美國人出書向世界介紹中國白酒

Can there ever be a good reason for drinking 300 shots of baijiu, China's distilled liquor famed for burning the esophagus and causing calm people to burst into song? For American Derek Sandhaus, the answer is yes.
這種令食道產生灼燒感、讓沉穩的人突然唱起歌來的中國蒸餾酒嗎？對美國人德里克・桑德豪斯(Derek Sandhaus)來說，答案是肯定的。

All that 'research' paid off for Mr. Sandhaus, who lived in China from 2006 to 2013. His book, 'Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits,' will be released this month by Penguin China. The author, who now lives in Virginia, also has a blog called '300 Shots at Greatness,' where he posts pictures of his liquor cabinet, describes his Kansas-born parents trying baijiu, and recounts a story of President Nixon nearly burning down the White House after attempting to set some baijiu on fire.
桑德豪斯的“研究”終於有了成果，他的新書《白酒：中國烈酒必備指南》(Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits)本月將由企鵝中國(Penguin China)出版。現居住在美國弗吉尼亞州的桑德豪斯曾在2006至2013年間在中國生活，他還有一個名叫“300 Shots at Greatness”的部落格，該部落格張貼有自己酒櫃的照片，描述了自己出生在堪薩斯州的父母試飲白酒的故事，還講述了美國總統尼克松(Richard Nixon)試著點燃白酒結果險些在白宮引發大火的軼事。

Mr. Sandhaus admits he probably imbibed closer to 600 shots of baijiu in the course of his work. Scene Asia talked to the 31-year-old about his love of China's national drink. Edited excerpts:
桑德豪斯坦言說，自己在創作這本書的過程中可能喝了將近600杯白酒。“風尚亞洲”(Scene Asia)欄目與31歲的桑德豪斯聊了聊他對這一中國名酒的熱愛。以下是經編輯的訪談摘錄：

How did you get the idea for the book?
問：你是如何想到要寫這本書的？

It came to me several years ago, when I was on my way back from one of the banquets that people in China often get invited to. I was thinking how unpleasant I found the experience of drinking lots of shots of baijiu. I wanted to figure out why foreigners dislike the experience so much, whereas the people of China love and celebrate it.
答：幾年前我參加了一場酒宴；在中國人們經常會受邀參加此類酒宴。在回去的路上我在想，白酒喝多了的感覺非常不舒服。我想弄清楚為什麼外國人如此厭惡這一體驗，而中國人卻酷愛並且頌揚它。

Did you ever learn to like it?
問：那你後來喜歡上白酒了嗎？

There was a theory going around that if you drank 300 shots that was the threshold - you would go from someone who hated it to someone who appreciated it. That theory sounded like hogwash.
答：如今流傳有一種理論，說如果你喝夠了300杯白酒，那你就能對白酒由恨轉愛。這理論聽著很扯。

Did it take you 300 shots?
問：你是在喝了300杯白酒後喜歡上它的嗎？

It didn't even take 100 shots. It came down to just finding types of baijiu that appealed to my tastes. China has around 10,000 distilleries of almost all shapes and sizes. There is almost certainly one that is better suited to your taste.
答：連100杯都不到我就喜歡上了。其實就是要找到能迎合自己口味的白酒。中國有上萬家釀酒廠，產品種類繁多，幾乎各種規格都有，肯定有一款白酒更符合你的口味。

I hate baijiu.
問：我很討厭白酒。

When someone tells you they hate baijiu, the first thing to remember is that baijiu at the standard level is about 50%-60% alcohol by volume, whereas vodka or whiskey is around 40%. So the trouble is not the taste, but the taste of that much alcohol. Some baijiu are watered down to 38%-40%, which might make it easier, although you're still dealing with a lot of weird tastes and flavors.
答：當有人說討厭白酒時，首先要記住的是，標準白酒的酒精含量在50%至60%之間，而伏特加和威士忌的酒精含量在40%左右。所以說問題出在了白酒酒精含量太高，而並非酒的味道本身。有些白酒的酒精含量被沖淡至了38%到40%，喝起來可能會舒服一點。不過你仍要在千奇百怪的口感和香型中進行挑選。

Also, baijiu is the Chinese word for all of their traditional spirits. When a lot of people say they don't like the taste, they don't like the specific taste of the type of baijiu they're drinking.
還有一點，白酒是中國所有傳統烈酒的統稱。很多人說自己不喜歡白酒，實際上指的是其所喝某一類白酒的特定口感。Any big surprises?
問：這一過程中，你有什麼驚奇的發現嗎？

