If you weren’t aware, we will welcome the Year of the Snake next week as we celebrate Lunar New Year (Wednesday, January 29). Just in time, we also welcome Bristol’s newest bar, Jaded Dragon, which has a unique claim as the UK’s first Chinese tiki baijiu bar.
Baijiu is a clear Chinese liquor, somewhat similar to Japanese shōchū or Korean soju, but with a significantly higher alcohol content (anywhere between 35–60%) and a far more complex taste. It’s been described as sweet and salty, floral and fiery, almost umami, but it has to be tried to be understood.
The sister bar to Bristol’s Golden Crane, Jaded Dragon will open at 4PM on Whiteladies Road on Chinese New Year. You’ll be able to try one of the biggest baijiu collections in Europe once it does, a lot of which has never been available in this country before.
It’s going to be showing off as many different types of baijiu, in as many different ways as possible. To start, there will be 54 cocktails on the menu, twelve of which include baijiu, while the rest will be made up of more familiar classics. You can even order Jaded Dragon lager or a glass of wine.
You’ll find Jaded Dragon across the street from Everyman cinema, next door to the Wetherspoons, The W. G. Grace. Inside there will be a main bar, a terrace-inspired upstairs area, and a club-like back room with its own dancefloor – perfect for seeing in the New Year!