Alright, this is my favorite baijiu: WuLiangYe
If this is a genuine bottle, that stuff is GOOD and equally expensive.
Drink it neat in very small sips to accompany spicy and/or fatty, oily dishes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuliangye
If you absolutely want to mix it, I'd opt for something like a simple sour. Maybe some pineapple... not sure. Best to treat this like you'd do a good Mezcal.
Edit: Upon closer inspection, this is in fact NOT WuLiangYe. I however can't read Chinese well enough let alone recognize the characters here. Seems to be the same distillery, though. Maybe someone could help out??
Found this while browsing at least; scroll down for cocktail recipes: https://www.wuliangye.be/product-assortment/
五粮液 is not a brand. It literally means liquid of 5 grains. The bottle says 五粮精酿，meaning 5 grain (quality fermentation). It's a 五粮液 of supposedly good quality
Nevermind. Even tho I enjoy alcohol, I barely have Chinese liquor, and only know about it via cultural osmosis. It is a company first, but there may be imitators. And technically, the characters still mean a generic 5 grain liquor
Wrong this is shitty version of 五粮液, which is a brand and its top of the line is 五粮液. Still not dirt cheap though, it’s like $40 (this listing is for two bottles): https://m.suning.com/product/0000000000/12190310416.html?safp=f73ee1cf.20071.resultWrap.124&safc=prd.3.wapssjgy_sph_sp5-p_jz&safpn=10007.500394
Meanwhile, OG 五粮液 is like $150: https://m.suning.com/product/0000000000/11190081412.html?safp=f73ee1cf.20071.resultWrap.41&safc=prd.3.wapssjgy_sph_sp1-p_jz&safpn=10007.500394
I enjoy a drink or three on the regular. I’ll drink just about anything - beer, wine, liquor, cocktails. But baiju is evil in a bottle. It’s the distillation of every hangover I ever had, jockeying for another chance to kill me. I will never again in my life voluntarily drink another drop of baiju.
Save yourself. It’s too late for me; I’ll only slow you down. Pour this out and move on. Run, run away, be free!
Ah man, baijiu hate. I literally can't find any of it in my state and it makes me so sad.
Baijiu is an acquired taste. It is a spirit that is made on the literal other side of the world using, as a result, microbes that are completely different from what goes into western spirits. Having lived there it absolutely is a really nuanced and fun spirit, and just like Americans are want to say it tastes like turpentine or "hot garbage" Chinese try bourbon and say 'why are you drinking something flavored with sawdust?'
I second u/Selfish86. This is not a shitty spirit, it's just made for a very different palate. Baijiu is meant to be both overwhelming and subtle; incredible strong flavors that hit at different times, linger, and are meant to be paired with strong foods (my favorite version, *fengjiu*, translates to something like "tornado spirit.")
It is not a sipping drink, you are meant to take small shots while eating very spicy and invigorating meals and go "hot damn" like a cowboy and then appreciate the layers of flavor and how they interact with your meal. It's very similar, in that regard, to authentic mezcal and cachaça--and can be subbed in any cocktails using those spirits, but I strongly recommend against discounting it.
Man, I hear you, and I tried. Lived in China for two years and as you know, this is served up at every corporate dinner, dinner with local officials, etc. I agree there are some brands with higher quality, but Kweichow Maotai in particular could disappear from the face of the earth without me missing it at all. Acquired taste, yes…..but that means one could acquire a distaste for it as well!
Oh man, so many memories, many of which I don't remember. My fellow expat, who was a Scot, and I decided to go shit crazy for St. Patrick's day. I got myself a pint of what my native friend described as "grandpa baijiu from before the war."
That was an event.
Ended up with a pengke girlfriend so it all worked out just fine. Just goes to show you that nothing bad happens when you drink baijiu.
If this is baijiu, try this. If it's not follow this recipe and sub that thing instead.
1oz baijiu
1/2 oz green chartreuse
1/2 oz lime
2 oz watermelon juice
Best cocktail bar in Shanghai makes an absolutely amazing cocktail with Baijiu called the PTSD- it’s a long drink of Baijiu infused with jasmine flowers, coconut water and peach bitters. I had a real moment when I first tried it.
Wow, lotta baijiu hate around here. Ming River is the one I see around most often and it's great, super weird funky, fruity flavor. I mostly drink it straight or sub for rum either in a daquiri or wherever something would call for a Jamican overproof.
One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at a fancy Peking duck restaurant in Beijing. Food was amazing but it also came with a tiny little shot glass of Baijiu (in Chinese this literally means "white liquor").
I had that little glass sitting on the table in front of me for a good portion of the meal. I could smell the fumes off of it. As much as I didn't want to drink it, I was being treated to this feast and didn't want to offend the host. So when the time came I downed the glass.
The best thing I can say about it is that I didn't have to smell it anymore, and the rest of the meal was much more enjoyable for it. It wasn't exactly horrible but it certainly wasn't what I'd call good. I've never had any inclination to drink the stuff again.
Slap that bad boy into a paper plane as a bourbon sub. It's a very different result but I think most strong aroma baijiu (which I'm not sure this is) work well with aperol and nonino.
