科涅克如何成为中国的地位象征

在漆黑的房间里，聚光灯在板条箱上横梁。我在上海郊区的Amanyangyun酒店里，周围是穿着优雅的晚衣服的人。主人是一个英俊的男人，看起来像中国詹姆斯·邦德。他说，是时候打开板条箱了，每个人都鞭打手机来捕捉戏剧性的揭露。

木箱内是Hennessy Paradis Impérial Trunkby Louis Vuitton. It’s a $273,000 piece of luggage stocked with four magnums of Paradis Impérial cognac, each of which would individually sell for $8,000. The crowd clamors to get closer to the trunk, photographing it from various angles.

It makes sense to debut such a statement piece in China. This is cognac country—far more so than France, where cognac is made. Whilebaijiu白兰地是中国无可争议的民族精神，是该国精英象征的选择，这一传统始于大约200年前。什么时候上海成为条约港口in the 1800s, the city soon welcomed foreign goods, one of them being alcohol. Some of the first companies to knock on the door of the Chinese market were cognac brands, says Andrew Khan, vice president of marketing for Moet Hennessy Diageo China. According to Khan, the spirit became popular in China starting in the late 18th century.

“Today, China constitutes the world's most valuable cognac market,” says Philip M. Dobard, director of the Museum of the American Cocktail and vice president of the National Food & Beverage Foundation. “I can tell you that Chinese demand for cognac has experienced dramatic growth since the turn of century,” he says, explaining that consumption of the spirit grew by 55% between 2007 and 2011.

科涅克白兰地’s image in China is different than it is around the world. In the West, Cognac is more of an after-dinner drink to be sipped slowly on its own. It's often mixed into cocktails. In China, cognac tends to be consumed neat and with food. “Cocktails are a waste of good Cognac,” says Sam Wang, food and beverage outlet manager for the上海的普通话东方浦东，大多数顾客在那里喝白兰地。

This method stems from Chinese drinking culture, not necessarily any hard and fast rules of cognac. “In traditional China, drinking, eating, and socializing are all closely tied together. Nobody drinks alone,” says Christopher Lowder, general manager of Proof & Company, China. "There is frequent toasting. There is frequent ‘bottoms up’ in which everyone participating is expected to empty their glass or else they will lose face.”

干酪不是在雪茄酱中送达的，而是用小型射击眼镜或茶杯。这是要快的。Lowder说：“在中国有句话：‘喝线兰克，好像是水。’” Lowder说。“我已经看到VSOP干邑白兰地在卡拉OK室弹出，整个瓶子在60秒内消失了，从非常小的射击眼镜中排出了两轮镜头。”夜生活设置更热情地将干邑混合成鸡尾酒。Lowder说：“在卡拉OK室或夜总会的背景下，有时将干邑混合在罐装甜茶的冰罐中，然后将其倒入射击眼镜或小岩石玻璃杯中。”

谁在喝酒？Dobard说：“中国对[干邑]的需求跨越了几个年龄段和人口统计学。”“消费者群的清单包括鲍法胡（Baofahu），或nouveau Riche；这Fuerdais,或希望在国际社会中出现国际化和项目成员的富人和年龄少年和20多岁的孩子；以及年长的商人和政客。”

根据Lowder的说法，是“老派”中国人，负责干武器的繁重消费。他说：“传统的习惯和兴趣，这是三个小时的点心午餐的中国，慢慢地花了四个单独的茶叶袋。”“这是卡拉OK室里长卷烟式会议的中国。正是中国用真实的瓷砖而不是iPad屏幕播放Mahjong。”

This more traditional demographic is buying entire bottles of cognac for one sitting. They care as much about the packaging as they do the liquid inside the bottle. “There are tremendous social points to be scored by the unboxing and uncorking of a very elaborate and fancy-looking bottle,” Lowder says. “It’s a showing of your respect for the table and how much your value your relationships with the group.” Luxury cognac definitely excels at this purpose. Cognac bottles are some of the booze industry’s most ornate and extravagant. Rémy Martin’s Louis XIII decanters are made with Baccarat crystal. The latest Hennessy Paradis Impérial decanter, designed by Israeli artist Arik Levy, took thousands of trials and hundreds of people to create perfectly.

白兰地已经成为beverage of choice for particular cuisines. "There is also a belief that Cognac serves as an excellent pairing for seafood dishes,” Lowder says. “Especially in South China and in Macau, it’s not unusual to see two or three bottles go down over the course of a round of crawfish or a session of hotpot.” That doesn’t mean it’s not welcomed with other food, though—high end and low. “I have seen four old men sit down for late night street noodles, and each one had brought his own bottle of XO cognac to share with the group,” Lowder says. “All four bottles were opened, and all four bottles were finished.”

在接下来的200年中，保持干邑在中国流行的挑战是使年轻一代对这种精神和老式的套装一样兴奋。Lowder说：“ Cognac的问题在于，很清楚地坐落在这种文化鸿沟的衰老方面。”“如何使白兰地与年轻中国人相关的问题是该行业尚未解决的问题。”

萨姆·王（Sam Wang）在普通话东方（Oriental）指出，近年来，他看到广告变化，激发了对年轻消费者的Cognac的兴趣。他说：“一些干邑品牌的营销非常好，因此您现在可以看到越来越多的年轻人在喝干邑白兰地。”品牌还为干邑鸡尾酒推更多。“在中国，Baijiu植根于礼物和中国餐。科涅克具有更加多元化的优势，并更容易适应日常生活。”汗说。“大多数年轻的消费者都喜欢与朋友一起在岩石上或在高能氛围中享受混合饮料。”目前，如果您打算在中国喝白兰地，请准备拍摄。很多。