Shanghai ( CNN ) -- Baijiu can taste like a mix of cheap perfume and cleaning agents to the uninitiated palate . The clear alcohol , which is distilled from sorghum , glutinous rice or even wheat , is considered a national drink of China . It is also the world 's most consumed spirit by volume . According to International Wine & Spirit Research , baijiu accounts for more than a third of all spirits consumed globally . But there remains little thirst for it outside of China . A crackdown on Chinese officials ' lavish spending has affected domestic sales of baijiu , a customary drink at banquets and a common luxury gift . Baijiu producers concerned with the slump in sales are looking to expand the overseas market , but results remain to be seen . Meanwhile , a new English-language publication hopes to achieve the seemingly impossible : make non-Chinese fall in love with baijiu . Debunking myths . American author Derek Sandhaus would be the first one to agree that baijiu is an acquired taste . His book `` Baijiu : The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits , '' released last month , began as a blog documenting Sandhaus ' experiment to drink 300 shots of the stuff -- rumor has it , that is how much rookies need to drink before learning to enjoy the flavor . About 75 shots in , Sandhaus says he already started to appreciate the drink . He 's now a ready evangelist for the spirit , hoping to debunk all baijiu myths . `` Right now the understanding of baijiu , and traditional Asian alcohols in general , is extremely low , '' Sandhaus says . `` The biggest misconception is that the word 'baijiu ' signifies a single type of spirit . Baijiu is actually a byword for all grain-based spirits produced using traditional Chinese techniques . It 's a broad category that includes more than a dozen distinct liquors . '' Different baijius range in strength from over 60 % alcohol by volume , to a far gentler 30 % . They also have distinct flavor profiles , with classifications including `` light aroma , '' `` heavy aroma , '' and `` sauce aroma . '' `` Rice aroma '' is the class of baijiu that many non-Chinese find most palatable . The misconception that Sandhaus says most threatens baijiu 's success overseas , however , is that it is dangerous to the drinker 's health . In fact , `` baijiu is no more unhealthy than your average rum or whiskey . '' Attempts have been made to popularize baijiu in the United States . The Houston , Texas-based distillery Byejoe USA is importing a baijiu base that is then filtered and sold in the U.S . While in Portland , Oregon , baijiu is produced at Vinn Distillery in small amounts as an artisanal product . Sandhaus is excited about these developments : `` These efforts are relatively recent and which approach will be most successful remains to be seen . '' `` I 'm optimistic that baijiu will establish a foothold outside of China , but it wo n't happen overnight . '' For dinner , not parties . In China , the baijiu industry faces its own challenges . In a bid to curtail lavish government spending , President Xi Jinping has reined in officials ' budgets for banqueting , and has curbed a culture of gifting , popularly associated with corruption . The measures have seen profits of luxury status-symbol brands of baijiu fall sharply . Baijiu made $ 81 billion last year , according to the China Alcoholic Drinks Association . The growth rate is 15.6 % lower than in 2012 , with a 2 % drop in profits . The setbacks have affected British liquor giant Diageo , which owns a controlling stake in the Quanxing holding company , the largest shareholder of Sichuanese baijiu brand Shui Jing Fang . Diageo CEO Ivan Meneze anticipates that the baijiu market will recover in 2015 . Younger drinkers . Questions remain , however , over the longer term future of the spirit , which is less popular among young people , and faces growing competition from foreign spirits . Vance Yang , 39 , is the owner of Yuan , a Shanghai bar celebrated for its Chinese perspective on Western cocktail making . The bar does n't offer straight baijiu , but does use it in several mixed drinks , including a `` Dark and Smoggy , '' which contains 30ml of rum to only 5ml of the potent Chinese liquor . Yang says that alcohol consumption differs greatly by region , with baijiu popular in rural areas , the north , and the southwest of China . Regarding younger drinkers , he says , `` those from baijiu consuming regions will carry on drinking it . But to the Chinese , baijiu is still consumed during meal times . Once they go out to party at night , they will switch to imported spirits . '' Yang himself tends to drink baijiu at dinner or with business partners , but mostly in second or third tier cities , not in Shanghai . Nevertheless , the bar owner is cautiously optimistic about a future for baijiu outside China . `` It is difficult because it has an acquired smell and taste , similar to stinky tofu . Either you like it or hate it . ''
American author Derek Sandhaus reached the 300-shot threshold to learn to love baijiu . Biggest myth : Baijiu is dangerous . Artisanal baijiu producers crop up in the United States . Chinese youth choose imported spirits over traditional tipple .