Back in the day I used to like nothing more than parking off after a day of torment at the office, pouring two fingers of Chivas Regal Scotch, dropping in a couple of rocks of ice and sipping myself into taste heaven.
Through the ages Scotch whisky has been the drink of kings, politicians, entertainers and those who aspire to the finer things in life.
It is traditionally drunk with a splash of water, straight up or with the debonair “on the rocks” byline.
But as with everything that’s new and fashionable in modern China, Scotch whisky is taking off in a big way and locals have given drinking the amber fluid their own Chinese characteristics.
Today in the many swish bars and clubs of Shanghai and Beijing where mainstream revelers gather to drink, there’s a revolution going on. They fill jugs with ice, pour in whisky and top up the jug with green tea. It’s a cool, long drink with a murky color. Yep, this is lu cha (green tea) and Scotland’s finest, in an interesting combination that by all accounts has tills ringing overtime on the mainland.
The emerging Chinese middle class white-collar worker isn’t drinking the cheap stuff either. What’s being mixed with the tea are flashy brands like Chivas Regal, Johnny Walker Black Label and Teachers. Price, it seems, is no object in the chase to be different.
Figures published by the Scotch Whisky Association show that China has emerged as the fastest-growing export market for the spirit. The very viable combination of whisky and green tea pushed whisky exports to the mainland up by an amazing 124 percent in the first half of 2005. That’s about $39 million in money terms.
This makes China the 11th top market for Scotch whisky, a fact that proves the spirit has come to China to stay.
People that drink the green tea and Scotch combo regularly say it’s got the best of both worlds.
“I heard the drink started out as a joke when someone tried to ‘spoil’ his friend’s traditional Scotch and water drink,” said Zhou Li, a long time Scotch drinker in Beijing.
It seems the joke backfired as the taste caught on rapidly and now it’s gone from fashionable to widely accepted.
“Chinese are always being accused of copying everyone else’s trends. So this time we made our own. As far as I’m aware, drinking green tea and Scotch whisky is unique to China, and besides we get the benefits of our favorite alcohol with the medicinal qualities of green tea,” said Zhou.
He was referring to the fact that drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful in medical conditions such as high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infection and impaired immune systems.
In 1994 the journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60 percent.
So getting a hangover now comes with the added bonus of knowing you’re healing yourself.
Zhou laughed, “No, we don’t drink it to get drunk. We like the taste of the bitter tea and smoky Scotch. It’s a very sociable way to relax.”
I guess that antioxidant-rich green tea must be a great way to prevent hangovers. Perhaps they’ve stumbled onto something here.
Traditional Scotch dealers didn’t ever imagine their drink would be subjected to occupying the same glass as a tea leaf, but ultimately it’s all about choice.
As a spokesman of the SWA said, “Personally, I wouldn’t touch it for all the tea in China, but different people have different tastes and there’s a range of ways to enjoy Scotch whisky.”