What Makes Baijiu The Chinese Liquor So Collectible?

What Makes Baijiu So Collectible?

If you’re looking to start a new collection, you could do worse than to look into baijiu. This Chinese alcohol may not on the tip of many tongues in the west right now, but that’s destined to change soon.

Baijiu is an industrial-strength spirit, so it may take a little adjustment before it becomes palatable. It’s consumed with abandon in China, by pivotal state figures and the common man alike. Those of us with delicate and unsuspecting western taste buds, however, famously struggle with the high alcohol content.

Read more

How To Make Baijiu – The Chinese Liquor

How To Make Baijiu - The Chinese Liquor

For those of you who want to understand more on how Baijiu is made, the first thing to note is that it depends on the aroma. Sauce, strong, light and rice are made in slightly different ways and each distinction develops its own fascination with ingredient differences (See Baijiu Ingredients)and how those differences affect the taste (and indeed, aroma).

In general, the process starts with fermenting cooked sorghum with other grains, including Jiuqu. Jiuqu is made of crushed wheat, barley, and peas sometimes. It develops yeast and fungi under temperature and humidity adjustments. Mixing jiuqu with sorghum creates enzymes which break down the grains and help to create Baijiu’s many flavours. The yeast leads to ethanol.

Grains are soaked in hot water and as they expand, crushed jiuqu is added to the grains. The mixture is then fermented in a pit or jar depending on what aroma of Baijiu is being made. Fermentation is when sugars, alcohol, amino acids and various flavour compounds really come together. For example, sauce aroma Baijiu will start to smell more like soy and is dominated by the market leader, Moutai.

Read more

Baijiu Brands? No1 Selling Chinese Liquor

Baijiu Brands? No1 Selling Chinese Liquor

Make mine a………What drink outsells both vodka and whisky globally?

You would be forgiven for thinking that vodka (or forms of gin, whisk(e)y – or even rum) might feature as the spirits that dominate spirits trade. And if you are looking at a geographical spread you would be right. And if you compared those same spirits to the English language, then it is the most widely spoken language in the world.

However the most spoken language is North Mandarin in terms of populace and indeed it is a Chinese spirit – Baijiu – which outsells all those other spirits.

Baijiu actually accounts for 31% of the sales volume in spirit drinks. Vodka at 19% and whisky at 11% combine at 30%, still lower than Baijiu on its own. It’s incredible to think that Baijiu is still only known marginally outside of mainland China.

Read more