Christian Leusder

Japan, where it began

Christian grew up in Japan from 1989 to 1996. Those years gave him a lasting affinity for Japanese craft, aesthetics and patience — the same qualities that define Japanese whisky, and that run through every East Asia Whisky release, from mizunara oak to Echizen washi.

A grounding in value and markets

He studied General Management and Business Law at EBS University, followed by an M.Sc. in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London, focusing on environmental economics, energy and water management. His career began in finance and strategy: equity research at Lehman Brothers in London — including a deep-dive into the Japanese beer market — and five years in value-based management consulting for major European banks. That training in valuing assets, risk and markets shapes how East Asia Whisky selects casks and advises collectors and investors today.

Sustainability by design

At KPMG Singapore he established the Sustainability Advisory Desk and published research on the true cost of water for industry. He later served as Associate Director, M&A Strategy at Deloitte, leading sustainability, feasibility and due diligence work across Asia Pacific. This experience became the backbone of East Asia Whisky’s own value chain: an FSC® and Rainforest Alliance chain of custody in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Scotland for the company’s wooden packaging, a zero-plastic policy, and releases that fund ocean conservation.

Building East Asia Whisky

Christian co-founded East Asia Whisky in 2016 and ran it alongside his consulting career with business partners. In 2021 he bought out the company and took it on full time. Since then he has led its product development — pioneering mizunara maturation in Scotch whisky and developing award-winning single casks with a sustainable production value chain from grain to glass. He created the Tortuga and Manta Ray releases, which support the Sea Turtle Conservancy and the Manta Trust, and led the branding and packaging that earned IWSC packaging medals alongside top awards for the whisky itself.

The storyteller behind every bottle

A professional public speaker and trainer for more than a decade, Christian hosts East Asia Whisky’s masterclasses and private tastings himself, introducing each whisky in turn — its distillery, its cask and its story.