Slàinte Mhath
A new whisky venture between companies based in Forfar in Angus and Ordos in Inner Mongolia shows promise
A partnership between Forfar in Angus and Ordos in Inner Mongolia shows promise for future whisky developments
THE city of Ordos in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, is a bit of an enigma. Ordos was built for over a million people, but it’s reported that only a small percentage of its lavish buildings were ever filled – earning the moniker China’s Ghost City.
But soon a different kind of spirit in Ordos will bring the whisky expertise of the Scotch industry to this distant land.
Valentine International, based in Forfar, Scotland, is led by David Valentine MBE, who specialises in establishing commercial ventures in China. He’s acting as international project manager for Inner Mongolia’s first ever whisky distillery.
The contract was signed at the World Chinese Entrepreneurs’ Convention in London last year with the Mengtai Group. Mengtai, whose core businesses include coal production and electricity generation, will provide all of the buildings and ancillary accommodation.
David will broker links to the expertise required to produce a quality malt, ranging from barley development to cask maturation. And the crucial hardware component – the distillation equipment – is being manufactured by Forsyth’s of Rothes, to be shipped to Ordos.
Family company Forsyth’s is the worldleading manufacturer of pot stills, and continues to use hand-hammering techniques to form copper into stills.
Forging a strong link between two very different worlds is the most compelling aspect of this venture in Ordos.
“There are huge differences between China and western cultures,” David says, “but there are many similar characteristics.”
“I certainly feel the Scots have much in common with the Inner Mongolians – the ancestral people of Genghis Khan. Like us, they are renowned for hospitality and love for lamb and beef.”
David’s knowledge of the inner workings of the leviathan that is modern-day China has been underpinned by a passion that was recognised by the Queen when he was awarded with an MBE in 2013.
As the former chief officer responsible for economic development in Angus Council, David forged connections between Angus and Yantai in Shandong Province.
He also arranged the historic twinning between Glamis Castle and the Great Wall of China in 2006 and was made an Honorary citizen of Yantai two years later.
And what’s stoked his success, as he continues to bolster commercial and cultural partnerships, is his fervent belief that “we’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns”.
He explains, for example, that like parts of Scotland, mentality and character in China have been shaped by working the land.
“The country is divided north and south by the Yangtze river,” David says, “which separates the colder, northerly wheat-growing areas from the warmer, more southerly rice-growing areas.
“There are theories about the warmer rice-growing areas giving rise to a greater interdependency. Rice is grown on irrigated land parcels requiring a sharing of waterways so people have had to cooperate to survive.
“Compare this with the vast northerly wheat fields, reliant on rain for moisture. People farming these vast regions have grown more self-reliant and independent.”
Harmony with nature is a key facet of the venture. “The distillery will be located next to a lake which is fed from an underground artesian well. Pure water will be pumped in for the distilling process. A strategy is being developed to determine the length of maturation, and a variety of casks will be used to give a variety of finishes.”
The global Covid-19 pandemic delayed the project, but David has long since learned the value of patience.
“A phrase I often use is one ascribed to the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Things don’t happen overnight and building long-term and lasting relationships is paramount.”
The distillery will be capable of producing a variety of malt whiskies from neutral, sweet and smooth flavour to a peatier version.
“I guess we will be toasting completion with the raw spirit straight off the tap. Inner Mongolians like it neat and strong!”
Scots have much in common with the Inner Mongolians