Celebrating The Third Anniversary Of World Baijiu Day

2026 August 8th to 16th

JAZZ TRADING and CANTON BLUE at The Peninsula London Celebrate the Spirit of China with a Cantonese Feast

What happens when the distinctive character of fine Chinese spirits meets the elegance of British hospitality?

On 9 August 2026, World Baijiu Day returned for its annual celebration. This year, JAZZ TRADING (LONDON) LTD, the UK’s largest importer and distributor of Chinese baijiu, once again joined forces with CANTON BLUE, the flagship Cantonese restaurant at The Peninsula London, to present the third edition of their World Baijiu Day celebration. It also marked the third time London had raised a glass to China’s national spirit.

A Three-Year Partnership: JAZZ TRADING and The Peninsula London in Perfect Harmony

Established in 2015, World Baijiu Day takes place every year on 9 August. From Beijing to Buenos Aires and London to Los Angeles, bars, restaurants and consumers in more than 60 cities around the world come together each year to raise a glass.

In London, this celebration of baijiu has now reached its third year.

The driving force behind the event, JAZZ TRADING (LONDON) LTD, is an importer and distributor of Chinese baijiu and tea with roots in London stretching back more than 20 years. Established in 2009, the company specialises in bringing leading Chinese baijiu brands including Moutai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Fenjiu and Gujing Gongjiu to the UK market, providing local retailers, wholesalers and hospitality clients with an end-to-end service spanning product supply, marketing and promotion. Put simply, there is a good chance that an authentic glass of Chinese baijiu enjoyed in London has JAZZ TRADING somewhere behind it.

CANTON BLUE at The Peninsula London provides a fitting setting for this meeting of Eastern and Western cultures. The restaurant’s design takes inspiration from the Keying Junk, the legendary 19th-century sailing vessel that played a role in trade between China and Britain. Chinese porcelain, an extraordinary ceiling charting celestial navigation routes, intricately carved fireplaces and other considered details evoke a dialogue across the seas between two ancient civilisations.

From an inaugural collaboration in 2024 and a deepening partnership in 2025 to the third celebration in 2026, JAZZ TRADING and CANTON BLUE have spent three years introducing an ever-growing London audience to baijiu — inviting guests to discover it, appreciate its complexity and ultimately develop a taste for it.

Food and Baijiu Pairing: An East-West Dialogue for the Palate

Baijiu is often misunderstood as a high-strength spirit suited only to hearty drinking. Typically exceeding 45% alcohol by volume, it is commonly divided into four principal aroma styles: strong aroma, light aroma, sauce aroma and rice aroma. Yet over the past three years, this event has offered London diners a different perspective: baijiu can be elegant and sophisticated, and an exceptional partner for refined Cantonese cuisine.

CANTON BLUE Executive Chef Dicky To brings more than a decade of experience in leading kitchens across Asia, including The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Tokyo and The Peninsula Paris. For this year’s celebration, he devised a menu that skilfully brings together Cantonese culinary traditions and British cooking techniques. The restaurant’s award-winning Director of Wine, Melody Wong, complemented the menu with a bespoke baijiu pairing for each course.

Starters

The experience began with delicate har gow prawn dumplings and chicken siu mai with black garlic, their fresh seafood and nuanced flavours setting an elegant tone for the feast ahead.

The centrepiece of the main course was Wagyu beef fillet with black pepper and Moutai. Premium Wagyu was paired with the intertwined aromas of Moutai and black pepper sauce, balancing the spirit’s richness with the exceptional tenderness of the beef. Other dishes included drunken chicken with goji berries and Shaoxing wine, garlic-fried Wagyu tenderloin with Flying Fairy Moutai, and lobster delicately steamed with Fenjiu. Each dish was paired with a different aroma style of baijiu, selected to complement the complexity and character of its flavours.

For a memorable finale, guests were presented with a 72% Moutai molten chocolate cake. As the warm chocolate centre gently flowed from the cake, it mingled with the distinctive richness of Moutai, creating an indulgent combination with a lingering finish.

Beyond Food and Drink: A Bridge Between Cultures

This was by no means the first collaboration between JAZZ TRADING and CANTON BLUE. In March 2025, the two partners hosted a premium Kweichow Moutai tasting. For the occasion, Melody Wong created an original cocktail, Silk Road Breeze, using Moutai Golden Prince as its base. The cocktail was subsequently added to CANTON BLUE’s permanent drinks menu. From that point onwards, baijiu was no longer simply a supporting presence at the dining table; it had become a central ingredient in creative mixology at one of London’s leading restaurants.

CANTON BLUE also holds one of the largest baijiu collections in the UK hotel industry, alongside a carefully curated selection of more than 200 fine wines from around the world. Here, baijiu takes its place alongside Burgundy and sake — not only a recognition of its quality, but a compelling sign of Chinese drinking culture taking an increasingly prominent place on the international stage.

The Third Year— and a New Beginning

From 2024 to 2026, the third London edition of World Baijiu Day represents far more than another year on the calendar. It is a testament to three years of commitment and collaboration between JAZZ TRADING and CANTON BLUE at The Peninsula London. What began as an exploratory initiative has grown into an important fixture in London’s annual food and drink calendar, giving an ever-wider audience of diners and spirits enthusiasts the opportunity to discover the distinctive appeal of Chinese baijiu.

Chinese baijiu embodies not only a centuries-old tradition of craftsmanship, but also a cultural confidence rooted in constant innovation and an ongoing dialogue with the wider world.

From Maotai Town on the banks of Guizhou’s Chishui River to The Peninsula London in Belgravia; from the traditional banquet glass to imaginative cocktails created by CANTON BLUE’s bartenders, baijiu is stepping onto the global stage with a younger, more diverse and increasingly open outlook.

On 9 August 2026, if you find yourself in London, step into CANTON BLUE for a Moutai cocktail or a thoughtfully curated baijiu-paired menu. Through a culinary journey where East meets West, discover the extraordinary possibilities this quintessentially Chinese spirit has to offer the world.