“Baijiu must change, transform and explore,” said Song Shuyu, director of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, a government oversight and promotion body.
Baijiu traditionally is imbibed in extra-small shot glasses during big, celebratory meals.
At least in China.
At nightspots abroad, Diageo advises bartenders to mix Shuijingfang, the brand it bought in 2011, with 7-Up to make it more palatable to non-Chinese. The world’s largest distiller, based in London, also created a recipe—similar to an Old Fashioned—it will promote in 50 Hong Kong bars by year’s end.
“We want to introduce our baijiu to Western drinkers slowly,” Tian said. “We want people to first try it in the context of a cocktail. They may be intrigued by it and then slowly move up to the real version.”
Shuijingfang has produced baijiu in Chengdu, southwest China, for 600 years. The distillery smells like strong blue cheese as grains ferment in rectangular pits. Workers follow enduring instructions dictating the direction in which grains are spread and the tempo with which the water is stirred.
After fermentation, baijiu is poured into urns that can sit for 35 years. A master blender mixes liquid from several urns before it’s poured into an iconic Shuijingfang bottle—a bottom-heavy, intricately etched glass meant to be the centerpiece of a banquet table.
Other old-school distillers like Beijing Red Star, which traces its lineage to 1680, are trying to keep pace with new varieties. It’s introducing Nuwa, which has 42 percent alcohol and comes in a grooved bottle for easy handling by harried bartenders.
And just like other industries, an adherence to tradition can create gaps where innovation germinates. Startups are developing cheaper, less-potent products with names like HKB and Byejoe, and using slick advertisements targeting 20-somethings.
The newcomers, founded by Westerners who lived in China or have Chinese heritage, are found in trendy nightspots in New York and London, and in mainstream vacation spots like Disney World.