independent bottling of Macallan, a 40 Year Old Edrington blend distilled in 1976, a Macallan-inspired sherried single malt made by David Robertson and Andy Simpson, and a 1996 Springbank single cask from a sherry butt.

Along the way: building the collector's market with Fine and Rare, 10,000 Polaroids with Rankin, the £140 million distillery, the Skyfall story, the one release Ken wishes he had never allowed out, and his five rules for building a whisky brand today.

00:00 Ken Grier and the Macallan story
04:08 Tasting a 21-year-old Macallan
10:00 How Macallan became “the world’s most precious whisky”
16:46 Three creative decisions that changed Macallan
23:00 Building the iconic Macallan distillery
26:02 Tasting a Macallan-style whisky
30:00 How Macallan won collectors and superfans
33:53 The Bond story and Macallan’s global impact
40:00 Storytelling, luxury, and “a life beyond ordinary”
44:00 Tasting a Macallan-inspired whisky
51:48 Five principles for building a whisky brand today
58:02 Tasting a 30-year-old Springbank
1:04:47 Ken’s biggest regret at Macallan
1:06:21 The lesson founders should steal from Macallan
1:08:21 Closing thoughts

🔔 Subscribe for a new episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT
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New episodes every Thursday at 6:00 PM HKT. Please enjoy whisky responsibly.

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“People don’t want to be treated as an account. They want to be treated as a person.”

This is a special episode of Whisky Unfinished - filmed in Singapore for the very first time.

Not part of the regular season format, this episode marks the beginning of a new Singapore chapter for Casks of Significance, with Joseph joining the team and leading the presence on the ground.

Rickesh sits down with Joseph for a conversation about whisky, trust, relationships, leadership, and why the human touch still matters in a world increasingly shaped by AI.

Across four very different drams - Blair Atholl 18-year-old sherry cask, a 34-year-old Aultmore cask sample, Caol Ila 12, and a Caol Ila 14 sherry cask bottling - they explore Joseph’s journey from Calcutta to Australia to Singapore, his first whisky at 15, the difference between doing business in Australia and Asia, and why relationships can never be treated as transactions.

Joseph also shares his CARE strategy. Connect, Appreciate, Relate, Engage — and explains why listening twice as much as you speak may be one of the most important skills in business.

And somewhere between rare casks, family lessons, Indian whisky culture, Richard Branson, Patek Philippe, and the long game of trust, the episode lands on one of the best lines of the show:

Whisky is time bottled.

🥃 Whiskies tasted in this special episode:

• Blair Atholl 18-Year-Old - Sherry Cask / Pedro Ximénez Finish
• Aultmore 34-Year-Old - Cask Sample, Cask Strength
• Caol Ila 12-Year-Old - Islay Scotch, Bourbon Cask
• Caol Ila 14-Year-Old - Berry Bros. & Rudd Sherry Cask Bottling

⏱ CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction - A Special Singapore Episode
01:45 People First Always - Why Trust Starts With Relationships
03:19 Transparency, Integrity & The Long-Term Connection
05:14 Who Is Joseph? Calcutta, Australia & His First Whisky
07:29 Whisky #1 - Blair Atholl 18 Sherry Cask / PX Finish
09:04 Christmas in a Glass - Joseph’s First Tasting Notes
10:42 India, Australia & Singapore - How Culture Shapes Business
15:01 Why People Say No - Consistency, Trust & Follow-Up
18:47 Whisky #2 - Aultmore 34-Year-Old Cask Sample
20:57 Joseph’s Whisky Journey - Royal Stag, Single Malts & Cigars
23:38 India’s Whisky Evolution - Single Malts, Weddings & National Pride
28:13 Career Pivots - Telecom, Property, Finance & Consulting
34:15 Learning to Adapt - Moving Cities, Renewable Energy & Richard Branson
37:25 Humility, Family & Treating Everyone the Same
40:20 Whisky #3 & #4 - Caol Ila 12 Bourbon vs Caol Ila 14 Sherry
46:50 The CARE Strategy - Connect, Appreciate, Relate, Engage
53:25 Listen Twice As Much As You Speak
56:35 Legacy, Collectors & Whisky as Bottled Time
59:43 Closing - The Signed Glass Tradition

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EP10 - Paris Shepherd: Asia's Private Banking World, Myanmar, Vietnam & a Whisky Education

Paris Shepherd spent 25 years in Asia running financial media businesses at the centre of the region's private banking and wealth management industry. He was Managing Director at Asian Private Banker, where he grew the publication and events business from five to 45 people, and later served as Managing Director of Citywire Asia. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Euromoney, producing large-scale foreign investment conferences across the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other Asian markets.

In this episode, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with his 26-year friend Paris — a self-confessed red wine and champagne man — for a whisky education session across four drams: Hibiki 21-Year-Old, the Dalmore Cigar Malt, Bowmore 15-Year-Old Sherry Finish, and Oban 14. They talk about Australia's cost-of-living crisis, wealth inequality, compulsory voting, and Hong Kong's enduring resilience as a capital markets hub. Paris shares stories from his Euromoney years — including a thousand-person conference in Naypyidaw when Myanmar first opened for business, and the Vietnam event that had to be cancelled with a million dollars of sponsorship locked in because the government refused to acknowledge 40% inflation.

