After living abroad in China for 15 years, Matt Trusch brought an ultra premium Chinese liquor, byejoe: spirit of china, back home to the States. Now, Trusch is pioneering a modern revolution in Asian fusion mixology that can't be ignored — especially during happy hour. 

byejoe is a reinvention of the ancient Chinese white spirit called baijiu. Despite its vast consumption in China, which makes baijiu the most consumed spirit on the planet, baijiu was virtually unknown in the U.S. until now.

The essence of byejoe is hand-crafted in China by local artisans from the finest naturally-gluten-free red sorghum grain and imported in small batches to the U.S., where it then goes through a special patented filtration process that uses oxidation and ultrasound to clean, round and smooth the distillate. The result is an alluring, ultra premium spirit that’s smooth and sophisticated for contemporary tastes.

The innovative spirit has been well received by the industry, winning top awards in U.S. and international spirits competitions, including Double Gold at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Excellent / Highly Recommended at the 2013 New York Ultimate Spirits Challenge where judges described it as having, “crisp aromas of pear, red apple, and honeysuckle.”

byejoe is also very mixable and versatile, and is quickly being adopted by discerning consumers. It can be enjoyed in its signature cocktail – the byejoe original Chinese lychee martini – as well as other exotic fusion cocktails such as the Chinese mojito, Chinese caipirinha, Shanghai mule and Saint Joe. 

byejoe red and byejoe dragon fire (the original red flavor infused with dragon fruit, lychee and Szechuan hot chilis) can now be found at select locations around the Bay Area such as F8, Vertigo, and Koi Palace. You can find your nearest location here.