Baijiu Day, He Qi Reports in Shanghai
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, September 11, 2020 | 17 LIFE SHANGHAI Learning to love the taste of ‘fire’ Despite the ongoing pandemic, global interest in Chinese ‘white liquor’ has barely waned, with dozens of cities around the world celebrating World Baijiu Day, He Qi reports in Shanghai. o most foreigners, baijiu is In fact, World Baijiu Day was also better known for its inten- started by a foreigner — Jim Boyce, a sity and efficacy in causing Canadian alcohol expert who is a hangover than as a com- based in Beijing. Tplex Chinese spirit worth savoring. “China makes the vast majority of Time magazine once dubbed the baijiu in the world — about 10 bil- spirit “sorghum firewater” because lion liters every year. We aim to of its fiery flavor. make baijiu, the spirit more com- Han Ling, the founder of Healer mon than vodka, whiskey or rum, Bar in Shanghai, is among the many but little known outside China, bet- who are trying to correct this mis- ter known,” says Boyce. conception. “People just need the chance to try On World Baijiu Day on Aug 9, baijiu in a comfortable way,” he Han hosted a masterclass where she adds, referring to events like the one mixed baijiu with ingredients such hosted by Healer Bar. as rose, elderflower liquor, cinna- “Many foreigners in China have mon, lemon and Bohea, a black tea a negative impression of the spirit blend from the mountains of Wuyi, because of heavy-duty ganbei (bot- to create cocktails that would allow toms-up) sessions and because participants to better understand they have only tried a brand or the taste of this oft-misunderstood two. Many foreigners outside Chi- Chinese spirit. na haven’t tried baijiu at all. During the class, Han also delved “It is important to let people try into the history of baijiu and its pro- baijiu in different ways, such as in duction and preservation processes. cocktails, infusions and foods, as Guests then got to sample different this will help to broaden the audi- types of the spirit. ence and allow people to discover its Fermented and distilled from diversity.” wheat or a mixture of sorghum, rice, Healer Bar was just one of many corn and barley, baijiu was first venues around the world that took made 5,000 years ago. Today, China part in the festival. According to has more than 10 types of baijiu that Boyce, 21 cities across the world, come in different flavors and aromas. including Beijing, Christchurch, “The beauty of baijiu lies in its old Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hamburg, nature. Chinese like traditional fla- Los Angeles, Singapore and Wuhan, vors and baijiu has exactly that,” held different events on this day to Han says. promote this spirit. “The production techniques for “It is amazing that we have so baijiu are quite unique as well. many cities participating this year While the flavor of whiskeys and despite the pandemic. Some cities, wines are affected by the type of bar- like Melbourne, which is on lock- rels they are stored in, you only taste down, aren’t able to hold offline the grain in baijiu.” events, but they still participated Han, who has participated in the by holding online ones,” says Boy- past three editions of World Baijiu ce. Day, says the response to her events “We had far more people sending every year has been improving. messages and photos showing them Participants enjoy baijiu, or white spirits, at a masterclass on World Baijiu Day at Healer Bar in Shanghai on Aug 9. The bar was one of many “So many people want to know celebrating World Baijiu Day at venues around the world that took part in the festival. PHOTOS BY HE QI / CHINA DAILY about baijiu these days. When we home, sipping baijiu, making cock- had a World Baijiu Day event at the tails or simply enjoying it with lunch bar in 2017, there was a long line of or dinner. That was nice to see.” But the market share looks poised percent year-on-year. industry, says that getting more of people waiting to enter,” she recalls. According to market consultancy to grow further in the coming years The spirit is also getting more the world to consume baijiu would Her tiny bar that measures only iiMedia Research, the national sales as brands like Moutai have been popular among foreigners in China, require not just greater quantities of about 80 square meters was again revenue of major baijiu enterprises It is important to let increasing their foothold in over- and this could translate to them the spirit being shipped out, but also fully occupied on this day. The above designated scale was 492.74 people try baijiu in seas markets. exporting their love for baijiu a concerted effort to integrate the majority of the 30 guests, all of billion