The Chinese whisky industry is still in its infancy. However, with demand for whisky in general rising in China (x3 in ten years), their own production is also surfing this wave. Will consumers switch from the immensely popular Baijiu to Chinese single malts?
In 2019 Pernod Ricard started The Chuan distillery and in 2021 Diageo announced its plans for the Eryuan distillery. Both are large scale projects that will probably boost the category of Chinese whisky. It will probably also set higher standards, as Chinese regulations for what is called ‘whisky’ are not exactly strict.
Today we look at the relatively small Dongwei distillery, which started production in summer 2020 (although a micro distillery had already been running since 2014). Their pair of copper stills were designed and hand-made by the owner Weidong ‘Ricky’ Wei himself. While being a ‘native’ project, Dongwei already seems to use much higher standards by only releasing whisky after at least six years of maturartion.
They use Chinese grown barley (mostly 6-row from Northwest China, now also other types from Hunan) with direct gas-fired distillation and a variety of yeast and oak combinations. They even use Mongolian oak and they’re trying to find a truly Chinese identity with certain oak types as well.
I got seven cask samples from 2014, 2016 and 2017, but sadly not a lot of info. You can hardly find any images of actual bottles that aren’t blocked to European visitors, for instance. Most of my information comes from their mobile website, which seems to be easier to use than their desktop version.
Dongwei 2017 (62,3%, OB 2024, first-fill bourbon barrel #19)
Nose: nice and clean. It starts on butter biscuits and a good dose of honey and vanilla sweetness, along with peaches and oranges. Then a very nice minty freshness appears, with juniper and floral hints. Lemons. Hints of rice pudding and a whiff of coconut cream.
Mouth: lots of oak spice now. White pepper, lots of peppermint, some green tea and aniseed. Underneath there’s still a sweet and slightly syrupy layer of brown sugar, apples, kiwis and peaches. The oaky side becomes resinous after a while and adds a slightly bitter note, apple pith and some peanut oil.
Finish: quite long, quite a bit drier with a harsh edge. Still plenty of peppermint, green tea and oak polish.
Good start. Especially convincing on the nose: very harmonious with plenty of depth for its supposedly modest age. Towards the finish the wood is leaving a harsh fingerprint, but probably a really good spirit. I think the bright mint-citrus combination is a truly oriental touch as well (for what it’s worth).
Dongwei 2017 (64,1%, OB 2024, STR barrel #22, coffee malt)
Nose: quite extractive and rustic even, with lots of freshly sawn hardwood but also a winey bitterness. Then ethereal oils, roasted coffee beans, overripe mashed bananas and very ripe pineapple. Hints of orange liqueur, drops of very old Oloroso and Ricola candy. Some dark chocolate as well.
Mouth: very extractive again, full of tannins and herbal extracts. Cold coffee, multiplex, dark chocolate brownie with undertones of golden syrup. Herbal tea, plenty of mint and eucalyptus, along with orange peels and a hint of caramel. Then leathery dryness, more tannins and lots of aniseed. Some wood polish as well.
Finish: long, with more wine tannins and fresh parquet. Also, does it make sense to dip a bag of herbal tea in cold coffee?
Challenging due to the high strength, firm woodiness and the darkness of the coffee malt. At times it reminded me of old New Yarmouth rum. Not exactly a relaxing dram, but an impressive experiment nonetheless. Let’s just say this could have been undrinkable but that’s certainly not the case. Score: 82/100
Dongwei 2017 (66,9%, OB 2024, Mongolian oak barrel #31)
Nose: a sweet and firm woodiness, with honey and plenty of oak shavings. Green peppers, aniseed and ginger. Creamy coconut as well, bringing it close to virgin American oak. Then it becomes slightly fragrant, on rose petals and plenty of varnished notes. Water brings out lemon notes.
Mouth: a drying entry, with lots of resinous oaky notes. There’s a sweet, syrupy layer underneath, with vanilla and maple syrup bringing roundness. A lot of pepper, ginger and liquorice, including a sourness from the wood. Citrusy notes and sandalwood too.
Finish: good length, mostly marked by the woody notes.
