Author Archives: Derek

I had a qu today

I had a qu today I had a qu today. After almost two years of getting rebuffed at every distillery I ever visited, a guy finally says to me, “Hey, you want to go see where we make the qu?” … Continue reading

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Baijiu basics: sauce aroma

They call it sauce-aroma, jiangxiang 酱香, as in soy sauce-aroma. The dreaded saucy sauce is a leveler of foreign palates. I’ve made no secret on this blog that sauce-aroma is my least favorite baijiu category, and recent taste tests conducted … Continue reading

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Plastic? Oh no! Banned.

This week is Tangjiuhui (Sweets and Alcoholic Commodities Fair), the biggest annual event for the Chinese alcohol industry. It’s where the Who’s Who rub elbows with the Who the Hell? and cause general mayhem around Chengdu. It’s only day two, … Continue reading

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Talking baijiu in Shanghai

UPDATE: Friday’s “Unsavory Elements” event has sold out, but tickets are still available for Thursday evening’s talk and tasting. After two successful, albeit rowdy, talks in Chengdu this past weekend, I’ll be heading back to Shanghai. I return to my … Continue reading

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Talking baijiu in Chengdu

Major news, Chengdu people. My adopted home and baijiu muse will be the site of my first public talk on Chinese alcohol and drinking culture as part of the Bookworm Lit Fest. An (optional) tasting of some of my favorite … Continue reading

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