Challenging times for bamboo liqueur
Print Edition
A manufacturer of Chinese liqueurs, Chen Chao wanders through the bamboo-covered mountains of southwestern China’s Sichuan province to his “cellar,” where he will check on this year’s prize blend.
In the absence of an oak barrel, the 30-year-old uses live bamboo trunks to age his spirit, a method reputed to confer a unique aroma and even medicinal benefits.
The cereal liqueur is introduced into bamboo trunks “via high-pressure injection techniques,” he said.
Young bamboos are preferred, he said, because they “heal” within days, allowing the spirit to mature before the trunk is finally cut in early April, in time for the annual Qingming, or tomb-sweeping, festival when many Chinese honor their ancestors.
During the aging process, “the liqueur mingles with the flavone (the liquid released by the trunk) and the sap of bamboo,” Chen said, referring to two ingredients renowned for their “detoxifying” effect and contribution towards healthy lungs, according to traditional Chinese medicine.
This method also reduces the alcohol content of the beverage, since the bamboo absorbs it.
“Our production is fairly limited, roughly 50,000 to 60,000 bottles per year, each containing between 500 and 550 milliliters,” Chen said, with a total annual output of at least 25,000 liters.
But he now hopes to increase that amount by using a “less invasive” and more efficient injection technique, in a bid to fend off competition.
“Previously, few people knew about bamboo alcohol, because the production was kept confidential. This is changing,” he said.
Chen learnt the traditional technique in the eastern province of Fujian — where it originated.
He then launched his own brewing business in 2015 in Sichuan, in the heart of the famous Shunan Bamboo Sea, a vast forest known for the production of Wuliangye, a white spirit made with sorghum, sticky rice, maize, and wheat.
But his business has suffered since China launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2012. The anti-graft drive has included a ban on giving extravagant gifts like expensive wines and spirits to public officials. During the last Dragon Boat Festival in 2016, his sales collapsed by two thirds compared with 2015.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
