unidentified chinese liqueur

[lunarul]

Hi,

I have a received a Chinese liqueur as a gift and I would like to identify it so I can learn more about it (particularly it's possible uses in cocktails).

Can someone please help with a translation of the label and possibly more information?

Thanks

This is an image of the label:

[cdn_in_bj]

This is what's known as baijiu or "white wine" (bad translation - this stuff has got nothing to do with grapes). It is not suitable for cocktails (none that I know of anyways) - you are supposed to drink it straight. Your particular baijiu is made by the Wuliangye company, which is very famous for baijiu, however the best ones are called "Wuliangye" which yours isn't. That said, you should give it a try, but not too much at first - I bet you haven't experienced anything like it.

http://www.wuliangye.com.cn/en/pages/index.xml

Let us know what you think.

[gougou]

It is not suitable for cocktails

I think it is not suitable for any form of human consumption.

[Bureaucratist]

As the 38% you'll see, it's ethanol rate is 38 percent, it's relative low in Chinese white alcohol.

As you know Chinese alcohol are very hot, with high rate of ethanol. I don't drink, so once I drank a little low ethanol alcohol with a friend, he laughed at me. To drink an amount of high ethanol is considered manful capacity.

It's name is Jin(Golden) Liu (Six) Fu(fortune).

Produced in Yibin City, Sichuan Province.

[roddy]

It's usually taken straight - have a try, see what you think. Not many people seem to drink it for recreation though. On the basis that they are both clear spirits, you could perhaps try using it as a substitute for vodka in cocktails. I don't think there are any popular baijiu based cocktails bar a few 'baijiu and green tea' efforts.

[johnd]

It's not a cocktail as such, but how about "shen shui zha dan" (I think that's right?) - it means deep-water bomb. You need a (very) small shooter glass full of Baijiu, and a larger tumbler of full of beer. Drop the Baijiu, glass included, into the beer and down it all in one. It's the easy way to drink Baijiu, but make sure you have a responsible friend available to take care of you afterwards, preferably someone with medical training.

Oh, and you can set the Baijiu shooter on fire first for more pyro fun.

[LaoZhang]

Baijiu on the rocks isn't bad. Adds a bit of sweetness and takes off some of the bite.

[lunarul]

Thank you all for the quick replies. I did suspect it was baijiu (a quick search for "chinese sweet liquor" turned up Baijiu as first result), but I had to be sure. I don't understand the wine translation either, since it is a distilled drink, not a fermented one (this would be the difference, not the grapes).

cdn_in_bj, thank you for identifying the company (and for the link), but can you explain what is the difference between my bottle and a "Wuliangye"?

As the 38% you'll see' date=' it's ethanol rate is 38 percent, it's relative low in Chinese white alcohol.

As you know Chinese alcohol are very hot, with high rate of ethanol. I don't drink, so once I drank a little low ethanol alcohol with a friend, he laughed at me. To drink an amount of high ethanol is considered manful capacity.[/quote']

I don't find 38% to be a very high ABV (especially since according to wikipedia, baijiu should be 40-60%)... A standard whiskey is 40% and my favourite rum (Stroh) is 60% (comes in 40% and 80% variants, too). Our traditional drinks in Romania, are all at least as strong: ţuică is around 40%, palincă and rachiu are over 50%.

I would expect baijiu to taste something between absinthe and triple sec. I will let you know what I think after I try it.

[adrianlondon]

Drop the Baijiu, glass included, into the beer and down it all in one

Try not to choke on the glass ;)

[roddy]

I will let you know what I think after I try it.

Assuming you are still able to type. Nice to have met you.

[lunarul]

OK... just tried it and it's a mild version of vodka. Maybe I'm not one for fine subtleties of the taste, but I can't find any difference in taste from plain old vodka (not the cheap kind with bad taste and awful burn). It's true that I haven't touched vodka for 8 years now (after having way too much one day), so I might be wrong. It's also very similar to ţuică (smells like it, too), which is distilled from plums.

Further research (with the help of Bureaucratist's translation of the name) I found the product page: http://www.jinliufu.net/ but of course I don't understand anything from it.

I would still like a complete and exact translation of everything on the label.

[roddy]

Label:

Left side is pretty straightforward, net contents, alcohol content.

Center is the brand name, Jinliufu, or Golden Six Happy if you prefer,

Then 福星高照, to be born under a lucky star, which refers to this product range. Can only see one star on your label, assume you have the one-star version (runs up to five).

Below that you have the company name and address.

Vertical text on the right is 浓香型白酒, 'strongly fragrant baijiu'.

[lunarul]

Thanks for the quick translation.

I still don't understand that Golden Six Happy/Fortune name... shouldn't there be a translation that makes sense?

[lunarul]

Just prepared a Mimi and Me, using Jinliufu instead of vodka... The strong aroma of the baijiu overpowered the amaretto, so if using it instead of vodka, the cocktails need to be changed a little to compensate this.

[imron]

I still don't understand that Golden Six Happy/Fortune name... shouldn't there be a translation that makes sense?

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