Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/253609
66 / the tasting panel / february 2014 the Western consumer's ever-watchful health buzzwords. "After 15 years in Asia, I'd tasted the gamut of different baijius, and I knew how important it would be to ind the correct formula. I liked the 100% red sorghum taste the best, and I knew it would be the most suitable to interna- tional palates." With the lavor formula on track, Trusch turned his attention to the inal detail: byejoe's packaging. "The Chinese baijiu is traditionally served in a short, dumpy 375- or 500-milliliter bottle, which Westerners are not used to seeing. We also wanted to emphasize that today's China is not what many people may think of—it's super mod- ern, super advanced, with billion dollar IPOs, the tallest buildings, the fastest bullet trains. The new China is what byejoe is all about." In order to appeal to Western con- sumers and as part of the lavor innova- tion trend, byejoe has also launched a lavored line, with the initial release, Dragon Fire, boldly leading the way as the irst-ever lavored baijiu released in the world. Infused with dragon fruit, lychee and Szechwan chilis, byejoe Dragon Fire offers a sweet-meets-heat lavor proile that's bound to inspire, and byejoe plans to roll out a second lavor later this year. Bringing byejoe to Life With sleek packaging and a ine-tuned lavor proile speciically designed to appeal to Western con- sumers, Trusch was poised to put this product through its paces, but sought the guidance of an industry vet to get byejoe to the masses. Enter the Cuban in the aforementioned setup: Silvio Leal, now the Managing Director and COO of byejoe. Trusch explains, "The plan and potential for this brand was great, but I knew I needed someone with spirits industry experience to help make it happen. When I was introduced to Silvio, it was immediately clear that he was the one who would help me bring this brand to life." A 30-year industry vet who's worked on countless iconic brands, Leal was a relative newcomer to baijiu. "Many years ago, I tried baijiu in Belize, of all places, and for 15 years, I never heard of it again. But about a half hour into Asian Fusion in Action As fragrant aromas of Singaporean food loods through Straits Restaurant in Houston, Bar Manager Andrew Nguyen works to craft the complete Asian fusion experience with byejoe Dragon Fire. "It's always been important for us to bring Asian lavors to the bar program, and byejoe brings a new way to do that with a unique spirit. It's very cool," says Nguyen. With a row of bottles assembled for display on top of the bar, Nguyen says his customers are keen to explore byejoe's charms. "People are always looking to try new things and are very curious about byejoe," says Nguyen. "You can't get byejoe just anywhere now, so my guests are always asking about it. I always tell them it's the number one sell- ing spirit in the world–they just don't know it yet." Nguyen was eager to play with the byejoe Dragon Fire, which he calls an "easy drinking, fruit forward" spirit that's mixable with a variety of classic Asian lavors. Andrew Nguyen. The Dragon Fire ◗ 1½ oz. byejoe Dragon Fire ◗ ½ oz. strawberry liqueur ◗ ½ oz. passion fruit juice ◗ Splash of lemon lime