(Press Release)
Global Ganbei: Tenth World Baijiu Day Set for August 9
Dozens of Cities to Feature Baijiu Cocktails, Ice Creams, Food Pairings and More
Beijing, August 2, 2024—World Baijiu Day will celebrate its tenth anniversary next Friday, August 9, with dozens of cities getting into the spirit.
Founded in 2015 by Jim Boyce, the event shines a spotlight on baijiu, a clear white spirit with more production than whisky, rum, vodka or gin but little-known beyond its home base of China. An estimated 10 billion liters of baijiu is made each year, enough to fill 4,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
World Baijiu Day has been celebrated in more than 60 cities, from Lima, Los Angeles and London to Stockholm, Singapore and Sydney to Boston, Buenos Aires and Beijing.
While baijiu is typically consumed as lukewarm shots to the toast of ‘’ganbei” (“bottoms up”), this annual event sees venues get creative with baijiu-inspired cocktails, infusions, coffees, ice creams, chocolates and more.
August 9 is the official day as the Chinese words for the date 8/9 are ‘ba’/’jiu’ and sound close to ‘baijiu’.
Many annual days celebrating wines and spirits were created by major producers, trade associations or PR firms, but World Baijiu Day (WBD) is consumer-driven, has no central funding and sees venues organize and pay for their events. A few highlights:
Stockholm, Sweden. Ludvig Saaf of alcohol importer Lu Spirits has worked with more than a dozen bars to create baijiu cocktails. Saaf has also partnered with gelato chain Stikki Nikki to create cold boozy treats he calls “baijiulato.”
Los Angeles, United States. Peking Tavern, among the first to join WBD in 2015, has done everything from baijiu and food pairing to a baijiu cocktail contest with consumers as bartenders to hosting WBD outside during the pandemic.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bartender Nicolas Constantin has organized baijiu tastings and cocktail sessions at more than a half-dozen bars in the Argentine capital. Prior to that, he organized several WBD events in southern Spain.
Christchurch, New Zealand: Glenn Schuitman hosted the first World Baijiu Day party in Beijing in 2015 and continues to get into the spirit since moving to Christchurch. He will team up with local baijiu producer Taizi next week for a five-course dinner—complete with baijiu rhubarb jelly—at Victoria Free House.
World Baijiu Day has also been active in more than a dozen cities in China since 2015, whether it is beer and baijiu pairing at WE Brewery in Tianjin, baijiu-inspired dishes at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Guangzhou or sophisticated cocktails at baijiu bar Sanyou in Shenzhen.
For the current list of venues at which to enjoy baijiu this August 9, see:
For queries about World Baijiu Day, please contact Jim Boyce:
spirit (at) worldbaijiuday.com
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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