Distilling in the Chinese Himalayas

[MountainBandit]

Hi, I'm an American distiller in the Chinese Himalayas (Dali, Yunnan), originally from Louisiana. I've been distilling for about five years, after about a decade and a half of brewing on two continents. I've played with some grain-based spirits, but mostly I work with sugar cane, for rum and as cane neutral spirits for gin, absinthe, and a host of liqueurs, because we're in cane country (we're at high altitude but further south in latitude than my home in Louisiana, which is also cane country). I'm looking to start a small craft distillery in the near future, but for the moment my distilling all takes places in my home, so I think I still belong in this forum

I'm happy to be part of the community, and immensely grateful to the host and the people who respond!

[Yummyrum]

Welcome to HD MountainBandit .

Whoow , surprised you are able to grow sugar cane up in them mountains . Sounds like amazing place of the world .

[dukethebeagle120]

I googled dali.
That is a beautiful place
May i ask what took you so far from louisiana.
Great to have you here

[MountainBandit]

Thanks for the welcome! I moved to China after college and eventually figured out this is the best place in the country to live. The microclimates in my region are nuts. The valley where I live grows rice, corn, beans, and veggies, and feels like Northern California. A 45 minute drive to the north plus a 6 hour hike up the mountain, and there are yaks. A few hours drive to the west, and it's the best coffee in China. The best red wine in China (imho) is grown in the Mekong valley a few hours north of here in Tibetan territory, where the valley is Mediterranean climate but you can see snow mountains looming in the distance. The valley to the northeast is famous for its barley spirits. The valley to the east of mine feels like Southern California and grows hot weather fruits, lots of citrus, table grapes, and... sugar cane!

[Beerswimmer]

Very cool place, and welcome!

[Cabron99]

A big welcome to our community. More info here than you'll ever need.
BTW I'm a big fan of rum. Seems to turn out just right, although I'm smoking some agave leaves for a "tequila" right now. Have some blue agave syrup and I'll ferment with some smoked agave for flavor.

Once again, welcome.

[Chauncey]

Welcome to the forum. Born and raised new orleans boy here.

Would love to see some gorgeous copper with himilayan mtns in background!