Whisky Unfinished

Whisky Unfinished is an intimate podcast that blends exceptional Scotch whisky with authentic conversation. Hosted by Rickesh Kishnani, a serial entrepreneur and investor with nearly two decades of experience across technology, finance, and the whisky industry, each episode features one remarkable guest and four carefully curated drams. The format is simple but powerful: no scripts, no predetermined narrative, just two people having a genuine conversation. Episodes explore the stories behind successful businesses, the realities of fundraising and investing, entrepreneurial journeys, cultural shifts reshaping industries, and the human side of building something meaningful. Guests include founders, investors, business leaders, and visionaries from around the world. Topics range from building the world's first private equity whisky fund to conversations about gender, economics, and how different cultures approach business and commerce. Each dra

Whisky Unfinished is a education podcast hosted by Rickesh Kishnani, with 13 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Rickesh Kishnani hosts Whisky Unfinished, a education show with 13 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Whisky Unfinished

  How Eddie McDougall The Flying Winemaker Took Wine Around the World

  Oct 1, 20261h 17m

  Send us Fan Mail 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 Join the newsletter: https://whiskyunfinished.com Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q ️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01IYF1Q39l2dTrWGTOpcen?si=c50adf256c7d484e ️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whisky-unfinished/id1884496168 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskyunfinished LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickesh/ #WhiskyUnfinished #WhiskyChief #TheFlyingWinemaker #EddieMcDougall #Winemaking #WhiskyPodcast #ScotchWhisky #SingleMalt #RickeshKishnani

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  Whisky Unfinished

  How Macallan Became a Luxury Icon with Ken Grier

  Sep 24, 20261h 10m

  Send us Fan Mail 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 Join the newsletter: https://whiskyunfinished.com Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q ️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01IYF1Q39l2dTrWGTOpcen?si=c50adf256c7d484e ️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whisky-unfinished/id1884496168 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskyunfinished LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickesh/ New episodes every Thursday at 6:00 PM HKT. Please enjoy whisky responsibly.

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  Whisky Unfinished

  Whisky Unfinished Special Episode - Singapore Office Opening

  Jun 18, 20261h 1m

  Send us Fan Mail “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 🔔 Subscribe for a new episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT 📩 Join the newsletter: https://whiskyunfinished.com 💬 Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01IYF1Q39l2dTrWGTOpcen?si=c50adf256c7d484e 🎙️ Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whisky-unfinished/id1884496168 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskyunfinished 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickesh/

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  Episode #10

  20 Years Around Bankers, Billionaires & Presidents | Scoring a Hibiki 21 YO

  May 14, 20261h 6mS1

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>EP10 - Paris Shepherd: Asia's Private Banking World, Myanmar, Vietnam & a Whisky Education</p><p>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.</p><p>In this...

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  Whisky Unfinished

  He Cashed in his Wife's Life Insurance. Then was Forced to Dump Out 700 Litres of Beer - Luke Yardley from Yardley Brothers (The Beer Episode)

  May 7, 20261h 20mS0

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p><b>EP9 — Luke Yardley: Craft Beer, Whisky Prototypes & the Art of Flavour</b></p><p>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.</p><p>In this episode, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Luke to taste four Yardley Brothers beers — incl...

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