DRINKS: Hidden Dragon

IT’S CHINA’S best-selling spirit with over 600 years of heritage, so why in the West is it still hiding?’ asks barkeeper Marco Matesi as he draws a scarlet flask of ‘Hong Kong baijiu’ at Manetta’s Bar in the velvety underbelly of Flemings, Mayfair. ‘It’s the weirdest product — in a good way,’ continues the suave Sicilian, swivelling off the lid, unleashing a fantail of overripe mango and aniseed aromas. ‘There’s no reference point to such extremity in Western spirits, which is why it deserves its own page on my menu...’

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