China's national drink goes West
A variety of baijiu cocktails are served at several places in New York, yet getting Westerners to drink the Chinese liquor can still be difficult
New York
SAM Anderson, the head bartender at Mission Chinese Food in New York, was sitting on a panel of mixologists last spring when the conversation turned to baijiu, the national drink of China.
By volume, baijiu, a clear liquor made primarily from sorghum and rice and aged in terra-cotta barrels, is the most widely consumed spirit in the world. But for many non-Chinese drinkers, it is also the most challenging, its aroma variously described as resembling stinky cheese, anise, pineapples, musk and gasoline.
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