They say this is a milestone release when it comes to their experience with Mongolian oak. It is quite bold, with a sweet and sour balance that is quite interesting. That said, there’s a lot of wood altogether, which makes it harder to enjoy. More experience is required to get a nicer balance, I guess. Score: 80/100
Dongwei 2016 PM-1 (62,8%, OB 2024, first-fill bourbon barrel #15, peated malt)
Nose: a lightly peated spirit. Some creosote, gentle antiseptics and camphory notes. Creamy pastry underneath, as well as some waxy notes. Quite coastal, still having this pepperminty edge and herbal elements, maybe eucalyptus oil. Overall very sophisticated.
Mouth: a more intense peatiness now, reminding me of Kilchoman at first. Beautiful creamy notes here as well. Vanilla ice cream. Then back to mint and menthol, pine resin, aniseed and herbal tea. Smoky leaves and burnt rosemary, with gin-like botanicals and a saltiness that makes you think Hunan is by the sea (it’s not).
Finish: medium length, slightly more narrow. There’s a resinous / herbal / metallic theme, along with peppery smoke.
The herbal freshness works wonders with the peat smoke. It’s not too loud and you’re still getting some of that creaminess from the spirit. Quite excellent, even though the finish is a little harsh again. Score: 88/100
Dongwei 2017 PM-3 (63,3%, OB 2024, first-fill rye barrel #28, peated malt)
Nose: even lighter peat. There’s a medicinal and resinous side but less of the smoky warmth that I got from PM-1. Instead the floral notes are taking over, almost blossomy notes, as well as some liquorice. Then mint, green apple and lemon peels.
Mouth: spicy. I’m picking up more of the floral elements again, rather than peat. Plenty of gin botanicals again, along with apple pith and a kind of dustiness that may well come from the rye casks. Then a cooling minty wave. Mild hints of ashes and cooling bonfires.
Finish: quite long, with gentle smoke, lots of floral notes and citrus peels.
A fine result again, but if you’re into peat smoke then PM-1 is a more convincing profile in my opinion. Score: 84/100
The next two cask samples are from the early years of production (if Google Translate gets it right, then these should even be the first two barrels of the distillery). They describe this as soap-flavoured twin barrels, a “tribute to the aroma of classic whisky from the 1970s”. We can’t think of 1970s whisky that was soapy, the first thing that comes to mind is Bowmore or Glen Garioch from the 1980s. Whether this spirit was deliberately soapy, and whether this deserves a tribute, is a different discussion.
Dongwei 2014 (63,9%, OB 2024, double-fill bourbon barrel #1)
Nose: quite floral with a soapy hint and whiffs of women’s powder and citrus hand cream. Lemon sherbet, violets, just a whiff of mint and some gin botanicals. Then some wet pebblestones and a very light puff of salty smoke as well, hidden underneath. So far the soapiness isn’t immense, but it’s certainly there.
Mouth: ouch. It’s not the Bowmore style of soap, but it’s a very soapy style nonetheless. Jawbreaker candy, violets and perfume. No matter how far you try to think this through, I find it undrinkable.
Finish: rather not.
It must have been some kind of weird challenge trying to create this wicked style. I wouldn’t have shown it to the outside world, but there, mission accomplished. Same score as this 27 year-old Auchentoshan. Score: 58/100
Dongwei 2014 (64,9%, OB 2024, first-fill bourbon barrel / sherry barrel #2)
Nose: the same floral side, but now the pepperminty aromas are bigger, and there’s a little more vanilla too. It’s more soapy than its sister cask, in my opinion. On the other hand it’s also more fruity, like bright citrus that is bordering tropical fruits like passion fruits.
Mouth: better than cask #1, in the sense that it’s more floral again, with lots of herbal notes, a bit of salt and this very bright fruity edge. It feels less synthetic than its sister, so that’s good. Here I don’t find the subtle smoky edge. Only in the very end it becomes a bit carbolic.
Finish: quite long, soapy and salty.
Still not very drinkable, in my opinion, but as a tribute to the soapy Scotches, I find this more pleasant than cask #1. Same score as this 25 year-old Bowmore then. Score: 63/100