My post yesterday mentioning Wuliangye made me nostaligic for the fiery alcohol and the memories that went with my first taste of the stuff. My wife is from China so after we were married in the U.S. we boarded a plane with ten of my friends for a second wedding celebration in China. After touring the country (Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai) we ended up in my wife's home town of Wenzhou. Not quite the tourist Mecca of the other destinations, we got our first taste of the real China.
The wedding celebrations in the U.S. and China could not have been more different. We had the Chinese lion dancers and the firecrackers. We also went through rituals of serving all the guests.
The wedding celebrations in the U.S. and China could not have been more different. We had the Chinese lion dancers and the firecrackers. We also went through rituals of serving all the guests.
The main attraction was not a ceremony though (there wasn't one), it was the dinner. With ten tables of ten guests each, my wife and circled the room doing shots or sipping Wuliangye with her friends and relatives. The status of the guest determined the extent of the drinking.
Bottles of Wuliangye covered the tables along with box after box of Marlboro cirgarettes (it's hard to understand all the traditions). By the end of the evening at least one of my friends, who shall remain nameless, was hurling in his hotel room having hit the alcohol and the disco floor way too hard.
Wuliangye has a distinctive odor, more like white lightning than vodka or other clear, white spirits. The taste burns in the throat which is why most people, including the Chinese, sip it. Only occasionally do you hear shouts of gambei (bottoms up)!
Baijiu, literally white alcohol, is the most popular drink in China and Wuliangye is king. With 45 percent of the market share it dwarfs the competition (Moutai with 30 percent market share), though I may do a taste comparison some day for fun.
The name Wuliangye means five grains (rice, glutinous rice, broomcorn, wheat and corn), which is what goes into making the spirit. The price is not cheap at over 500 RMB, or around $75, a bottle. However, if you only buy one baijiu in China, there really isn't much choice. Wuliangye is the spirit of China.
Bottles of Wuliangye covered the tables along with box after box of Marlboro cirgarettes (it's hard to understand all the traditions). By the end of the evening at least one of my friends, who shall remain nameless, was hurling in his hotel room having hit the alcohol and the disco floor way too hard.
Wuliangye has a distinctive odor, more like white lightning than vodka or other clear, white spirits. The taste burns in the throat which is why most people, including the Chinese, sip it. Only occasionally do you hear shouts of gambei (bottoms up)!
Baijiu, literally white alcohol, is the most popular drink in China and Wuliangye is king. With 45 percent of the market share it dwarfs the competition (Moutai with 30 percent market share), though I may do a taste comparison some day for fun.
The name Wuliangye means five grains (rice, glutinous rice, broomcorn, wheat and corn), which is what goes into making the spirit. The price is not cheap at over 500 RMB, or around $75, a bottle. However, if you only buy one baijiu in China, there really isn't much choice. Wuliangye is the spirit of China.
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