I found out that I actually did like baijiu. Another thing is that I found out just how essential alcohol is to Chinese culture. Evidence shows that the Chinese might have been making alcohol even before they formed a civilization, and that alcohol might have played a central role in the creation of their civilization.
答：我發現我其實挺喜歡白酒的。還有就是我發現，酒對於中國文化有著極其重要的意義。有證據顯示，中國人在其文明形成以前可能就開始釀酒了，而酒可能在中國文明的創造過程中扮演了一個至關重要的角色。

The book seems to be everything you ever wanted to know about baijiu. So your readers are not Chinese?
問：這本書似乎是以對白酒的全面介紹為內容。所以說本書的讀者定位並不是中國人？

I don't think the Chinese need my help in appreciating their culture. But outside of China, the level of understanding is low, even in people who are experts in spirits: bartenders, wine and spirit writers. This is the book I wish had existed when I first started researching baijiu. It allows you to walk into a Chinese liquor store and know what's on the shelf. Normally, you walk into a store and see a wall filled with Chinese characters. You have no idea what you're looking at.
答：我覺得中國人並不需要我來幫助他們品鑑本國文化。然而在中國以外，人們對白酒知之甚少，甚至連烈酒專家--調酒師、葡萄酒和烈酒作家亦是如此。我多麼希望在我研究白酒之初就能有這樣一本書。它讓你在走進一家中國酒水店的時候能知道架子上擺的是什麼。而通常情況下，你走進一家酒水店，眼前是一整 的漢字，你根本不知道那都是些什麼。

Where did you live in China?
問：此前你住在中國的哪裡？

Shanghai and then Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province). Sichuan is the center of China's baijiu industry, so I got a chance to do a lot of firsthand research, visit distilleries, and see the business inside out.
上海，然後是四川省省會成都。四川是中國白酒產業的中心，因而我有機會做了許多第一手調查，走訪了一些釀酒廠，並透徹地觀察了這個行業。

Do you have a favorite baijiu?
問：有哪款白酒是你的最愛嗎？

Since the book lists about 90 baijiu, I probably shouldn't pick a favorite. But there are some I really like. One is called Lao Guilin by Guilin Sanhua. It's a really smooth kind of sweet, but not cloyingly, so it's kind of reminiscent of sake. Another is Laobai Fenjiu by Xinghuacun Fenjiu. And then my go-to favorite Sichuan baijiu is Luzhuo Laojiao.
答：這本書列出了大約90種白酒，所以我不太應該說哪個是自己最喜歡的。不過有幾款白酒我都覺得很棒。一款是桂林三花股份有限公司生產的老桂林，它有種滑而不膩的甘甜口感，有點像日本的米酒。還有一款是山西杏花村汾酒集團生產的老白汾酒。四川的白酒中我最喜歡瀘州老窖。

You must have some good drinking stories.
問：可否和我們分享一些有趣的品酒故事？

We were at a lunch banquet thrown by the Sichuan government affairs office and only had two or three shots of baijiu. It was upper-end baijiu and that was the first time I drank it and thought, this is something I could really start liking. Then, in the afternoon, they put us in some ridiculous traditional costumes and marched us out to a big performance in the center of town. There were tens of thousands of people there.
答：有一次在四川政府事務辦公室舉辦的午宴上，當時我只喝了兩三杯白酒。那是一款高檔白酒，也是我頭一次喝下後覺得這酒味道真不錯。之後那天下午，他們給我們穿上了一些很滑稽的傳統服裝，並帶著我們去市中心參加一場大型表演。當時那裡有上萬人在場。

They got me up and had me perform a traditional Chinese drum dance with all these 8-year-old girls who had been rehearsing for months. I kind of think it would have pissed me off but for the fact that I had a few shots of baijiu at lunch, which made the whole thing so hilarious and fun. It is one of my best memories of living in Sichuan.
他們把我推上臺，讓我和一群演排了好幾個月的小女孩一起表演傳統的中國鼓舞。現在想來，若不是因為那幾杯酒，我或許就不會感覺整件事那麼好玩，反而會很生氣了吧。這是我在四川生活的日子裡最美好的記憶之一。

So baijiu makes everything better?
問：所以說，白酒讓一切都變得更好了？

That for me was the crucial insight in my quest to understand baijiu. Whether you enjoy the drink itself, the fact is, if you can go with it and learn to at least tolerate baijiu, you will have a much better time in China. It's one of the only times when random people will cut loose and show you this jovial, fun side of themselves that they don't show strangers.
這是我在探尋白酒的過程中所洞察到的重要收穫。實際上無論你是否喜歡白酒，如果你能放寬心去接納它，你就可以在中國收穫一段更加美好的時光。白酒能讓人擺脫束縛，展示出自己平時不會呈現給陌生人的愉快有趣的一面。