It took Sam Lu more than three months to persuade master distiller John Fitzpatrick of Southern Grain Spirits to take on a challenge never done before. Together they used an original 1850s John Dore copper still, blending Chinese distillation science with Western engineering. Using New Zealand wheat, Australian sorghum, and pure Southern Alps water, they created 24,000 bottles that represented the first baijiu made in the Western world. This collaboration was more than production. It was the beginning of a legacy where innovation met tradition and two worlds became one.