THE fragrance of whisky and chocolate filled the classic building on Bund 18. Colin Scott, master blender for Chivas Brothers, proposed a number of toasts to the guests who had been invited to attend the special party for whisky lovers.

"This is a memorable night to celebrate bringing Chivas 18 to China, among whisky-lovers in this fantastic building," said Scott.

"A minimum of 18 long years have been required to make this unique blend of malt and grain Scotch whiskies deep, complex and exceptionally rich," he said.

The special triple blending process makes Chivas Regal 18 Year Old the smoothest, richest Scotch whisky in the world. Scott said he was glad to see that whisky was becoming ever more popular in China.

"China is a big market for us. More and more whisky will be consumed in China. I know that the most popular way of drinking whisky involves adding green tea to it," he said. "But I prefer to drink it half whisky and half water."

Master blender Scott has been with Chivas Brothers, one of the most famous Scottish whisky brands, for 30 years. He is the man most responsible for Chivas Regal's high quality and unique flavour and character.

He personally created Chivas Regal 18 Year Old.

"It was a challenging job. You have to create a new whisky with a unique flavour and character through deliberate blending," he said.

The responsibility for deciding what is worthy of the world's most prestigious Scotch whisky label rests with him.

A master blender's job is creative, artistic and technical. Therefore, Scott needs to be part artist and part scientist.

"It is not easy to become a master blender. It requires a good sense of taste, creativity and passion," he said.

A master blender must have a good sense of taste, plenty of experience and a precise memory in order to assess and identify whiskies every day and to understand how they interact with each other.

"Our job is to 'nose' all the new spirits to ensure their quality and character," said Scott.

"Sometimes, we have to taste over 10,000 glasses of spirits. But it is lucky none of us has yet become a drunkard."

For the tasting stage, Scott relies on his highly refined nose. The sense of smell can identify far more characteristics than the sense of taste. Each whisky he selects brings its own individual character to the blend, producing the well-balanced, approachable and flavourful final result.

Scott has to take special care of his nose to preserve its acute sensitivity. Piquant foods such as garlic seldom feature in his diet.

With 30 years in the business, Scott is following a family tradition. Both his grandfather and his father dedicated their lives to the Scotch whisky industry. There are close to 100 years of whisky-making in the Scott family.

Scott has spent 10 years as a blender with Chivas Brothers and learned very attentively from the master blenders. His talent, diligence and passion for whisky make him an exceptional master blender.

His house is not far from his office. He likes to drink whisky while talking about it, as well as about his four daughters.

"It will not surprise me if our family produces a female master blender," he said.