Celebrate World Baijiu Day on August 8, 2015

Readers would be forgiven for thinking "World Baijiu Day" is the first day of Spring Festival, or whatever day male relatives arrive from out of town. But mark your calendars: World Baijiu Day is now set for August 8, 2015. Here is the press release, hot off the email:

"Whisky has one. Vodka, too. And so do absinthe, gin and tequila. Now the world's most popular spirit is getting its very own day. World Baijiu Day, slated for August 8, aims to spread the word a spirit that is the planet's most popular but almost wholly produced and consumed in China.

"The event will come during a time of growing curiosity about baijiu among non-Chinese. Last fall, a group of expatriates in Beijing opened a baijiu bar called Capital Spirits and found instant success and the bar Lumos in New York will soon open with a similar focus. A recent Baijiu Cocktail Week in London over the Chinese New Year holidays involved nine bars. Add to this the publication of the first English-language baijiu guide by Derek Sandhaus last year, the increase in baijiu-based cocktails in the United States, and rising media coverage of this spirit, and it seems time to put in the spotlight for a day.

"The organizers will invite bars and restaurants from around the world to promote baijiu-based cocktails, 'flights' of different styles of this spirit, and more. Look for event postings, as well as cocktail recipes, at worldbaijiuday.com."

Plans are underway for a Baijiu Challenge in Beijing, organizers, who for the moment are swathed in a cloak of anonymity, tell the Beijinger. There is also a Facebook page and a Twitter account to follow.

Photo: Wikimedia