Distilling The Beauty Of Baijiu In The UK With Ben Salguero
A Chinese and East Asian drinks revolution is happening in Bristol
Dear Drink To That reader,
Chinese baijiu might not be the first drink you think of when it comes to the next big spirit trend.
But Ben Salguero, founder of Bristol’s Jaded Dragon and Golden Crane, believes the category is going to explode by the end of the 2020s.
Here’s what he has to say about the category and his mission to bring Chinese and East Asian drinks to the masses.
How did you get into hospitality and what’s your journey been like to the present day?
I feel like such an old man reminiscing but it's been about 15 years in the industry. I started from the bottom of the pile as a barback and then up to multi-site operational manager working with well-known brands like Cosy Club, Be At One, London Cocktail Club and indies too.
After all that, there came a point where me and my business partner decided to go and do our own thing and we’ve been doing it ever since.
Where did your interest in baijiu come from and how does the category blend with your two bars Golden Crane and Jaded Dragon?
It started five years ago when I was taking the WSET Level 3 Spirits qualification and I went in feeling overconfident. I got slapped back to reality quickly and it made me hungry to learn more about spirits like baijiu because it was unlike anything I’d tried before.
I thoroughly believe baijiu is going to be the next big thing because there’s so much capability for creativity and my prediction is that it will explode in 2028/2029. Jaded Dragon and Golden Crane were started to get ahead of that curb.
The concept of Jaded Dragon is a casual and fun party bar that moves away from the traditional baijiu drinking of ganbei shots and small cups with food. We do offer that but we also create high-quality baijiu cocktails.
Golden Crane is an East Asian concept that doesn’t just focus on one country. We serve Japanese whisky, shochu and awamori, Korean soju and Vietnamese gin as well as Chinese baijiu.
It’s interesting you say that you think baijiu will become the next big spirit at the end of the 2020s. Why do you think that will happen?