![]() ![]() ![]() Legend has it that Yi Di, one of Yu the Great’s court chefs, invented alcoholic beverages 4,000 years ago. It is distinct enough that it leaves little middle ground - you’ll either love it or hate it.īaijiu distillate from the still (photo courtesy of Derek Sandhaus) What are baijiu’s origins? It is an earthy, umami brew with an impenetrable blend of flavors: sesame, caramel, mushrooms, coffee, dark chocolate, herbs, nuts, etc. This style comes from Guizhou and combines northern and southern production techniques, using stone-lined pits for the fermentation of sorghum. Notable brands: Luzhou Laojiao, Wuliangye Sauce-aroma baijiu It is fruity, floral, and funky, with notes of pineapple, anise, and cheese. Strong aroma uses a mash of sorghum, sometimes blended with other grains, repeatedly fermented for months at a time in subterranean mud pits. ![]() Notable brands: Xinghuacun Fenjiu, Red Star Strong-aroma baijiuĬhina’s most popular style of baijiu, originating in Sichuan. Originally from Shanxi Province, it is perhaps best known for the cheap and notorious Èrguōtóu 二锅头 subcategory, invented in Beijing. Distilled from sorghum fermented in stone containers, this is a dry, herbaceous drink with a sweetness reminiscent of raisins and apricots. Notable brand: Guilin Sanhua Light-aroma baijiuĭon’t let the name mislead you - this type tends to be the most potent of the bunch. Its mildness makes it ideal as a base for infusions. Rice aromas often taste of toasted rice, lemon rind, and honey - somewhere in the spectrum between a vodka and a Korean soju. The government currently recognizes 12 styles, but four of them account for the overwhelming majority of the market: Rice-aroma baijiuĭistilled from long- and short-grain rice, this is a mild and approachable baijiu from southeastern China, especially Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The major styles of baijiu are grouped by “aroma-type” (香型 xiāng xíng), an official system developed in the late 20th century in which each type corresponds to a specific regional production style. That means it can alternatively serve as a sedate sipper or an industrial-strength sedative. The solid fermented grain is steamed in a device that functions like a large dim sum basket, and the resulting vapors are collected and cooled back into a potent, flavorful liquid: baijiu.Ĭontemporary Chinese distillers typically age baijiu for at least six months, blend it for complexity and consistency, and bottle it between 38-65% alcohol by volume. What makes baijiu different from most of its global counterparts is the use of an ancient ingredient called qū 曲, a grain-based culture of microorganisms that converts starch into alcohol. So what do these drinks have in common? Steamed sorghumĪll baijius are distilled from grain, usually sorghum, but sometimes rice, wheat, corn, millet, and others. ![]() This is also what makes baijiu great for new drinkers: Its variety is endless, and there are products within the category suitable for almost every taste. Baijiu is in fact an eclectic category of traditional Chinese spirits that includes at least a dozen unique drinks. One of the stickiest misconceptions surrounding baijiu is that it is a single type of distilled spirit, like vodka or gin. Yet for all its popularity and all the emotion it evinces in its subjects, baijiu - 白酒 (báijiǔ), literally “white alcohol” - is still poorly understood within and without China. ![]()
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