CCU Undercover: Launch of Moutai, Australia + Giveaway!!! (Closed)

CCU was pondering on how to tell you guys, being in Australia, and being 18, that she had… you know… drunk alcohol. It seems like a touchy topic, she didn’t know why, after all, almost everyone drinks it.

But it made her feel like she had lost her childlike innocence. Despite openly loving tiramisu and Bailey’s chocolate mousse, she still felt it was different.

Suddenly, opportunity arose in the form of  an invite to the launch OF an alcoholic drink. Now she could classily, hopefully, tell you guys that yes.. she had indeed tried alcohol… she just had to be tactful… like speak through third person… 😉

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My friend (let us call her Sis) and I were walking down Sussex St, wandering and wandering, trying to reach the location, when BAM! We were confronted by flowers, a bright red carpet and a distinct Asian theme in the air… though of course, we were basically in China Town 🙂

AS1_0038-2You see, we were there as I was generously invited to attend the launch of Moutai Australia (pronounced Mau-tie). This is indeed, as I very subtly hinted at the beginning of this post, an alcoholic beverage, but it is a highly prestigious one, being China’s national drink.

Despite being sold in most stores around Australia, including at Sydney Airport even, it had yet to open its own specific store… until now of course 🙂

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This new Moutai store is not so much a store, as it is an incredible showroom of all the various ranges of these drinks. Glass cabinets glowed from front to back, highlighting all the different bottle designs as well as types of Moutai available.

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The decorations for the opening were done superbly. I was chatting to one of the co-hostesses of the night. and she explained how every light in the showroom was actually a Moutai bottle! Furthermore, the abundance of flowers were from the many admirers who had come by that morning to wish luck for the opening.

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I think it is beautiful that Moutai has such a tight support circle for them here!

The whole room was also bathed in red light, which allowed the sheen to bounce off the bottles, creating a very nice effect. Even the theme of dress was Shanghai Luxe, though since both Sis and I came straight from uni, we did look a wee bit out of place 😛

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Now, you are probably wondering about the taste of Moutai, the texture, and what makes it so much different to every other alcohol. It has been voted 3rd best liqueur worldwide, so surely, there is a little extra something that makes it better?

Despite admitting that I have the occasional drink, I am no expert whatsoever, but I can quite easily describe to you why I enjoyed the taste of Moutai so much.

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  1. The taste is very pure – it is smooth, silky and you do not genuinely realise it has gone down the back of your throat as, despite having such a high alcohol content, there is no burning sensation, like vodka
  2. You drink it with food – it is necessary to do this, as it combines with the flavours on your tongue and uses that to enhance its natural, organic flavour
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  3. IMG_5120You can savour it – drinks have a tendency to be drunk in seconds, such as through shot glasses, but that is not the case with Moutai – we were given the cutest little glasses in the world so we could test the different types of Moutai, but you drink it one sip at a time, while also savouring your food alongside it
  4. Fragrance – this is an essential component of Moutai, it is known to have 155 distinct aromas depending on your personality – besides its metallic pungency, I smelt chocolate and I had no idea how, while Sis smelt honey – weird no?

All Moutai drinks have a super high alcohol content (ranging from 38% to 53%, you have ask why vodka is even considered anything!), and they can be aged, floral or the simple liqueur itself.

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The reason that this drink is so prestigious is actually because it has been made since 135 BC in China (can you believe that!?) AND it takes 9 distillations to reach the purity level of this drink – this can be converted to time, which is 5 years!

I certainly hope people can see just the amount of effort, which goes into creating such a beautiful drink!

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Read this PDF for better knowledge about the complicated Moutai making process and about the drink in general 🙂

As far as the iconic bottle design goes, Sis and I both agreed, it did remind us slightly of cleaning products, but I have to admit, it certainly grew on me. I like the ribbon around the neck (on fancier bottles), and the gorgeous white sheen decorated with gold outlines worked quite well 🙂

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Though I am a big fan of their fancy bottles and colour scheme in general as well!

Sis and I both only tried, specifically the 43% Flying Fairy Moutai, the most popular of all the drinks part of this range. As I mentioned before, it had no burning sensation at all, and by slowly drinking it, it really went down very nicely 🙂

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Especially because we got some very delicious appetisers with it. I liked how courteous the waiters were, even to the extent that when someone asked them to take a photo of the food, they obliged by straightening up, thrusting out napkins for photo affect and allowing as much time as necessary.

There was also a variety of finger foods available to try. A large platter of chunky eggplant and cucumber, which had been drizzled in soy sauce, I would have to say, went the best with the Moutai. They picked it well, as the floral nature of the drink offset the saltiness of the snack perfectly!

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For a bit more filling food, there was also crispy spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce, both vegetarian and full of seafood – I liked the extra crunchiness of the crust surrounding the vege one!

