Second World Baijiu Day announced

Six cities have already confirmed their participation in this year’s World Baijiu Day which aims to showcase the fiery white spirit outside of China.

Planning for the second annual World Baijiu Day is already underway, with venues in Australia, China, England, France and the United States joining in the fray with the main event officially happening on Monday, 8 August, but also including parties on 6 August and 7 August.

The goal is to raise the profile of baijiu, a pungent and powerful alcohol that ranks among the most consumed spirits in the world but is little-known outside of China.

“Baijiu represents about a third of global spirit sales but has a relatively low profile,” said Jim Boyce, the event’s founder and coordinator who also runs the popular Beijing-based wine blog, Grape Wall of China. “The goal is to give more people a chance to try it.”

World Baijiu Day will again go ‘beyond ganbei’, a reference to the typical practice of repeatedly draining shots of baijiu to the toast of “ganbei” (“dry glass”) – a practice that Boyce believes, “turns off many newcomers.”

Last year’s event saw venues create new cocktails and infusions and presenting tasting flights of baijiu styles and even using ‘qu’ – the fermentation agent for baijiu – to make craft beer. Numerous restaurants also used baijiu for making foods, including pizza, ice cream and gummy bears.

“Few people enjoy room-temperature shots of any spirit, whether it’s vodka or gin or baijiu, especially when alcohol levels reach nearly 60%” said Boyce. “We aim to make baijiu more accessible by using it for cocktails, infusions and foods.”

Baijiu has received increasing coverage during the past few years as more venues, particularly in the United States, become more experimental. Baijiu bars have opened in New York and Beijing, an English-language guide has been published, and the third annual Baijiu Cocktail Week was just held in London.

There are also several baijiu makers outside China, including Vinn in the United States and Taizi in New Zealand and the drinks business Hong Kong even hosted its first baijiu masterclasses which were held last year in Hong Kong and Macau.

In 2015, World Baijiu Day involved 30 venues in 20 cities. Confirmed participants for this year include Demon, Wise & Partners (London), Golden Monkey (Melbourne), Gung-Ho Pizza (Beijing), Moutai Showroom (Paris), Moutai Showroom (Sydney), Peking Tavern (Los Angeles), Pop-Up Beijing (Beijing), Shen (Shanghai) and Vinn Distillery (Portland).

For latest updates, visit the World Baijiu Day website.