Stephen Notman of Whisky Live educates us on the finer points of whisky consumption before this week's event.

What is Whisky Live? It’s a whisky festival held in 15 countries around the world and attended by both members of the trade and consumers. A lot of people don’t know the difference between whisky and cognac, and it’s our job to teach them. In our first year in Shanghai we had around 8,000 people turn up.

How did you get involved? It was after one too many KTV nights drinking Chivas and green tea. I realized that nobody is actually educating anyone here. I started looking at case statistics, and found that Taiwan’s market has a little over 24 million people and astronomical whisky sales, so the market warranted a platform for people to taste all different forms of whisky.

What’s new this year? We’ve created a Whisky Passport to highlight the differences between whiskies from different places. You’ll get a stamp from each region or country you taste.

What’s your take on green tea in whisky? It’s all right... If they’re drinking it, great. I once did a tasting with a very rare whisky from 1965; after they went through telling us how rare it was, the green tea came out and they went about killing this US$4,000 whisky.

What’s a good Scotch for Shanghai right now when it’s hot, rainy and humid? I’d probably go for a blend, with all the different weather going on. I’d go for the Chivas 18, which has a bit more body and character than the 12. I’d just add a bit of water, no ice. Ice closes flavors; water opens them up.

DETAILS:

What: Whisky Live

When: Sept. 2-3; 2-7pm

Where: InterContinental Shanghai Pudong

Tel: 6438-5820