Baijiu in Cocktails: Three Easy Recipes to Start

Baijiu's aromatic power, which can surprise when you sip it neat, becomes a strength in cocktails: a small amount gives a drink a character no other spirit can. Bartenders around the world have embraced it, and some producers now make baijiu specifically for mixing. Here is how to start at home.

Which baijiu for which drink?

• **Light aroma** (清香): clean and floral, the easiest to mix. Use it like a gin or a blanco tequila.
• **Strong aroma** (浓香): fruity, with notes of pineapple. Great in sours and tropical drinks.
• **Sauce aroma** (酱香): savoury and deep. Use a few drops or a small amount, like a smoky mezcal or a peated whisky, in stirred drinks.

1. Baijiu Highball

In a tall glass full of ice, pour 30 ml of light aroma baijiu and top with 120 ml of chilled soda water. Add a twist of lemon peel. Fresh, simple and the best introduction.

2. Silk Road Negroni

Stir 25 ml of strong aroma baijiu, 25 ml of Italian bitter aperitif and 25 ml of red vermouth with ice, then strain into a glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with orange peel. The tropical notes of the baijiu meet the bitterness of the aperitif: East and West in one glass.

3. Baijiu Sour

Shake 40 ml of light aroma baijiu, 20 ml of fresh lemon juice and 15 ml of sugar syrup hard with ice, then strain into a chilled glass. Add an egg white before shaking if you like a silky foam.

4. Baijiu Tonic

In a large glass with ice, pour 30 ml of light aroma baijiu and top with 120 ml of tonic water. Add a slice of cucumber or a few slices of pear. A gentle way to discover the floral side of baijiu.

5. Split-base classics

The easiest trick bartenders use: take a classic cocktail and replace a small part of the main spirit with baijiu. Try a Margarita with 40 ml tequila and 10 ml light aroma baijiu, or an Old Fashioned with a few drops of sauce aroma on top of your usual whisky. You keep the drink you know, with a new aroma.

Tips

• Start with less baijiu than you would use of gin or vodka, and taste as you go. Its aroma is intense.
• Citrus, soda, tonic, bitter aperitifs and fruit like pear, lychee and pineapple work best.
• Keep your bottle at room temperature, but use plenty of ice in the glass.
• For more recipes, explore our Mix it section.

In one sentence

Light aroma for fresh drinks, strong aroma for fruity ones, sauce aroma by the drop, and always less than you think.

Please drink responsibly.