A new bar in Beijing billing itself as the world's first dedicated to baijiu hopes to change people's minds about China's fiery national drink.
北京有一家新开的酒吧号称是全世界首个以白酒为主打的酒吧，这家酒吧希望改变人们对于这种火辣的中国饮品的印象。'A lot of people have had bad experiences at banquets' where they might be coerced into drinking shot after shot of the colorless liquor distilled from sorghum and rice, says American William Isler, one of Capital Spirits' owners. 'They throw up and say, 'Never again.''
首都酒坊(Capital Spirits)的所有者之一美国人艾斯勒(William Isler)表示，很多人都有这样的不愉快经历：在宴会上被逼左一杯右一杯地饮下这种由高粱和大米蒸馏的无色液体。艾斯勒说，一些人喝过之后一边吐一边表示决不再碰白酒。
Capital Spirits has the vibe of a speakeasy, with muted lighting, plenty of antique wood and a stainless-steel still in the corner churning out distilled beer and wine. There's no sign on the door, although a ledge outside is set up with small wooden chairs, low tables and candles.
首都酒坊带有一种酒吧的气氛。这里灯光幽微，布置多采用古 的木材，在拐角处一个不锈钢的蒸馏器中正在源源不断地生产啤酒和红酒。酒坊的门上没有标志，但外面的平台上放置着小小的木椅、矮桌以及蜡烛。
Tentative drinkers can sample flights of more than two dozen varieties of baijiu. Like a flight of wine, the thimble-sized samples go from the lightest, rice-based baijius to one with a 'sauce' fragrance, a smell some compare to paint thinner. One highlight is a snake-infused baijiu from Guangdong, a drink that may serve as more of a bragging point than an actual best-seller. For the less adventurous, the bar also offers several baijiu-based cocktails, including a baijiu sour and a Crab Island Iced Tea, as well as craft liquor and beer. The bar will eventually sell wine too.
品酒者可以尝试几十种白酒，样品和顶针差不多大小，从浓度最低的、以大米为原料的白酒到酱香型白酒（有人认为其气味和涂料稀释剂类似）都可以尝到。其中的一个亮点是一种来自广东的浸泡过蛇的白酒，这种白酒更多地是作为一种噱头，而并不是说这种酒最畅销。对于那些不那么喜欢挑战的品酒者，首都酒坊也准备了一些白酒勾兑的鸡尾酒，其中包括酸味白酒、蟹岛冰茶、工艺白酒和啤酒。这家酒吧也出售红酒。On a recent night at the bar, patron Henry Proudlove, a Beijing-based animation designer who grew up in England, admits he wasn't walking down the street and suddenly feeling in the mood for baijiu. But 'it's nice to have other options,' he says as he drinks a beer and samples the occasional flight of baijiu.
近日的一个晚上，从小在英国长大、现居北京的动画师普劳洛夫(Henry Proudlove)在酒吧里说，他并非沿着街道散步、突然心血来潮想喝一杯白酒才进来的；有其他选择总是好的。他当时一边啤酒，一边偶尔尝上一口白酒。The bar's owners say they were inspired by a talk and baijiu-tasting earlier this year by Derek Sandhaus, author of 'Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits.
酒吧的几位主人说，他们是今年早些时候跟桑德豪斯(Derek Sandhaus)谈话、品尝白酒时获得的开店灵感。桑德豪斯是《白酒：中国烈酒必备指南》(Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits)一书的作者。'I thought, maybe there's an interest in presenting baijiu in a Western-style bar environment where you have baijiu by the glass, not by the bottle,' says Mr. Isler.
艾斯勒说：“我觉得，或许在西方风格的酒吧里提供白酒是件挺有意思的事，在这里，你用玻璃杯品尝白酒，而不是对着酒瓶子喝。”Mr. Sandhaus, for his part, says he couldn't be more proud. It's 'akin to what a more upstanding citizen would feel upon the birth of their first child,' he said by email.
桑德豪斯在邮件中说，他对此非常自豪，这种感觉就好像是第一个孩子出生时的那种喜悦。The space, which fits about 30 people, features exposed brick, wood-beam ceilings and low lighting.
首都酒坊店里可以坐大约30人，室内可以看到裸露出来的砖块，顶部有木质房梁，灯吊得很低。Architect Anna Pipilis, who helped design the bar, says an interior wall was removed and she scoured local stores for old wood and low tables to create more traditional Chinese-style seating. 'I wanted to do something representing Beijing a little bit,' she says. She insisted on the lower tables because 'you see so many people outside doing things with friends, and they're always sitting low.'
帮助设计这家酒吧的建筑师皮皮利斯(Anna Pipilis)称，酒吧的内墙被拆除了，她从当地的商店里搜到了旧木头和矮凳，以打造更传统的中国式座位。她说，她希望酒吧能带点北京味。她坚持用矮桌子，她说，看外面这么多人和朋友们在一起时总是坐得很低。Jim Boyce, who blogs about food and drink in Beijing, says he's surprised no one has come up with the concept before. The bar, he says, 'will be good for those who live here and want to go beyond the full-on ganbei experience, and for those visiting and interested in trying Chinese spirits.'
写北京食物和饮料方面的博客的博主博伊斯(Jim Boyce)表示，他感到惊讶的是，为什么之前就没人想到过要开一间以白酒为主打的酒吧。他说，对于那些在此居住并想有除干杯之外的其他体验，以及那些到此访问并有兴趣尝尝中国白酒的人而言，这家酒吧非常有帮助。Russian architect Valerie Pestereva, visiting the bar recently for her second time, says the bar's owners have helped her find an appreciation for the potent grain alcohol. 'The last time I came here, it definitely changed my opinion about baijiu. Each time, they told the story and everything suddenly gained a value.'
俄罗斯建筑师Valerie Pestereva近来第二次造访了这家酒吧。她说，酒吧的主人让她学会了如何品尝酒劲十足的白酒。她还说，第二次来这家酒吧时，她对白酒的看法完全改变了，每次来的时候，酒吧的主人都会讲述白酒的故事，一切都突然有了价值。'People come in saying they don't want baijiu,' says Simon Dang, one of the bar's co-founders. 'And they leave loving it.'
该酒吧的联合创始人之一Simon Dang表示，客人们来的时候都说不要白酒，但走的时候已经爱上白酒了。