Held at The Connaught Bar in Mayfair London, the theme of the competition was ‘the marriage of Chinese tradition and western innovation’.

Zarina Guan, founder and chair of distributor Cheng International, said: “The competitors enjoyed discovering Fenjiu and their cocktail creations were extremely impressive.

“We plan now to build on this activity in the UK as our range of Fenjiu baijius open up a whole new world of delicious and exciting drinking experiences, including cocktails, and food and Fenjiu matching.”

Ten finalists were asked to create an original cocktail using Fenjiu 10 Years Old baijiu and points were awarded for taste, visual impact, aroma, personality, back-story, authenticity and theatre.

The winning Fenjiu cocktail by Dionori, The Golden Empire, is made with 35ml Fenjiu 10 Years Old, 10 ml Cocchi Americano, 7.5ml Palo Cortado and 10ml homemade Palo Santo cordial. 

For winning the competition, Dionori has received an all-expenses-paid trip to China to the Fenjiu distillery and the title of UK Fenjiu ambassador for one year.

The judging panel comprised of Brian Silva of Rules and Alessandro Palazzi of Dukes Hotel alongside Enrico Gonzato previously of Dandelyan and now The Stratford, and Matt Harrison of Speciality Brands.