As some of you may know, I am a big fan of pirates. I mean, I rooted for the pirates in Captain Philips, I drink rum, and I dressed up as a pirate for Halloween my sophomore year at Juniata. So when I was at TESCO and saw a pirate themed baijiu I know I had to try it. The first think that stood out to me was that the image clearly showed that Western style pirates are the pirates the "piracy" in Piracys is referring too. While China does have its own traditions of pirates and sea bandits that are very interesting, but none of those pirates ever hoisted the jolly roger. The next thing that really stood out was the fact that the name doesn't make sense, piracy can't be pluralized like how the name shows it. I guess the makers were trying to appeal to a Chinese audience who might know proper English grammar, particularly around pluralization since pluralization doesn't exist in Chinese. Next is the fact that there is very little connection between the classic pirates of the Caribbean and beijiu. I am a bit confused as to why this product even exists. I guess it might be an effort from the company, Beijing Zhongmeishengye Biological Technology CO. LTD. to market what is usually seen as an old man's drink to young people since it was cheap (4RMB for the bottle), very alcoholic (53% alcohol by volume according to the bottle), has English writing on it (a popular marketing tool for Chinese companies trying to look quality), and refers to cool Western stuff (pirates). I guess they might also get some novelty sales from weird foreigners who are wondering what Piracys Beijiu can possibly taste like, but with the relatively small numbers of foreigners in China I can't see that being a big part of their business. The two big questions are still, how does it taste and would I buy it again? It tastes like beijiu, though, unlike some beijius, it don't have as strong of an alcohol taste as you would think a beverage that is actually half alcohol would have. I also don't know if I would buy it again, since a significantly larger of beijiu that tastes pretty much the same costs only 10-15RMB, though it won't have any connection to pirates. I guess it is a fun novelty but I don't think I feel the need to buy it again.
4 Comments
Dad
3/16/2017 12:16:31 am
I'm not sure a lot of Western pirates flew the Jolly Rodger, either. Do the Chinese have a cliched fictionalized version of their pirates as well (as the Japanese have with Samurai/)?
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3/16/2017 10:16:52 pm
Pirates don't seem to be as big of a thing here as in the west. Some individual "sea bandits" have gained fame there doesn't seem to be a popular stereotype of pirates.
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gramma m.
3/17/2017 04:52:38 am
Pirates or not, seems like high alcohol drinks are a steal in China--even with English on the label. What in the world does it taste like? Can you add ice and juice to make it better? Tonic?
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3/19/2017 02:58:06 pm
Beijiu has a hard taste to describe, it is a mix of alcohol and I guess sorghum (the plant beijiu is made from). Traditionally it is drank straight but some foreigners have been trying to mix beijiu with other things to make it more drinkable.
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AuthorI am a junior at Juniata College spending a year studying abroad at East China Normal University. Please feel free to join my on my journey to China and beyond. Archives
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