Beijing Boyce

Note: A few stories making the rounds this week. Please check the comment at the bottom for details on the sources.

The Baijui, Maotai and Rice Wine Federation announced five “official” cocktails for the Beijing Olympics yesterday. The drinks are named after the Olympic mascots, known as “Fuwa.”

Each cocktail will include at least one of China’s traditional liquors. The “Bei Bei“, for example, has maotai, plum juice, and a splash of Laoshan water, while the “Ying Ying” will include baijiu, tomato juice and - inexplicably - a garnish of three sweet potato balls! The Federation says that although visitors are free to drink foreign beer, wine and spirits, it hopes they will say “gan bei” with local products.

Meanwhile, Chivas will apparently launch a new product in China this summer called “CT” that blends its famous Scotch with sweet green tea. The bottles will look more like those used for wine than for whiskey. “As with wine, we want to give consumers options based on dryness or sweetness,” said a spokesperson from a local PR company handling the brand. “We will have extra-dry, dry, sweet, extra-sweet, XO sweet, ultra-premium sweet, and so on” she said. To promote the brand, Chivas is creating a dance in which patrons form a T by extending their arms, and then a C by curving them, after which they will be encouraged to hug the closest person. “This stresses that CT is a social drink,” said the spokesperson.

Finally, not content with their colossal nine-building project beside Tiananmen Square, the owners of Legation Quarter will erect temporary outlets in the square itself during the Olympics. Each of the four outlets will be about 500 square meters and feature chefs from Michelin three-star restaurants in France, thus allowing visitors to sample the best food that country has to offer. Visitors can expect to have an appetizer, main course, and drink for as little as RMB188. About a hundred sommeliers will be on hand to help tourists pair their food with wine.

And, in case you have not already guessed, these…

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April fool’s joke!

(Happy April Fool’s Day)