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

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

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
Website: https://whiskyunfinished.com
WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q Instagram: @whiskyunfinished

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

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

EP6 - Gaurav Glen More: 2,000+ Hires, 20 Years, and What He Really Looks For

Gaurav Glen More has spent over two decades placing executives at the top of Asia's most respected organisations - Apple, LVMH, Gucci, and hundreds more. He is the President of AdMark Asia Group and a long-standing member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization.

In this episode, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with Gaurav over four exceptional drams — Arran 27 Year Old Sherry Hogshead, Ichiro's Malt Joker Card Series, Glendronach Ode to the Dark, and Edrington 40 Year Old Blended Malt — to talk about what two decades of placing leaders has taught him.

They cover what separates the executives who last from those who don't, why most hiring processes are broken, how luxury retail is changing across Asia, the whisky investment market, and why the best talent is never the one actively looking for a job.

Topics covered:

•What it takes to place a CEO in Asia

•How luxury retail is changing across Asia

•Gaurav's personal whisky collection story

•The whisky investment market

•How great talent gets found

•What Gaurav is building next

Drams tasted: Arran 27 YO Sherry Hogshead · Ichiro's Malt Joker Card Series · Glendronach Ode to the Dark · Edrington 40 YO Blended Malt

Subscribe: New episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT

Website:https://whiskyunfinished.com
WhatsApp community:https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q
Instagram: @whiskyunfinished

S1 E5 — Beth Wright, Functional Medicine Nutritionist / Author /Speaker / Hormone Expert / Award-Winning / NGO Board Member & Advisor/ Former Corporate Lawyer /Ex-Julius Baer

Beth Wright is a Hong Kong-based certified functional medicine nutritionist and founder of B-FIT the Wright Way, specializing in empowering high-achieving women particularly those 40+ to balance hormones, achieve sustainable fat loss, and optimize health through personalized nutrition, fitness, lifestyle coaching, and advanced hormone strategies. A former corporate lawyer who relocated to Hong Kong in 2007, she is also an author (co-author of "Happy Hormones: Recipes to Balance and Thrive"), speaker, award-nominated women's health expert, and active contributor to organizations like Women in Finance Asia and PathFinders Hong Kong.

Beth Wright joins Rickesh for a conversation about health, performance, and the power of data-driven wellness. 

The Drams: Glenmorangie Signet 21 Year Old · Nikka Pure Malt

S1 E4 — David McCann, CEO, AOP Capital Thursday, 2 April 2026 · 6:00 PM HKT

David J. McCann is an Irish entrepreneur and SFC-regulated finance professional based in Hong Kong, where he founded and leads AOP Capital - a merchant bank and family office firm focused on private equity, wealth management, and East-West investment opportunities. With over 15 years in Hong Kong and decades of entrepreneurial experience across the US, Australia, and Asia, he actively shares insights on family offices, succession planning, and Hong Kong's evolving role as a global wealth hub.

In this episode, David shares the three biggest mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make, why his firm runs a "Fuck Up of the Month" to encourage bold thinking, and how he bought his first business in the US with nothing but hustle and negotiation. He also breaks down what Hong Kong's family office boom means for entrepreneurs, why he became the Founding President of EO Greater Bay Area, and his philosophy on when and how to think about exit.

The Drams: Arran 10 Year Old · Glenfarclas 25 Year Old · Aberlour 16 Year Old · Bowmore 15 Year Old

S1 E3  - Hil Tse, Founder, Timeless and TastyThursday, 26 March 2026 · 6:00 PM HKT

Hil Tse started Timeless and Tasty in 2016 with no contacts, no backing, and no roadmap. She knocked on doors, built relationships from scratch, and grew one of Hong Kong's most trusted independent whisky businesses entirely on her own. In this episode, she and Rickesh Kishnani open six rare cask samples and cover the whisky fraud scandal that rocked the industry, what it is really like to be a woman building a business in a male-dominated trade, and the moment she pretended to call her own boss to get a meeting.

The Drams:

•
31-Year-Old Clynelish (1993, 47% ABV) — cask sample

•
34-Year-Old Auchentoshan — cask sample

•
36-Year-Old Benriach — cask sample

•
35-Year-Old Aultmore — cask sample

•
32-Year-Old Glen Keith — cask sample

•
34-Year-Old Laphroaig — cask sample

Topics covered:The Cask 88 and Braeburn fraud scandal and what it revealed about the unregulated side of the whisky trade. How Hil built Timeless and Tasty from zero with no industry connections. Surviving COVID as a solo operator with an online shop. The reality of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Why she has never worked for a big company and never plans to. CrossFit, cigars, and how she actually unwinds.

S1 E2 - David Peng

Why would anyone send whisky to the moon and what does that have to do with the next great investment opportunity?

In Episode 2 of Whisky Unfinished, Rickesh Kishnani sits down with David Peng - 35-year veteran of Asian asset management, President of BluFin Advisory, and Chief Strategy Officer at AstroHub - for a wide-ranging conversation about long-horizon investing, commercial space, and what it really means to bet on something most people think is too early.

They open a 60-year-old Invergordon single grain Scotch chosen deliberately to mark the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and cover the arc of three decades in Asian finance, why commercial space is closer to a real investment thesis than most people realise, how David thinks about risk when the payoff is measured in decades not quarters, and why the best drams and the best investments have more in common than you'd expect.

This is Scotch whisky unlocked. One conversation at a time.

https://linktr.ee/whiskyunfinished

S1 E1 - Li Tan 

In the debut episode of Whisky Unfinished, Rickesh sits down with Li Tan — his business partner of 13 years and Co-Owner of Rare Whisky Holdings — to talk about how they built one of Asia's most ambitious whisky investment funds from scratch.

They cover the moment the idea became real, what it actually takes to build a whisky fund, and why the asset class is more compelling than most people realise. And of course — they taste.

The drams poured in this episode are a direct reflection of the journey: rare, considered, and chosen with intention.

This is the conversation that sets the tone for everything that follows. Ten episodes. Many whiskies. Many conversations unfinished.

https://linktr.ee/whiskyunfinished