Competition left shaken, not stirred over Fenjiu

Mixologist Andrei Krovliev wins first place at the event with his Fenjiu-based cocktail. [Photo by Wen Zhaoyan for China Daily]

Fenjiu liquor, a product from renowned Shanxi distillery company Xinghuacun Fenjiu Group, once again garnered attention from the international alcoholic beverage industry, as a cocktail based on it won the first place in a mixologist championship held in Moscow, Russia.

The cocktail was mixed by Andrei Krovliev, a mixologist from Murmansk, at the final contest held on Sept 11. As the winner of this event, he will attend an international championship in Rome, Italy, in November.

Local media reports said that more than 5,000 candidates attended the Moscow event, with 100-plus contestants entering the finals.

The championship in Moscow was initiated in 1998. It has since developed into an iconic event for the cocktail industry in Russia and also a global gala as more mixologists and industry insiders from around the world have taken part.

Xinghuacun Fenjiu Group from the Shanxi city of Fenyang eyed this event as a good opportunity to enhance its presence in the Russian and neighboring markets.

The company set up a special booth at the event, allowing visitors to taste the Fenjiu-based cocktails mixed by multiple mixologists, in addition to the one winning the championship.

Another cocktail called Yuzu Highball, which was made by Maxim Kuchumov, a mixologist from the Russian city of Tomsk, won the best mixology award among Fenjiubased cocktails.

Xinghuacun Fenjiu has attended the event for three sessions. Over the three years, the brand has won increasing recognition from Russian customers, said an executive of the company.

More importantly, he noted that it is a great chance for customers from across the world to understand the culture and history relating to China's unique white liquor.

According to the executive, the township of Xinghuacun, where the company is based, has a history of more than 6,000 years of alcoholic beverage production and it has been recognized by experts as one of the sources for the industry in China.

He said that Xinghuacun Fenjiu is one of the pioneers in China's white liquor industry to go global on a massive scale. It began volume exports after it won a first prize at the Panama Pacific International Expo, which was held in San Francisco in the United States in 1915.

To date, the company's white liquor products have been sold to foreign markets through its 50-plus dealers. They are available in more than 9,000 overseas outlets, including 180-plus duty-free shops.

Li Shu contributed to this story.