SHĀNG Baijiu Whiskey Review: A Wild New Whiskey Category?

This week on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we’re talking about major whiskey and gaming news before diving into a double Byte-Sized Review of SHĀNG whiskey — a first-of-its-kind fusion of Chinese baijiu tradition and Kentucky whiskey aging. Barton 1792 just announced two major releases: its first-ever 1792 Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey and 1792 XV, a 15-year-old cask-strength, unfiltered bourbon that marks the oldest age-stated expression in the brand’s history. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail also added four new destinations, including Pursuit Spirits, giving a major milestone moment to a brand that started as a whiskey podcast. On the gaming side, Microsoft announced one of the biggest restructures in Xbox history, including thousands of job cuts and a major shift in strategy. Then it’s time for the main event: a double review of SHĀNG’s new jiàngxiāng whiskey releases. First up is SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ, made from Chinese sauce-aroma baijiu that is redistilled and aged in charred American oak in Kentucky. Then I review SHĀNG East + West Kentucky Blend, which combines that baijiu-based whiskey with American red sorghum whiskey. These are unlike anything I’ve reviewed before: sweet, earthy, savory, smoky, honeyed, mezcal-like, Islay-adjacent, and completely unique. 🥃 Topics covered: • 1792 Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey • 1792 XV 15 Year Cask Strength Bourbon • Kentucky Bourbon Trail adds Pursuit Spirits • Microsoft and Xbox restructuring • What is SHĀNG jiàngxiāng whiskey? • SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ review • SHĀNG East + West Kentucky Blend review • Final scores and which bottle I’d recommend first Would you try baijiu whiskey, or is this too far outside traditional American whiskey?   YouTube Chapter Markers: 00:00 Intro – Barton 1792, Bourbon Trail, Xbox & SHĀNG 00:32 Welcome + Episode Setup 01:07 Barton 1792 Rye + 1792 XV Bourbon 04:49 Kentucky Bourbon Trail Adds Pursuit Spirits 06:13 Microsoft Announces Major Xbox Restructure 08:58 Double Byte-Sized Review – SHĀNG Whiskey 11:41 SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ Review 15:21 SHĀNG East + West Kentucky Blend Review