In celebration of World Baijiu Day 2026, Ganbei Globe reached its climax with a live finale on 8 August 2026 at Salty Fish Jakarta. As Indonesia’s first baijiu-focused bartender competition, the national contest is dedicated to exploring creativity, technique, and modern interpretations of baijiu — China’s iconic spirit, which continues to gain recognition in the global cocktail and mixology scene — and served as a platform for Indonesia’s bartending community to showcase innovative approaches through bold, character-driven cocktails. A series of selection rounds and curated evaluations had already narrowed the national field down to a Top 8, and on finals night, those eight bartenders were challenged to demonstrate storytelling ability, technical precision, and a genuine understanding of baijiu as a base spirit.
The competition was supported by Langjiu, one of China’s leading premium baijiu producers, with a heritage rooted in Erlang Town, Sichuan and a reputation built on traditional brewing techniques and its signature natural cave-aging process. Langjiu holds the position of Official Baijiu Partner for both Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Bars, a role through which it has continued to champion baijiu on the global hospitality stage — supporting culinary excellence, bartending innovation, cultural exchange, and educational initiatives aimed at building wider appreciation for the spirit.
The finals were hosted at Salty Fish Jakarta, a modern cocktail bar known as one of the city’s creative hubs for hospitality and drinks innovation, while a parallel bar takeover ran at The Golden Tooth Jakarta, featuring Bastien Ciocca of San You Bar, Guangzhou, with Langjiu featured throughout the takeover’s cocktail menu.
THE WINNER
Charles Richard, representing Seken, Bali, took the win. Speaking afterward, he described baijiu as a genuine creative challenge given how unfamiliar it remains to Indonesian drinkers. “Baijiu is something which is unusual for the local market,” he said. “I think that’s a good challenge for us, the creative part. We need to somehow execute the drinks which can be accepted by the markets in general.”
His winning drink was built around that same balance between heritage and accessibility. “It’s about the traditions, it’s about the heritage,” he said. “And for sure, it should be something drinkable, and the people can enjoy it.”
ON THE APPROACH TO BAIJIU
That same tension — between honouring an unfamiliar spirit and making it approachable — came up again at the bar takeover, where Bastien Ciocca, co-owner of San You Bar in Guangzhou, and Andy, Director of Pelita Abadi Niaga, spoke about how a cocktail should treat baijiu as a base spirit. Both agreed the spirit should not be masked. “You shouldn’t really hide it,” Ciocca said. “The spirit is the backbone, the base of the cocktail. But of course, some cocktails will make it more pleasant, more approachable — and that’s probably the best way to start. Then you can go more technical, bolder, stronger.” Andy shared the same view. “If you start a cocktail without the taste itself, you just change everything,” he said. “There’s no point in using this as a cocktail. Hiding the taste itself is not a good cocktail.”
WHAT THE EVENT WAS BUILT TO DO
That philosophy extended to what the organisers hoped the night would ultimately achieve. Asked what the event was meant to accomplish, Andy pointed to exposure ahead of sales. “The most important part in this event is not about sales. It’s about exposure. The second part is experience. The third part is tasting,” he said. “I want our Indonesian people to know more about this particular category — it’s niche, but it can be done in cocktails, and it’s drinkable.” Ciocca framed the same ambition on a broader, more regional scale. “Baijiu is a very good connecting point from different countries around the world, to grow an interest for something that comes from Sichuan, or from different parts of the country,” he said. Andy added that the goal extended beyond a single night in Jakarta. “It’s something that brings interest to people and then makes them travel — come to our bars, travel to different regions, and get to learn about something that is worth learning,” he said. “Baijiu has so much flavour, so much history.”
More than a competition, Ganbei Globe stood as a celebration of baijiu, culture, creativity, and Indonesia’s growing bartending community — an effort to strengthen the spirit’s presence in the F&B industry while encouraging deeper exploration among hospitality professionals.
