TIFU by drinking 53% ABV Chinese Liquor (maotai/moutai)—> apologizes for formatting I’m on mobile.
So, me and my boyfriend have a very rich friend from china as we attend a university that has a big international population. After winter break so January 2025 ish, he brought back some gifts from china such as tea, key caps, and some alcohol. Since receiving alcohol (my boyfriend was the gift receiver for that specific gift) I have not touched or drank it as the smell made me want to puke. I want to say I am not being disrespectful by no means necessary but if you could imagine what 53% alcohol smells or taste like, it’s pretty close to rubbing alcohol.
So here we are doing our respective tasks and he picks up the bottle of maotai and I told him to drink it since you know, it’s just been sitting in the box… how bad can it be? He drinks a cap full and hands it to me to drink a cap full which I proceeded to do. I didn’t even finish the full cap, I closed my nose with my fingers and tried to take it like a shot since I heard that’s useful for hard liquor but just the taste made me feel like I was going to throw up. This proceeded to make me shake when the taste touched my mouth which causes some to spill on my lips and my hand which for some reason BURG and I thought I’d be fine with getting the taste out my mouth so I drank some water and starry.
Nope, 1 minute later I’m vomiting , and not a normal vomit, it’s coming out my NOSE. So I finish throwing up clean myself up, then go to grab my clothes out the dryer. As I am grabbing my clothes I sniffle(I have been sick with a stuffy/ runny nose) and some vomit enters my mouth and I threw up AGAIN. So here I am now my throat burns, I can still smell vomit in my nose and I’ve come to the conclusion I’d rather shoot myself before I drink that again.
TLDR: Friend brought back some expensive alcohol from china, me and my boyfriend wanted to try it out and due to the high percentage of ABV, I threw up and now I’m stuck with my throat burning and my nose smelling like vomit.
Comments
You’re supposed to sip it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEf-xV9hQc
the fuck OP
Spirits may not be for you if 53% ABV gives you this reaction. ~50% is pretty standard for cheap, common vodka/tequila/whiskies and you can easily shoot past 70% without spending a lot of money.
Have you never taken a shot before? 53% isn’t that crazy. Most liquors are in the 40-45 range with plenty of whiskeys and other spirits getting up into the 50% or higher range
Sounds like cask strength bourbon, I drink that with ice
In China Moutai is quite a well liked and special alcohol. I never had it until my SO’s parents offered me some when we first met and I took it like a shot, then was told to sip it haha
I will say though that if you’re not used to drinking this type of alcohol (Baijiu) or any alcohol in general, then the taste/smell/strength could be overwhelming.
Maotai is disgusting, and you can’t mask the flavor with mixers, it refuses to be diluted. They make it from fermented sorghum and even the best maotai is just nasty
I always suggest ‘priming’ your mouth by getting a bit of saliva built up, take a small amount and run it around your entire tongue, swallow. Then take the shot or sip. Very helpful with moonshine and higher abv stuff but I find helpful across the board not just in acclimating myself but also getting a better flavor overall from a spirit. Even if they think it’s ‘disrespectful’ I’d tell them it’s better than spitting it up lol