Just like Russia’s vodka, Mexico’s tequila and Scotland’s Scotch, China has its own distilled spirit, baijiu.

Baijiu is the world’s biggest-selling spirit category and represents a €16.9 billion market, say research reports by McKinsey & Co. and UBS.

But baijiu producers are seek-ing new markets in the US and Europe as sales fall at home after a crackdown on wasteful spending.

The Chinese white spirit, distilled from sorghum, wheat or rice, alone accounts for more than one-third of all the spirits consumed in the world because China is the leading spirits-consuming nation, according to International Wine and Spirits Research.

Baijiu Moutai is is served at China’s state dinners and often used as a luxury gift. Produced by Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd, this baijiu can trace its history to the first century BC and was served to US President Richard Nixon on his 1972 visit.

But China’s President Xi Jinping banned red-carpet receptions and boozy military banquets last year in an anti-corruption campaign.

The brand was worth nearly €1.7 billion, surpassed only by Johnnie Walker Scotch, according to consulting firm Brand Finance. A 375 ml bottle sells for $160.

It is served at state dinners and often used as a luxury gift

“Baijiu represents respect, tradition, wealth,” explained Yuan Liu, a top executive at US baijiu importer CNS Four Seasons Trading. He and Manny Burnichon of Private Cask Imports have embarked on expanding the US market for the clear spirit drink beyond the nation’s Chinatowns.

Producers are trying to convince Westerners that baijiu is in the same category as whiskies and bourbons. It is certainly punching above its weight as far as alcohol is concerned. Most brown spirits top out at about 43 or 45 per cent, but baijius can range as high as 60 per cent by volume, with many of the premium bottles hovering in the low 50s.

Western palates may need some training to appreciate baijiu. Michael Pareles, manager at the US Meat Export Federation in Beijing, initially thought it tasted like ‘paint-thinner’, he said in an interview last year. But he added he eventually grew to like it.

“I believe baijiu will find a home outside China, but it will need to be tweaked to meet the needs of the local market,” says Derek Sandhaus, author of Baijiu, The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits.

“What needs to change is less the drink itself than how it is presented,” says Sandhaus, a native of Kansas who began drinking baijiu while working in China.

“In China, baijiu is served neat at room temperature, and almost exclusively with meals. In America and Europe, it is more common to take high-proof liqueur in a mixed drink.”