Erguotou

Erguotou is a famous liquor made in Beijing. It often appears on tables and effectively gets one drunk quickly. The liquor contained in a small flat bottle of 100 grams is often called "Xiao Er"among liquor lovers. The name Erguotou comes from its production technique. The liquor is distilled three times, but the second distillation produces the most mellow and fragrant liquor. With some 800 years of history, Erguotou has been a loyal companion of the common people in Beijing. For foreigners, Erguotou is like a name card of the nation's capital. A singer from Hong Kong once sang that "a glass of Erguotou chokes one into tears, the roles in Peking Opera deeply attract the audience". Many hosts use excuses such as "a banquet won't be complete without liquor "or" deep feelings is shown in emptying the glass at a stretch "to persuade guests to down another cup of liquor. Only after five courses and three glasses of liquor are finished does the banquet reach its climax. There are various drinkers' wager games in the country. While ancient scholars composed poems as toasts, modern people usually engage themselves at the Anger guessing game. Fortunately, more and more Chinese have learned that persuading their guests to get drunk is not the best or the only way to show their hospitality.