Topics covered:

• Adelaide as Australia's only free settled colony and what that means
• Australia's cost-of-living crisis and housing affordability
• Wealth inequality — 18 Australians own as much as the bottom 40% of the country
• Compulsory voting and its effect on political outcomes
• Hong Kong's resilience and its unique role bridging East and West capital markets
• Euromoney — running foreign investment conferences in the Philippines, Myanmar, and Vietnam
• The Vietnam conference cancellation: a million dollars of sponsorship, 40% inflation, and a government that refused to acknowledge the problem
• Meeting finance ministers and heads of state across Asia
• Growing Asian Private Banker from five to 45 people
• Entrepreneurship, COVID, and the mental health reality of building a business

Whiskies tasted: Hibiki 21-Year-Old · Dalmore Cigar Malt · Bowmore 15-Year-Old Sherry Finish · Oban 14

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EP9 — Luke Yardley: Craft Beer, Whisky Prototypes & the Art of Flavour

Luke Yardley co-founded Yardley Brothers with his brother Duncan in 2015, starting with a homebrew setup in a Lamma Island living room and selling beer from a shack on the side of a hiking trail. Today, Yardley Brothers is one of the most respected craft breweries in Asia, known for its sour and barrel-aged program and a relentless focus on flavour innovation.

In this episode, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Luke to taste four Yardley Brothers beers — including the Voss Boss Hazy Kveik IPA (Norwegian farmhouse yeast, fermented at 36°C) and Seize the Means Chocolate Fudge Milk Stout — and four prototype whisky expressions Luke has been quietly developing: a mango new make, a cacao-inspired spirit, a rye-corn blend, and a peated expression using 40 PPM New Zealand malt.

They cover the founding story of Yardley Brothers, the science of Kveik yeast, flavour as creative expression, collaborating with Track Brewing in Manchester on a bourbon barrel-aged peach hazy sour, and the economics of bootstrapping a craft brewery with no outside investment.

Topics covered:

•       Founding story and the Lamma Island beer shack

•       Cashing in a life insurance policy to fund the brewery

•       The 700-litre contaminated batch disaster

•       Norwegian Kveik yeast and fermentation at 36°C

•       The cacao beer made with freshly roasted beans from a local HK chocolate factory

•       Luke's whisky prototypes — mango new make, peated spirit, cacao wash, rye-corn blend

•       The economics of bootstrapping a craft brewery with no outside investment

•       Flavour as creative expression and artistic identity

Drinks tasted: Voss Boss Hazy Kveik IPA · Seize the Means Chocolate Stout · Mango New Make · Cacao Spirit Prototype · Rye-Corn Blend · Peated NZ Malt Prototype

Subscribe: New episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT
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WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q Instagram: @whiskyunfinished

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EP8 - Kingston lai: The Morgan Stanley Exit That Built Asia Bankers Club 

In Episode 8 of Whisky Unfinished, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Kingston Lai, Founder of Asia Bankers Club. Before building the Club, Kingston was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Hong Kong, where he worked across institutional sales and distribution before making the leap from corporate banking into entrepreneurship.

 The conversation traces the unusual origin story of Asia Bankers Club, from a domain name bought on GoDaddy to a 110,000-member community covering property, collectibles, wellness, longevity, and other physical assets. Rickesh and Kingston discuss the psychology of leaving a comfortable job, the early challenge of building trust with members, and how Thailand property became one of the first major growth areas for the business. They also explore Dubai, the Middle East, Macau, whisky cask investing, and why the next phase of wealth may involve health as much as financial return.

Key topics include;

- Kingston’s exit from Morgan Stanley

- The growth of Asia Bankers Club

- Overseas property and alternative investing 

- The shift into longevity and wellness

- How whisky sits within the wider world of tangible assets.

Listen or watch the full episode to hear the complete conversation with Kingston Lai on Whisky Unfinished.

Drams tasted: Kavalan · Glenfarclas · Strathmill · Loch Lomond 

Subscribe: New episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT

Website: https://whiskyunfinished.com
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EP7 - Cristiane Ross: When to Fire a Customer, the Link Between EX and CX, and What 20 Years in Hospitality Taught Her

Cristiane Ross is the Group Head of Customer Experience, Corporate Sales, and CSR at Pure Group International in Hong Kong - one of Asia's leading premium fitness and wellness brands. She pioneered the customer experience function at Pure Fitness in 2010 and has spent two decades building loyalty strategies across hospitality, fitness, and corporate sectors.

In this episode, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Cristiane over three exceptional drams - Woven Hemispheres, Yamazaki, and Springbank - to talk about what it really takes to build a customer experience that earns genuine loyalty.

They cover why the best CX starts with your employees, the surprisingly strategic case for firing a customer, how to de-escalate any difficult interaction, what Southwest Airlines got right that most companies still get wrong, and how AI is reshaping the future of customer experience.

Topics covered:

• Why you cannot have good CX without good EX

• The case for firing a customer and when to do it

• How to de-escalate difficult customer interactions

• Mapping the customer journey across industries

• What Southwest Airlines built that others couldn't copy

• AI and the future of customer experience

Drams tasted: Woven Hemispheres · Yamazaki · Springbank

Subscribe: New episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT

Website: https://whiskyunfinished.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskyUnfinished
WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q
Instagram: @whiskyunfinished