Firewater is a bit of a mysterious entry here: it’s found in the Phoenix market, but hasn’t made much information available. It’s repped by the Sazerac brand, which is the second-largest conglomerate in the US.
It’s clearly marketed to be a Western-friendly intro to baijiu; it’s got some of the hallmarks of baijiu, but otherwise comes off as a different kind of spirit entirely. It’s very chemical, like a boiled-down Sprite.
But the flavor profile is friendly – it tested well among our panel of baijiu-beginners, who thought it might make a good mixer. The nose has a lot of kumquat, mandarin orange, and some crunchberry. The taste is very tropical in a chemical way, with some fishiness. It elicited comments like: ‘pixie stick powder’, ‘a tropical fruit Starburst right after you finished eating a tuna fish sandwich.”
If you’re a baijiu enthusiast, you probably won’t dig this. But if you’re looking for a new weird cocktail ingredient, you might want to give it a try!
Firewater Baijiu
