When the Goddess Was a Girl
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GBA4 | GBAFOCUS Friday, February 5, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY Lifestyle An aging tunnel at Luzhou Laojiao Baijiu Distillery in Sichuan. The Ming River Sichuan Baijiu brand, targerted at the international market, was the result of a Served with a twist tie-up with the Luzhou distillery. In existence since the Song Dynasty, and a staple of Chinese banquets, baijiu is you’d have less people liking it,” says sounds confi dent that people with Sandhaus. “Undeniably, there’s a bit gin-fatigue will eventually hop onto being reinvented to cater to a younger and international market. Joyce Yip reports. of prejudice that goes in from the US his “baijiu and tonic” bandwagon. and European points of view. Many Sandhaus, however, feels baijiu n the summer of 2016, Anto- in Chongqing started packaging its Sichuan Baijiu brand. people in the world still see Chinese should be appreciated as it is. nio Lai, a mixologist who runs light-aroma baijiu in blue and white “The rise in the West of other once- food as cheap and low-class. This “I think you’re skipping a step here. Quinary, a bar in Hong Kong’s bottles. On the label is a bilingual alien spirits backs up this theory,” a© ects the way people see all sorts of Before people drink fl avored vodka Central, was approached by logo, an anime-like mascot called says Sandhaus. “Vodka was consid- Chinese products.” they have to know and like vodka. Ibaijiu manufacturer Kweichow Xiaobai, a nickname that could also ered Russian rotgut until the Moscow “Baijiu as a modern, premium Sure, baijiu isn’t mainstream but Moutai. Lai was asked to consider mean a rookie’s zeal; as well as sen- mule and, later, James Bond’s vodka product didn’t exist until the second you can’t start by adding and mixing using the Moutai brand in a monthly timental quotes like “I hope to pour martini (shaken, not stirred). Tequila, half of the 20th century. So it does things up,” Sandhaus says. special cocktail. Three weeks later, he you baijiu after 10 years, and that we likewise, was propelled to stardom take time to gain a global following,” He’s more forgiving when it comes had perfected Dear Jade, a concoc- are still old friends then”. via the margarita.” Sandhaus adds. to cocktails, saying that infusions of tion of pear puree, cardamom, pink Evidently, Jiangxiaobai has an Baijiu’s popularity in business set- He created Ming River Sichuan medicinal ingredients like fruits and peppercorn syrup, champagne and eye on the local millennial market. tings comes with a degree of noto- Baijiu in partnership with the fourth- antlers, have been part of the practice the sought-after Chinese spirit. He The company has hosted a myriad riety. It is seen as the spirit biggest baijiu producer, Luzhou Lao- since baijiu’s inception in the Song served the cocktail in a jade-colored of events, including music concerts, people are pushed to con- jiao. The ABV has been kept to 45 per- Dynasty (960-1279 CE). Plus, cocktails fl ask, embellished with a ribbon that street dance and street art, in order sume in excessive quantities cent to enhance the brand’s appeal as help ease the spirit into food pairing, was the same fi ery shade of red as to promote the brand in China. It has because of peer pressure. A a cocktail ingredient. which fi ts in with baijiu’s traditional Kweichow Moutai’s label. also entered World Cocktail Champi- 2017 World Health Organi- Although it is not sold on the Chi- role. This is no easy feat even for a multi- onships and is now available in mar- zation report estimates Chi- nese mainland, the packaging design Sandhaus hopes that distilleries award winning bartender of interna- kets across the UK, India, Malaysia nese people will be drinking of Ming River Sichuan Baijiu refer- in China will join forces to spread tional repute as Lai. Moutai, a type of and South Africa and supposedly 10 liters of alcohol per capita Mixologist Antonio ences elaborate Chinese banquets. the gospel of the national drink baijiu — or Chinese white wine — is earned over 2 billion yuan ($309.5 per year by 2030, overtaking Lai says respecting The English name was chosen to around the world. However, there is known not only for its 50-plus ABV, million) in 2018. the US average. Nevertheless, the spirit’s history attract an international audience. scant motivation to do so, given the but also the wide variety of curiously the popularity of the national and knowing what “If you don’t speak Mandarin, you heavy domestic demand. Even in a contradictory