By Jim Boyce | From Beijing to Buenos Aires, London to Los Angeles and Milan to Melbourne, bars and restaurants in 20 cities are so far slated for the fourth annual World Baijiu Day. The event is held each August 9—the Chinese numbers for that date sound like “baijiu”—to promote the planet’s most popular spirit. An estimated 20 billion bottles are drained each year, but almost all of it is in China, thus leaving baijiu little-known elsewhere.
While baijiu is typically consumed as lukewarm shots to the toast of ‘ganbei” (bottoms up), World Baijiu Day follows an informal “beyond ganbei” theme. Partner venues have featured everything from baijiu-inspired cocktails, liqueurs and infusions to chocolate, pizza and beer. Look for some Year of the Dog-themed concoctions this year, too.
Along with veteran partners like Golden Monkey in Melbourne, Peking Tavern in Los Angeles, Demon, Wise & Partners in London and R&D in Taipei, there will be new participants this year in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and Minsk. Check out the current event list here!
Non-Chinese baijiu producers such as Taizi from Christchurch and Vinn from Portland, and U.S. brands that source baijiu from China, like Confucius Wisdom and byejoe, have also supported the event.
I’ll update again in a week’s time with more details on this year’s events.
World Baijiu Day is August 9. See the 2018 events list here. Sign up your event here. And follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I also run the China wine site Grape Wall and nightlife site Beijing Boyce.
Founded in 2015, World Baijiu Day is held each August 9, with events in over 60 cities so far. Follow WBD on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And get in touch via spirit (at) worldbaijiuday.com.
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