Beijing Boyce

I just found out that it’s World Consumers’ Rights Day. Was it a coincidence that my taxi driver this morning looked into his rearview mirror at least a dozen times on the way to my office (the usual number is zero)?

Anyway, I’m a simple person so, as a consumer, I have a single request for Beijing’s bar owners. I can live with poor service, poor location, poor ambience, even poorly made drinks, but what I can’t live with is bars that lie about their booze. That includes using who-knows-what in mixed drinks and using inferior alcohol to refill bottles of brand name booze. You’re not only ripping off your customers, you’re also endangering their health.

I’m not alone in these sentiments. Last week, I asked two dozen readers their thoughts about Beijing’s drinking scene (full results in tomorrow’s newsletter). One theme: people are cautious about the alcohol in this city’s bars. Some snippets:

“…we all know about fake alcohol and just how much Beijing bars love the stuff: the situation is so bad in some parts of town that I just flat out to refuse to drink anything that isn’t beer - you just don’t know what you’re getting (and it’s not just small hole in the walls either).

“…be aware of the fake alcohol… if you want play it safe, stick to bottled drinks.

“Generally, buy stuff in bottles. Especially if you can see the staff open the bottle in front of you - it minimizes the risks of being served god knows what.

Of course, many bars are honest, but even having one place that misleads customers about its booze is too many in my book. Until the story improves, here are a few things that can minimize your risk:
- Remember that if the price of a drink appears too good to be true, it probably is;
- Find and frequent bars and bartenders you trust and let other people know about them;
- Watch the bartenders, look at the bottles. Did that screw top cap come off a bit too easily? Does that “full” unopened bottle have about three inches of empty neck space? If so, you might want to skip the vodka tonic. (Thanks to W. Isler for those last two tips.)

Finally, think beyond tonight. Maybe a few crappy drinks here and there won’t hurt you, but it all adds up. As one survey respondent put it, “If the alcohol in Beijing seems cheap now, wait until the bill for your liver transplant arrives.”

China Radio International’s Mark Rybchuk and I teamed up at Sequoia Cafe a while back to tape a four-part series on wine. The interviews are airing on the Dapper Dude segment of Easy FM’s China Drive program (Friday morning, 11 AM-Noon), co-hosted by Mark. The spots on white wine (hit “click to listen”) and red wine (hit “click to listen”) have aired, and those on Chinese wine and buying wine glasses are set for this Friday and next.

This is very basic information on wine, so my friends in the business can let their blood pressure drop. Really. Take a deep breath. Open a nice Pinot Noir. Take another deep breath and smell the flowers (or berries or whatever else the bouquet holds). Drink. Repeat. I freely admit I’m no wine expert, just someone who enjoys drinking, reading about and occasionally talking about wine.

By the way, no need to email me that I sound like a knob or that I said “skin of wine” instead of “skin of grapes.” I know and I know!