Baijiu is China’s ancient and endlessly underrated spirit, and the Fenjiu Lantern Cocktail is one of the best ways to fall for it. Warm walnut and date flavors turn it into something rich, a little unexpected, and completely worth the wait for the infusion.
What Is Baijiu, and Why Does It Belong in Your Glass?
Baijiu is China’s national spirit, and it has been poured at celebrations, family dinners, and toasts for thousands of years. It is distilled from grains like sorghum, and it comes in styles ranging from light and floral to bold and savory, which makes it one of the most versatile spirits you have probably never mixed with. Fenjiu, the brand behind this cocktail, is one of China’s oldest and most storied baijiu houses, known for a lighter, cleaner aromatic style that plays beautifully with other flavors instead of overpowering them. That is exactly what makes it such a natural fit for a cocktail like this one.
Sourcing and Serving Your Fenjiu Lantern
Fen Chiew by Fenjiu 10-year-old, so that is your first stop if you want the real thing for this recipe. Serve the finished cocktail in a rocks glass over a single large cube, which lets you sip it slowly and keeps the walnut-infused liquid from diluting too fast. The walnut-infused baijiu keeps well in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to a week, so it is worth batching a larger amount if you plan on making this one more than once during the celebrations.
Why Lush Life Loves It
This one is all about patience rewarding you with something gorgeous. Infusing the baijiu with walnuts overnight softens its edges and brings out a warm, nutty richness you would never guess from the base spirit alone. Add a touch of date syrup and walnut bitters, and you get a drink that tastes like Chinese New Year in a glass: deep, a little sweet, and completely unlike anything else you will find on a cocktail menu. It is also wonderfully low effort for how special it feels, which makes it one of our favorite ways to toast the new year at home.
Love a baijiu cocktail? Try our Fenjiu Bee’s Knees for something brighter and citrus-forward, or our Fenjiu Chinese New Year Martini if you want to keep the celebration going. Curious about the wider world of Asian spirits? Our conversation with Marie Cheong-Thong on Asian rice wines and spirits is a great place to start.
Here is the recipe
Fenjiu Lantern Cocktail
Ingredients
- 15 grams walnuts
- 100 ml Fenjiu 10-year-old 45%
- 1 teaspoon of date syrup
- 2 dashes of walnut bitters
- 1 Jujube Chinese Date if available
Instructions
- Cover 15 grams of walnuts with 100ml of Fen Chiew by Fenjiu 10-year-old 45% and leave for 6-7 hours
- Strain and store the liquid in a glass jar, keep the walnuts aside;In a glass, combine a teaspoon of date syrup and 2 dashes of walnut bitters
- Add 50ml of the walnut-infused Fenjiu liquid and stir to dilute
- Serve with a date and one of the walnuts on the side