News

dbHK to host Baijiu masterclass and dinner

22 September 2015 By Lauren Eads

the drinks business Hong Kong, in partnership with Googut Wine & Spirits, will host a masterclass and dinner focusing on Chinese Baijiu in November, the first event in its Premium Spirits Series.

Baijiu (白酒) is a generic term, literally translated into “white or white-coloured spirit or liquor”, and in China includes the world-famous Maotai or Moutai (茅台), Wuliangye (五粮液), Dongjiu (董酒), and many others. A number of these spirits have been classified as China’s Greatest Baijiu, during organised national tastings between 1952 and 1989. These include Maotai, Wuliangye, Dongjiu, Xifengjiu (西风酒), Gujinggongjiu (古井贡酒) and 12 others.

Established in 2007, Beijing-headquartered Googut Wine & Spirits has been recognised as an industry expert on mature Chinese spirits, operating a fine wine and spirit auction house and merchant business. As with wine, Baijiu also enjoys exponential price appreciations with age, with mature Chinese Baijiu known for its intense, distinct aromas.

Googut has collaborated with 600-year-old distillery Shui Jing Fang (水井坊) to produce, mature and bottle a range of spirits, based on ancient fermentation and distillation techniques, using yeast cultures originating from centuries-old “fermentation pits”, dating back to Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, uncovered at the premises of Shui Jing Fang. These spirits are released at ‘cask-strength’ of 68% and bottled in handcrafted porcelain styled from the ancient periods.

The Masterclass will be conducted by Mr Ian Wo, Director for HK and Macau of Googut Wine & Spirits, and will focus on the history and background of the most popular types of Chinese baijiu, their production methods, fragrance profiles of different baijiu types and how to select the best glassware to appreciate them.

Guests will taste four different types of Chinese baijiu and three aged Maotai (Moutai), from a recent release to more than 20 years old. The masterclass will be conducted in English, supplemented with terms in Chinese. A gourmet dinner will follow, starting with a popular aperitif based on baijiu. During dinner, we will introduce to you the spirits from the Googut-Shui Jing Fang joint collaboration and discuss the concept of food pairing with baijiu. Finally, we will blind taste a mystery baijiu of an unspecified age, with the guest able to identify the correct type of spirit and age winning a bottle of baijiu from Googut.

Come join us and learn about baijiu and mature Chinese spirits on 24 November. Places are limited – please hurry to secure your tickets!

Details are as follows