Features
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 12:04
Written by Urbanatomy

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that's Baijiu Bartender Challenge!

We’ve all tried baijiu at least once, usually under duress. It’s hot and harsh. When a bottle is snapped open you can smell it immediately from across the room. When you drink it, you can taste the effects in the pit of your stomach for the next three days. Laowai often liken it to gasoline. In a sense, they aren’t far off the mark: baijiu has been fueling the engines of guanxi, and hence the economy, in China for eons.

But that’s not enough for us. There’s got to be more to this drink than greasing wheels and sealing deals. So, on April 14, we confronted seven of Shanghai’s finest bartenders with an intriguing challenge: create a great-tasting cocktail… with baijiu.

Mesa & Manifesto provided the venue, Shui Jing Fang the hooch. And to keep things official, we enlisted three local experts to sit on our panel of judges: food writer Christopher St. Cavish, Drink magazine editor Dan Bignold and Dean Callan, brand ambassador for Bacardi.

The contenders arrived with their eyes on the prize. And no, we’re not talking about the plaque they would get to hang on their wall. This was a battle for street cred. Baijiu doesn’t play well with other mixers. It doesn’t merely dissolve into cranberry juice like vodka and it doesn’t accentuate tonic like gin. So being able to find a mix that highlights its strengths (and disguises its weaknesses) is the mark of a truly talented mixologist. Our seven contestants did not disappoint.

CJ Wang of the soon-to-open Chinatown kicked off the contest with a crafty reinvention of the classic Silver Fizz, a frothy concoction made with eggwhites, soda, sugar and lemon juice.

Amanda Zhang of the newly-opened Fat Olive treated us to Union, brightening her mix with muddled cucumber, pineapple juice and cherry brandy. So hell-bent on victory was Amanda that while cutting cucumbers she drew blood. That’s what we call dedication.

Kay Huang, bartender (and breakdancer) from Glamour Bar, explored the sweeter side of the spirit with his China 1, a surprisingly graceful mix with Frangelico and Tia Maria. 

John Chen of Mesa & Manifesto made an epic cocktail called Everlasting Myth – muddled mint and fruit with a judicious splash of Sprite for texture.  

Every single one of these experts did a fantastic job. Of course, there can only one winner. Nevertheless, we’d like to give recognition to the top three:

2ND RUNNER UP
YELLOW MOUNTAIN
SIMON TANG, Zapata’s
If you only go to Zapata’s for their free ladies-night margaritas, you’re going for the wrong reason. There is talent behind that bar. Simon expressed his patriotic spirit by mixing, well, two national spirits, baijiu and huangjiu, with mango syrup. Creative, clever and extremely drinkable.

1ST RUNNER UP
FLAMING CHINA
CROSS YU, M1NT Club
Cross gets a gold star for show. His drink was a pyrotechnic spectacle. In a martini glass  he ignited baijiu and stoked the flames with cinnamon. As it landed, it crackled, sparked, caramelized and ultimately infused in the drink. Then he topped it  off with lemon syrup,  champagne, Grand Marnier, pink grapefruit juice and a twist of orange. The end result: a sultry, sexy, spicy concoction.

THE WINNER
FASHION CHINA
TREE MAO,The Vault at Laris
Denizens of The Vault’s famed Thursday Martini Nights already know Tree’s mixological talents first-hand, but this drink raises the bar. Tree found apt foils to the pungent aromas of baijiu in heady and fragrant elements like apple juice, ginger syrup, kaffir limes, basil, and lemongrass. The presentation was spot on too – a slice of dried apple with a sprig of mint. For its complexity, creativity, originality and sheer drinkability, Tree’s creation clinched it!

You can find out exactly what was in their recipes right here, so you can have a go at home!

The Baijiu was kindly provided by Shui Jing Fang.

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