Who Is Building China's Whisky?

Why are the world's biggest drinks companies building whisky distilleries in China? And who else is joining them? Here are the players, and what each is betting on.

Why China?

Whisky consumption in China has grown with a new generation of drinkers, who discovered it in bars, in highballs and as a gift. The industry sees an opportunity: if Chinese drinkers love whisky, why not make it in China, for China and, one day, for the world?

There is also a long-term logic. Whisky takes years to mature. Companies that start now will be ready with aged stock when the market matures, just as Japanese whisky did decades ago.

The giants

**Pernod Ricard** invested around US$150 million over a decade in The Chuan, at the foot of Mount Emei in Sichuan. It was the first international spirits group to open a fully operational malt whisky distillery in China, in 2021, and released its first whisky in 2023. The distillery is also designed as a visitor destination.

**Diageo**, maker of Johnnie Walker, built YunTuo in Eryuan County, Yunnan, unveiled in November 2024. Its name combines "cloud" (Yunnan) and "exploration". The bet: a high-altitude whisky with a sense of place.

East meets West

At **Guqi**, in Bozhou, Anhui, the French Cognac house **Camus** makes whisky together with **Gujinggong**, one of China's historic baijiu producers. It is a perfect symbol of the new Chinese spirits: European cask know-how meets Chinese grain and fermentation expertise, in a city that has made spirits for centuries.

The crowd

**Nine Rivers**, in the mountains of Longyan, Fujian, was founded by whisky lovers and is backed by around 200 mostly small investors from around the world. It aims to become one of China's largest single malt distilleries.

The Chinese pioneers

Independent Chinese distilleries are building the category from the inside:

• **Holyland**, in Yunnan, using local barley.
• **Tianyoude**, in Qinghai, on the Tibetan plateau, with highland barley.
• **Goalong**, in Hunan, the first Chinese whisky stocked by a UK retailer, in 2023.

Several baijiu groups have also announced or started their own whisky projects, bringing their capital and their distilling know-how.

What is at stake

If the bet succeeds, China could become a new whisky country, the way Japan and Taiwan did before it. If it fails, it will remain a domestic curiosity. For now, the first bottles are young, and the most interesting chapter is still to be written.

In one sentence

Global giants, a Cognac house with a baijiu maker, a crowd of whisky lovers and Chinese pioneers are all betting on Chinese whisky.