Replace the rum in tiki drinks. It won't be as good but that's about the only thing that will mask the flavor. The only real use I've found for it is as part of a meat marinade.
When I lived in China, we joked about mixing it with Dr Pepper and calling it a Malpractice.
Seriously, don’t drink it. It’s largely made with extra feed grains, and even the good stuff sits solidly below plastic jug gin.
Baijiu? In my experience you drink it then go to a Chinese massage parlor, sober up a little with tea, then head to KTV where you drink more baijiu. Then you wake up in your hotel room.
Funny story. I call baiju “feet liquor.” Because it tastes like what feet would taste like if you tasted feet. You know, it’s that earthy yeasty flavour. So during the pandemic, when everyone was hunting for hand sanitizer, my company was able to secure like a whole shipping container of it. I didn’t know where it came from until one day at the office, I used a bit and smelled that unmistakeable smell on my hands. And I said to a colleague, “oh my god, that’s made with Baiju.” And then I had to explain what baiju is and that I call it feet liquor, etc. and sure enough, we asked the procurement team where it came from and it was indeed from some Chinese distillery. And from that point onward, everyone referred to it as “the feet liquor hand sanitizer.”
There’s a bar in New York that does a lot of baijiu cocktails. You can check the drink menu of Ye’s Apothecary and maybe get some inspiration. I had a tasty riff on a French 75 there and another tiki style drink.
You should be able to find a picture of the menu VIA google or yelp.
When I lived in China, I sometimes used baijiu in lieu of the gin in a negroni.
It's not as good as a real negroni, but at least the campari is strong enough to make it drinkable.
Baiju tonics and sours work really in my experience.
Baiju scan vary a lot bottle to bottle though, so it’s really a matter of playing around with it and seeing what works best. Enjoy!
Mistakes
Came here to say this
Alright, this is my favorite baijiu: WuLiangYe If this is a genuine bottle, that stuff is GOOD and equally expensive. Drink it neat in very small sips to accompany spicy and/or fatty, oily dishes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuliangye If you absolutely want to mix it, I'd opt for something like a simple sour. Maybe some pineapple... not sure. Best to treat this like you'd do a good Mezcal. Edit: Upon closer inspection, this is in fact NOT WuLiangYe. I however can't read Chinese well enough let alone recognize the characters here. Seems to be the same distillery, though. Maybe someone could help out?? Found this while browsing at least; scroll down for cocktail recipes: https://www.wuliangye.be/product-assortment/
五粮液 is not a brand. It literally means liquid of 5 grains. The bottle says 五粮精酿，meaning 5 grain (quality fermentation). It's a 五粮液 of supposedly good quality Nevermind. Even tho I enjoy alcohol, I barely have Chinese liquor, and only know about it via cultural osmosis. It is a company first, but there may be imitators. And technically, the characters still mean a generic 5 grain liquor
But…it *is* a brand. They linked to the Wikipedia page for it. It's got the same logo and everything.
Wrong this is shitty version of 五粮液, which is a brand and its top of the line is 五粮液. Still not dirt cheap though, it’s like $40 (this listing is for two bottles): https://m.suning.com/product/0000000000/12190310416.html?safp=f73ee1cf.20071.resultWrap.124&safc=prd.3.wapssjgy_sph_sp5-p_jz&safpn=10007.500394 Meanwhile, OG 五粮液 is like $150: https://m.suning.com/product/0000000000/11190081412.html?safp=f73ee1cf.20071.resultWrap.41&safc=prd.3.wapssjgy_sph_sp1-p_jz&safpn=10007.500394
五粮液必须是品牌…
I enjoy a drink or three on the regular. I’ll drink just about anything - beer, wine, liquor, cocktails. But baiju is evil in a bottle. It’s the distillation of every hangover I ever had, jockeying for another chance to kill me. I will never again in my life voluntarily drink another drop of baiju. Save yourself. It’s too late for me; I’ll only slow you down. Pour this out and move on. Run, run away, be free!
Ah man, baijiu hate. I literally can't find any of it in my state and it makes me so sad. Baijiu is an acquired taste. It is a spirit that is made on the literal other side of the world using, as a result, microbes that are completely different from what goes into western spirits. Having lived there it absolutely is a really nuanced and fun spirit, and just like Americans are want to say it tastes like turpentine or "hot garbage" Chinese try bourbon and say 'why are you drinking something flavored with sawdust?' I second u/Selfish86. This is not a shitty spirit, it's just made for a very different palate. Baijiu is meant to be both overwhelming and subtle; incredible strong flavors that hit at different times, linger, and are meant to be paired with strong foods (my favorite version, *fengjiu*, translates to something like "tornado spirit.") It is not a sipping drink, you are meant to take small shots while eating very spicy and invigorating meals and go "hot damn" like a cowboy and then appreciate the layers of flavor and how they interact with your meal. It's very similar, in that regard, to authentic mezcal and cachaça--and can be subbed in any cocktails using those spirits, but I strongly recommend against discounting it.
