HKB Hong Kong Baijiu - Wine & Spirits Magazine

HKB Hong Kong Baijiu


The great spirit of China, baijiu has yet to make inroads into western culture, probably because even the greatest examples, like Moutai, exude flavors that are challenging—and, let’s face it, bizarre to most of us: rubber tire, perspiration, ripe compost. Rather than try to convert Westerners to the eccentric flavors of this distilled grain-based spirit, Frenchman Charles Lanthier engineered Hong-Kong Baijiu to play down the funk, allowing baijiu’s tropical and fl oral notes to take center stage. The cherry, pear, and papaya nose is almost sickly sweet, but it’s deftly balanced by the savory, peppery palate.

Spirits Type:

Baijiu

ABV:

43%

Importer:

CNS Imports, Pico Rivera, CA

Price:

$20

Jordan Mackay’s writing on wine, spirits and food has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Decanter, the Art of Eating and many other publications. While Secrets of the Sommeliers, the book he wrote with Rajat Parr, won a James Beard Award in 2011, it’s certain winemakers that he credits with some of his most important tasting lessons.


This story appears in the print issue of Winter 2015.
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