Hall of Fame

Jisheng Fang has spent more than 25 years in the cask industry as a researcher and supplier. He is the founder of Wolin Cooperage, which supplies Chinese oak casks to distilleries around the world. Alongside his research and cooperage, Jisheng is passionate about sharing knowledge and technology with the Chinese whisky industry. Jisheng joined the cask industry in 1996 as a cask ageing technology researcher. Four years later, he moved to Penglai Global Timber Co. as a production engineer. During his time with the company he led a team to research the distribution, flavour characteristics, and sustainable harvesting of various oak species in China, accumulating first-hand data for the nascent Chinese oak cask industry. His research has led him to develop seven Chinese oak varieties suitable for coopering, including Mongolica oak and Shangri-La oak. He has conducted various toasting experiments for different oak species, optimising toasting data and identifying best toasting curves, accumulating crucial technical knowledge. In 2008, Jisheng founded Chinese cask production enterprise Wolin Cooperage, for which he remains chairman and general manager. Wolin Cooperage is now the largest supplier of Chinese oak casks in the international market, bringing the flavours of China-grown oak to the world.