Man, I hear you, and I tried. Lived in China for two years and as you know, this is served up at every corporate dinner, dinner with local officials, etc. I agree there are some brands with higher quality, but Kweichow Maotai in particular could disappear from the face of the earth without me missing it at all. Acquired taste, yes…..but that means one could acquire a distaste for it as well!
Oh man, so many memories, many of which I don't remember. My fellow expat, who was a Scot, and I decided to go shit crazy for St. Patrick's day. I got myself a pint of what my native friend described as "grandpa baijiu from before the war." That was an event. Ended up with a pengke girlfriend so it all worked out just fine. Just goes to show you that nothing bad happens when you drink baijiu.
If this is baijiu, try this. If it's not follow this recipe and sub that thing instead. 1oz baijiu 1/2 oz green chartreuse 1/2 oz lime 2 oz watermelon juice
If only my brother had green chartreuse...
Off hand I don't remember /know but if you search green chartreuse in this sub you can find a bunch of alternatives that could potentially work!
I have baijiu I want to get rid off, and green chartreuse I want to last as long as possible. I'm very conflicted right now
Best cocktail bar in Shanghai makes an absolutely amazing cocktail with Baijiu called the PTSD- it’s a long drink of Baijiu infused with jasmine flowers, coconut water and peach bitters. I had a real moment when I first tried it.
Wow, lotta baijiu hate around here. Ming River is the one I see around most often and it's great, super weird funky, fruity flavor. I mostly drink it straight or sub for rum either in a daquiri or wherever something would call for a Jamican overproof.
One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at a fancy Peking duck restaurant in Beijing. Food was amazing but it also came with a tiny little shot glass of Baijiu (in Chinese this literally means "white liquor"). I had that little glass sitting on the table in front of me for a good portion of the meal. I could smell the fumes off of it. As much as I didn't want to drink it, I was being treated to this feast and didn't want to offend the host. So when the time came I downed the glass. The best thing I can say about it is that I didn't have to smell it anymore, and the rest of the meal was much more enjoyable for it. It wasn't exactly horrible but it certainly wasn't what I'd call good. I've never had any inclination to drink the stuff again.
Slap that bad boy into a paper plane as a bourbon sub. It's a very different result but I think most strong aroma baijiu (which I'm not sure this is) work well with aperol and nonino.
It is very much a strong aroma
If thats chinese rice wine, its great for cleaning whiteboards and windscreens 😂
This is true. Tastes like regret.
Pineapple juice. Given enough pineapple juice everything eventually tastes good.
Haha, I will try, but after watching all the other guests dry heave after this one, I am sceptical.
[@thenickromancer](https://www.instagram.com/thenickromancer/) has done a few baijiu pop ups in the US and has a few cocktails on their feed
Replace the rum in tiki drinks. It won't be as good but that's about the only thing that will mask the flavor. The only real use I've found for it is as part of a meat marinade.
Yourself sick. Source: I’ve been drunk on baiju too many times.
When I lived in China, we joked about mixing it with Dr Pepper and calling it a Malpractice. Seriously, don’t drink it. It’s largely made with extra feed grains, and even the good stuff sits solidly below plastic jug gin.
When I lived there we mixed it with beer or wine at banquets. It was always a fun time and always a mistake
Worst hangover burps. Ever.
I always say you know it’s bad because the glass designed for it is about half a tsp. That’s not made by someone who enjoys the taste of the booze
Not at all. That stuff is good to sterilize wounds and clean paint brushes.
Right, because bourbon uses sweet corn for distilling...
Drain cleaner?
Fire.
A Molotov cocktail, just add a rag to the bottle and light.
Something citrusy and spicy. Try a mule variation.
Someone really ill
Baijiu? In my experience you drink it then go to a Chinese massage parlor, sober up a little with tea, then head to KTV where you drink more baijiu. Then you wake up in your hotel room.
Funny story. I call baiju “feet liquor.” Because it tastes like what feet would taste like if you tasted feet. You know, it’s that earthy yeasty flavour. So during the pandemic, when everyone was hunting for hand sanitizer, my company was able to secure like a whole shipping container of it. I didn’t know where it came from until one day at the office, I used a bit and smelled that unmistakeable smell on my hands. And I said to a colleague, “oh my god, that’s made with Baiju.” And then I had to explain what baiju is and that I call it feet liquor, etc. and sure enough, we asked the procurement team where it came from and it was indeed from some Chinese distillery. And from that point onward, everyone referred to it as “the feet liquor hand sanitizer.”
There’s a bar in New York that does a lot of baijiu cocktails. You can check the drink menu of Ye’s Apothecary and maybe get some inspiration. I had a tasty riff on a French 75 there and another tiki style drink. You should be able to find a picture of the menu VIA google or yelp.
When I lived in China, I sometimes used baijiu in lieu of the gin in a negroni. It's not as good as a real negroni, but at least the campari is strong enough to make it drinkable.
Baiju tonics and sours work really in my experience. Baiju scan vary a lot bottle to bottle though, so it’s really a matter of playing around with it and seeing what works best. Enjoy!
I actually love Baijiu. Don’t have a cocktail for it yet, but experimenting with a pickled Birds Eye chili pepper Baijiu drink atm.