Throat-burning liquor is now available as ice cream; People are warned ‘not to eat & drive’!

Moutai, China’s state-owned liquor brand, has made ice cream packed with throat-burning alcohol. Moutai, sometimes known as ‘firewater’, is notable for its high alcohol by volume (ABV), which ranges between 38% and 53%. ‘Moutai tasted like motor oil the first time I drank it; it was scorching and burned my throat on the way down. It’s now seamless and joyful for me’, In 2020, Shaun Rein, the founder of China Market Research Group, told the BBC.

For many years, Moutai has been associated with riches and nationalism in China. Chinese leaders and business people see it as the drink and gift of choice. However, the younger Chinese population does not respect Moutai in the same manner that their ancestors did, according to Jinshan Hong for Bloomberg in 2021. According to CNN, the spirit company established an ice cream shop offering Moutai-infused ice cream on May 19 to stay current with the younger population. The store is located in the lobby of the Moutai International Hotel in China’s southwest Guizhou province.

A bottle of Moutai costs between 1,499 yuan ($223) and 16,000 yuan ($2,381), yet a scoop of Moutai ice cream only costs 39 yuan ($5.80), according to the store. The affordability has inspired a trending topic on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. As of press time, the hashtag, which translates to ‘Moutai ice cream is 39 yuan per serving,’ has received over 180 million views.

Moutai, a user from Sichuan, ‘It’s too inexpensive. It should, at the absolute least, begin with three digits; otherwise, everyone can afford it ‘, he wrote. ’39 yuan is not worthy of the name Moutai; even if there is no market, it must be at least 399,’ said one user from Hubei. Others, on the other hand, appreciated the low pricing. ‘ That’s fantastic for folks like me who love ice cream and want to drink Maotai but can’t afford it,’ a Weibo user from Hunan said.

‘If you can’t drink Moutai, eat ice cream,’ another Hunan user said. The Moutai Research and Development team informed CNN that eating the ice cream and driving is not recommended because the Moutai-infused ice cream carries a 3 percent alcohol content. Minors under the age of 18 are not permitted to purchase ice cream. Moutai became the country’s most valuable publicly traded firm in 2020 after its shares increased by more than 23 percent that year.