Li Ji Castle Hotel

When I was a child, I heard my grandfather say, "China has a catering culture, while the west has a romantic culture." Because I was young, I didn't understand its charm. Now that I know a little, I feel that it is more accurate to describe western culture as romantic culture than wine culture.

Westerners pay as much attention to wine as China does to diet. Don't make it small. Vodka, brandy, whisky, gin, etc. Each has its own characteristics, and each has its own drinking style. Among them, the most representative is the whisky that westerners drink, and the most exquisite is the famous Englishman. The whisky they drink is essentially the best and the strangest in the world. Good means good. Odd refers to drinking style and culture. To be precise, the first is the storage of wine. When it comes to the storage of foreign wine, people can't help but think of that kind of fat wooden barrel with thick head and thin tail. Indeed, the large wooden barrels used by Europeans to store wine can be called the unique wine culture in the world, and the selection of materials is also varied. The trunk of an oak tree, which has been used as wood for more than ten years, is said to reduce the evaporation of wine. Nevertheless, the facts are still not optimistic. During the storage of whisky in wooden barrels, 4% of the wine was evaporated in the first year, and then 65,438+0% was evaporated every year. When a barrel of whisky is stored for 12 years, it will evaporate about15, which is equivalent to throwing away dozens of bottles of fine wine in vain. A bucket of century-old witch bogey can almost evaporate the reserves of 1/3. How wonderful it is that whisky is proved by the evaporation of the wine in the barrel!

However, it is precisely because of the huge evaporation loss that the British people who are good at drinking are even more saddened. But in order to taste the century-old fragrance, even the humorous Englishman can only say that the 1/3 reserve has been enjoyed by angels, which is a special tribute to heaven.

It will take more than ten years to know the taste of whisky. Whisky brewed in the same way, some evolved into fine wine, while others were completely tasteless. The beauty of this point is that even winemakers and chemists can't come to the correct conclusion, so it adds a wonderful color to whisky.

The second essence of whisky lies in the way English people drink whisky. The brewing process of whisky is to roast malt with fire and then ferment it. Its taste is characterized by strong smoke and strong wine, and it is easy to get angry if you drink too much. Therefore, when the British drink this wine, they should add ice cubes to the wine and shake it while drinking. Lily-shaped glasses shake gracefully. Shake is to promote the melting of ice, but also to swing a taste, while lily-shaped wine glasses are to condense the fragrance of wine. Ice blocks hit the glass wall, making a very crisp and beautiful sound. There is English romance in the bar that echoes the whiskey symphony.

In contrast, China people don't pay attention to the handsome gentlemanly demeanor of the British when drinking, and they don't care about the British people's feelings of drinking charm. China has a saying, saying: "Love is deep, and it is boring; Shallow feelings, take a look. " It vividly reflects that what China people drink is emotion. In fact, not all people in China are broad-minded, and not all people in China have deep feelings for wine. Europeans may not understand why there is a "China bowl of wine" in China, which is drunk in a bowl without a cup at all. Of course, they didn't know that there was a bronze wine set in ancient China, which was too heavy to lift (up to 10,000 Jin) and too big to enclose. If you want to drink the wine here, you can only drink it with your head down like a cow. The word "Niuyin" is quoted from this spectacular scene. For China people, the role of wine is more reflected in interpersonal relationships and acts as a lubricant for interpersonal relationships. The reason why there is such a spectacular scene of "drinking" on the wine table is actually only one word "love". People in China clink glasses and drink to "feelings", while people in China get drunk and "I won't leave when the wall falls down" for "feelings". The spectacle of China people drinking for "feelings" on the wine table is beyond Europeans' comprehension.

Compared with China people, the European wine culture is purer and the motivation for drinking is purer. At any time, they are forgetful, self-centered and individualistic, when drinking. They never pay attention to other people's emotions when drinking, "drink to themselves" and get drunk for themselves. This is beyond the reach of China people.

Strange, strange In the strange name of whisky, it is an important part of the English whisky myth. A large castle hotel in London is famous for offering more than 800 different flavors of whisky, some of which have very strange names, such as "Royal Guard", "Wild Mountain", "Yuan Ye Trail", "Sow Nose" and "Passport Pass".

The wine names in China are quite different from those in Europe, and people in China pay attention to "auspiciousness". Such as "Jinliufu", "Wuliangye" and "Gujing Distillery" ... too many. China people pay attention to "good luck" and "good luck", which are deeply influenced by ancient China culture. It has become a folk custom to name wine with good luck, which is not inferior to the west.

Let's put it this way: Europeans pay attention to charm, while China pays attention to auspiciousness, each with its own merits.

Several episodes are about the cultural story of whisky, which tastes interesting.

The story happened on Christmas Eve of 194 1 2008. An ocean-going ship named "Politician" ran aground in the Atlantic Ocean due to a storm at sea. Residents of nearby islands who heard the news simply swept away more than 260,000 bottles of whisky on board, calling it "Christmas gift of sea breeze". It is said that people on the island are still enjoying those old wines happily up to now.

The long-standing "nose that smells wine" is indispensable for strong whisky. The British people are surprised to distinguish the quality of wine with their noses. This group of professional journalists do not drink alcohol on weekdays to maintain a high sense of professional sensitivity, and their baby noses are the vital guarantee for their work.

Mr. Mackenzie, the author of Whiskey, has a famous saying: "Love is definitely not the driving force that makes the earth rotate. Only taboos can make the world spin like flies. " It is enough to prove that western culture is wine culture rather than romantic culture. China's story about wine is no less than that of the West. For example, Li Bai, the "Poet Fairy", is also a good wine, which makes lanling wine famous in China, and the story of Song Wu Jingyanggang beating tigers with wine is also a household name. But this only adds some color to China's hero wine culture. What Chinese wine culture lacks is not color, but charm.

It is completely different for Europeans to enter bars and China to enter pubs. If they don't order wine, pay money or clink glasses, if China people treat their guests like this, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Having said that, I have summed it up: Europeans pay attention to themselves and drink first. Where is China? Feelings are more important than anything else. Forget yourself and get drunk. After all, there are four words: each has its own merits!