Tag Archives: Jiannanchun

Cocktail: Ming the Merciless

This is a recipe I have been meaning to share for a while, and the Chinese New Year seems a good a reason as any to share it. I first had this tasty cocktail down at the Root Squared Bar in … Continue reading

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Q&A: Sipping baijiu?

Our first reader question comes from Andrew in Shanghai, who asks: “Is there a baijiu that lends itself to keeping like a single malt—having a dram once in while and not finishing the bottle in one sitting? I was thinking … Continue reading

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The final countdown

All good things must come to an end. For my sake it’s fortunate that this rule also extends to prolonged grain-alcohol stunt drinking. On May 15, 2012 – a date which will live in relative obscurity – I finished the … Continue reading

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Liquid swords

Ah, Chengdu in the springtime. The bugs, the humidity, that burnt-tire smelling je ne sais quoi outside my window. I’d been away a while and to celebrate my return, I wanted some quality local spirits. Jiannanchun 剑南春 (South of Sword … Continue reading

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The birth of baijiu, part II: What’s in a name?

This is the second in a three-part series exploring the question “When did the Chinese start drinking baijiu?” In the first installment we established that the earliest period in which the Chinese had the technology required to distill alcohol was during … Continue reading

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