fl avors that it comes Exploring foreign markets spirit, mixed with delicious syr- to pair it with can can’t pronounce Luzhou Laojiao. It’s pandemic-ridden 2020, Kweichow in — overripe tropical fruit, cheese, Baijiu seems to go down better as ups and topped with a colorful help enhance one’s a superfi cial but important change if Moutai saw a 7.2 percent growth in its soy sauce, licorice, anise, caramelized a cocktail ingredient when served ombre in a fancy glass, con- appreciation of you want people in the West to order July-September quarter and boasts a shiitake mushrooms, gasoline, toasty to a Western drinker. Cocktails are tinues to grow. baijiu. it,” Sandhaus says. market value of $39.3 billion, which rice, old socks and more. the “driving medium”, says Derek “If your fi rst experi- makes it the most profi table spirit For instance, Kweichow Moutai Sandhaus, the author of In Baijiu: ence of whisky is Palatable spin-offs brand in the world. can taste like caramel when it’s hot The Essential Guide to Chinese Spir- of Scots telling Besides producing a less alcoholic Back in Hong Kong, Lai liked the and also give off hints of peach, its, founder of the Drink Baijiu blog you to drink spirit in a range of fl uorescent colors, Kweichow Moutai brand so much lychee and apricot when served cold. and co-founder of the Ming River a bottle of it, UK-based Baijiu Society has come that he included it in a pairing menu “From a bartender’s point of view, up with spin-o© s like baijiu-infused at Vea, where he is an executive mix- baijiu is super heavy: it’s more of an beer and co© ee liqueurs to “introduce ologist. The concoction of plum syr- enhancement than a core ingredi- Chinese baijiu in a way that’s more up, black vinegar and just 5 ml of the ent,” says Lai. No more than 10 ml of accessible,” says founder Craig Butler. prized liquor goes beautifully with baijiu was used in Dear Jade, but it “We are not here to change baijiu, crystal caviar with Alaska King Crab. was enough to leave an impression. but play with the di© erent levels of The idea was inspired by the tradition “It was a good way for me to show- fl avors to get something that we know of balancing plum soup (suanmeit- case a bit of Chinese history and that the Western palates will love, such as ang) with crab, says Lai. something as challenging as baijiu ripe fruit, pear, banana, while toning “As long as we continue to consider could be used in a cocktail,” Lai says. down elements like umami that we the taste of the spirit and respect the fi nd diª cult to deliver,” Butler adds. history of how it’s made and its pair- Repackaging tradition Butler’s target market is Western ing cuisine, we can appreciate baijiu,” Mainly extracted from sorghum, beer-lovers and gin-drinkers. He Lai says. a cereal grain, baijiu comes in aro- ma styles of strong, light, sauce, or rice, usually depending on where it’s brewed. Kweichow Moutai, for instance, is sauce-style and known for its umami saltiness. It’s a favor- ite toast at Chinese banquets and business dinners. According to baijw. com, 7.4 million kiloliters of baijiu was produced in 2020. Prices vary, depending on the qual- The Dear Jade cocktail created by ity. A bottle can cost anywhere from a Hong Kong mixologist Antonio Lai few yuan to the price of an iPhone or contains pear puree, cardamom, pink two. Aged bottles can fetch hammer peppercorn syrup, champagne and a prices on a par with rare whiskies. dash of Kweichow Moutai brand baijiu. Baijiu is said to be the only alcoholic beverage presented as a diplomatic gift at Chinese embassies. Despite its long history, baijiu’s popularity remains within China. However, in recent years, a handful Ming River Sichuan Baijiu ambassador Christian Ming River Sichuan Baijiu co-founders Bill Isler (left), the writer Derek of distillers are trying to repackage Wu stirs up a heady brew. Sandhaus (center) and Matthias Heger. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY baijiu for the international palate. In 2012, Jiangxiaobai distillery Dance When the goddess was a girl By LI MENG As venues remain shut emotions such as excitement, Mazu was a girl called Lin Mo, bulent sea to save a group of Lin Mo/Mazu, played by Pan tempest. Colors play a crucial because of the pandemic, sadness, happiness and anxi- born and raised in the ancient drowning fi shermen. Lingjuan, comes across as total- role in expressing the emotions COVID-19 has changed many HKDC, like several other cul- ety. island of Meizhou in Fujian Yan has reimagined the leg- ly relatable. Both she and Wong and felt by the characters.