Producers of the traditional Chinese liquor baijiu are leaning into the lower-alcohol trend thanks to new economic and political realities.
The popular spirit, made from fermented grains like sorghum, typically has an alcohol content of 50%, but popular brands are rolling out lighter variants as more consumers around the world embrace low- or no-alcohol drinks.
In China, that shift has been exacerbated by a new government frugality push that bans costly alcohol at official gatherings and has triggered “a wave of self-restraint” among bureaucrats, Nikkei wrote.
As a result, many civil servants are wary of serving baijiu at government functions; others are skirting the rule by disguising the clear liquor as water.