Towards the end of the day I like to sit on the balcony outside the bedroom, watch the sun go down over the meadow, and have something to drink. This particular day, however, I went to get my beverage and found that the cupboard was virtually bare. I thought there was still an open bottle of wine, but I couldn’t find it (I later came across it in the far reaches of the refrigerator). Only one bottle remained. My friends had bought it for me during a trip. I think they knew as little about the contents as I did, but they liked the attractive red bottle.
After a little research I discovered that it’s Baijiu – apparently the world’s best selling booze. According to Modern Drunkard magazine (I’m not joking there really is such a thing – who would have thought): ‘Baijiu (pronounced bye-joe) is distilled mainly from sorghum, although most of China’s 14,000 distilleries have their own secret recipes that might involve ingredients like rice or wheat. It’s potent stuff—80 proof baijiu is the feeblest available. It has a pungent smell, and the taste is definitely an acquired one. Few Westerners have ever acquired it. A 19th-century French missionary to China said of baijiu, “One can hardly imagine what pleasure the Chinese find in imbibing these burning drinks.” Dan Rather, covering President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, described it as “liquid razor blades.” Least impressed of all was writer Tom Scocca, who in his book about the 2008 Beijing Olympics compared its flavor to “vomit after a vodka binge.”’
But beggars can’t be choosers so while I agree that it’s an acquired taste, it’s not all that bad. I didn’t initially like beer or very peaty single malt scotches so maybe I can get to like this too. In any case after a couple you don’t notice any more.
And it really is a nice bottle.
Taken with a Canon 450D and Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II.