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I also saw chicken teriyaki which had been blanketed in some flatbread.

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For the post-alcohol consumption, or for people who didn’t prefer it, they also provided the delicious, slightly bitter-sweet San Pellengrino sparkling water and flavoured drinks 🙂

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Moutai is an excellent beverage, whose purity allows it to definitely work well with a variety of cuisines, while warming you up the way a drink does 🙂

And you do not need to drink a lot to enjoy its metallic, organic flavour!

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Overall, the launch was quite fantastic in decor, nibbles and the wonderful hostesses and servers – however, it was disappointing to see that similar to Mooberry’s Launch, the small store became overly crowded, and it was difficult to navigate through the confines of narrow passages.

I suppose however, we got a wonderful drink and evening out, even if it was on the shorter side, so no real need for complaint 🙂

Now for the

Giveaway!!!

IMG_5169I received a gift card on entry into the event and I was lucky enough to win a $40 voucher for the next time I visited Moutai’s Showroom! However, we do not really advocate for alcohol at my house, it is more of an outing activity, and I would like to send it to one lucky Sydney sider, so they can visit Moutai and see what all the fuss is about!!!

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To win this gift card, all you have to do is simply comment on this post, and then for an extra entry, like my Facebook page and write an extra comment, letting me know!

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This competition is open till Sunday, 30th March – Good luck!!! 😀

Disclaimer: Go Bake Yourself was invited to the launch of Moutai, Australia by Polkadot PR but all her opinions and reviews of this event are all her own.
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56 Comments

  4. ATasteOfMadness says:

    I am DYING to go to Australia! I’m trying to convince my boyfriend to come with me, but he’s SUPER afraid of spiders, and keeps telling me Australia is full of them.
    But when I actually DO go, I would totally go here

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  6. Tammy says:

    Oooh how exciting! 😀 I don’t remember my ‘first’ experience actually…just stealing sips here and there during the holidays from my mom’s glass.
    Anyway, you must have felt like a celebrity walking down that red carpet and into that swanky party. Way to go! 😀

    Toodles lovely,
    Tammy<3

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  8. Deba says:

    I’ve never heard of Moutai, CCU. You have given an excellent review and I’d be interested in trying it, but that 50%+ alcohol content is really something. It sounds like your evening was a really interesting experience. As always, you tell a very good story!

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  14. Bam's Kitchen says:

    Ahh I see you have tasted a little bit of the Chinese water. Moutai is very popular here in HK and I can tell you I can’t stand the stuff. That stuff will grow hair on your chest… LOL I am glad they served some lovely appetizers and you had fun. Take Care, BAM

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  26. Hannah says:

    Oh, how luxurious… I really don’t drink at all (my entire liquor cabinet exists for baking and cooking purposes) but it sounds like this is something I could actually get down with… How did I get invited to high-end events like this?! 😉

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  30. Choc Chip Uru says:

    Viveka @ My Guilty Pleasures: Love this post, Uru …. we have all been there – dangerous stuff alcohol. When I was in China on all those official dinners, I always turned my little glass upside down before the dinner started, because they refilled it so soon as it was empty and you got drunk on a very short period of time.
    This looks like one of those fuels too.
    Uru, yesterday I spent 8 hours planning my Australian trip, whenever I will come around to do it. If not next year it will be in 2016 and I so excited about it. November I’m looking at.
    Flying Copenhagen – Dubai – Hong Kong – Sydney – Melbourne, Perth and back home.
    Have been checking out hotels – Hong Kong is where it will hurt most I think.
    And I’m so looking forward to meet you if there is a chance – some more blogging sisters down under that I will meet up with too – the reason for going is to meet people I met through my blogging.

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  32. mjskit says:

    What a fun time!!! I’ve never heard of Moutai but by the way you describe it, it is something that I would probably love, especially since it does pair well with food. Great review and post Uru! Love the pictures too!

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  41. Hotly Spiced says:

    Wow! That certainly is an unusual looking bottle and the alcohol content is alarmingly high! I’m glad you made it home! I’d be interested to try it but in small doses of course! xx

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  45. Alice says:

    Hi Uru, glad to see you enjoyed the experience. It was certainly very flash and well executed. This style of rice wine always equates to a big night of fun whenever I’m overseas in China, it’s best followed by a session at a local karaoke bar too 😉

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  46. John@Kitchen Riffs says:

    You’ve had alcohol?!! I’m shocked. Shocked! 😀 So, what’s your favorite drink? Anyway, fun post about Moutai. I’ve not heard of it (and obviously not had it) but it sounds like fun. Thanks for the heads up!

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  47. A_Boleyn says:

    The various bottles are so pretty that I might be tempted just to have one in my liquor ‘cabinet’. 🙂 Sounds like a great time though crowded.

    I’m a lightweight when it comes to drinking so a few sips would be plenty for me with nibbles.

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