In this blockbuster Baijiu pairing and Chinese food smorgasbord, some of the topics we discuss with Brett Steigerwaldt and Derek Sandhaus include:

• The base grains, production methods, and flavor profiles of seven - count em - SEVEN different baijiu categories, including: rice aroma, light aroma, laobaigan, phoenix aroma, strong aroma, sauce aroma, and extra strong aroma.
• The relationship between baijiu and food, both at a basic level, and in the context of each different region and culinary tradition
• How different Baijiu styles “hack” the very foreign (to us) looking production method involving microbe-packed grain bricks called “Qu” and giant steamers to create flavors and aromas that are vastly different from one another.
• We also talk about what a phoenix smells like, how various traditional spicy and numbing ingredients affect how baijiu tastes, why food and drink exploration is an important act of cultural ambassadorship,
• And much, much more

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