yuan ($71 billion) from Janu- According to an article in The beyond Chinese borders, says Han. spirit into mainstream culture and whom watched her demonstration ary to November of 2019, a year-on- different ways, such Drinks Business, an online maga- “I think as the knowledge of this educate the public about its com- intently, were foreigners. year increase of 19.9 percent. Baijiu as in cocktails, zine about the alcohol industry, great spirit increases among for- plexity and beauty. Among them was Alexa Camus, accounted for 66.7 percent of the infusions and Moutai has been promoting its eigners, so does its popularity,” says Last, but not least, there is also a whose family business represents overall alcoholic-beverage sales in brand in countries like Germany, Logan Brouse, the founder of need to focus on exporting not just famous Chinese baijiu brand Mout- the nation. foods, as this will South Africa and other nations Logan’s Punch bar in Shanghai, the spirit itself, but China’s drinking ai in foreign markets. Having lived National baijiu enterprises above help to broaden the involved with the Belt and Road another venue that celebrated culture. in Shanghai since 2001, the French- designated scale produced over 5 since the launch of the initiative. World Baijiu Day. “In foreign countries, the focus is woman says she loves the complexi- million kiloliters from January to audience and allow The company, one of China’s most “Just like tequila, many have had more on bar culture and the individ- ty involved in baijiu production. August, an increase of 1.27 percent people to discover prolific baijiu producers, also bad experiences with baijiu. I ual,” says Cai. “Making baijiu is an art. Com- year-on-year, according to the “expects to increase its overseas believe this is because they have “In China, what matters more is pared to many other types of spirits, National Bureau of Statistics. its diversity.” sales to take up to 10 percent of its never had much of the good stuff. getting together. In other words, for- baijiu is more complex in terms of However, even though China’s Jim Boyce, Canadian total sales by 2020”, the article Baijiu, when drank with friends, is eigners get together to drink. Chi- production, which is more labor-in- baijiu production accounts for alcohol expert states. an amazing and delicious experi- nese drink because we get together.” tensive. The spirit also has an incredi- nearly 40 percent of global liquor AFP also previously reported that ence and most foreigners are begin- ble variation in flavor profiles,” she production, its international market Moutai earned 2.89 billion yuan ning to see that now as well,” he says. Contact the writer at says. share is less than 8 percent. from overseas sales in 2018, up 27 Cai Xuefei, an analyst in the baijiu [email protected] Plant-based meats’ popularity takes root in China By XING YI in Shanghai meatballs with pumpkin filling and matsutake mushroom — that [email protected] and pancakes with “meat” top- feature the artificial meat. pings — for the launch of Omni- More restaurants in Shanghai The plant-based meat trend has Foods’ products in City Super, a have been offering vegan or vegetar- been gaining momentum in China, high-end supermarket in Shang- ian dishes with plant-based meat in as evidenced by the increasing num- hai. recent years, says Eve Samyuktha, ber of options available in the mar- “I learned about plant-based meat founder of Plant-Based Consulting. ket. in the news three years ago, but this Since 2016, Samyuktha’s organi- The artificial meat is made from is the first time I’m cooking it,” Gu zation has been helping restaurants extracted proteins from different says. “It doesn’t have the strong design vegan dishes and promote plants, such as beans and legumes, smell of a normal bean product, so I public awareness by conducting and has been associated with found it easy to use as a substitute community and public outreach healthy eating and sustainability as for meat. There is no need to add programs such as a vegan challenge these products require fewer special condiments.” and holding plant-based meat festi- resources to produce compared to Jiang Yijing, a consumer who vals. raising livestock. sampled Gu’s dishes, says: “I have “We aim to reduce 30 percent of About 160 supermarkets around dined at vegetarian restaurants but animal-product consumption per China started selling microwavable this is the first time I’m tasting Dishes made from plant-based meat are available in some Chinese restaurant in around 100 restau- meals featuring plant-based meats plant-based meat. It’s quite new to markets. The artificial meat is promoted as it’s good for health and rants in Shanghai by 2020,” she says.