What is Baijiu?
Baijiu is a Chinese spirit with a long history that intertwines social etiquette, spiritual religion & creative distillation resulting in multiple variations of styles within the category, some so specific that it is associated with a single distillery.
Baijiu literally translates to “White Alcohol” & as a result, it is hard to produce a simple description that can encompass what defines Baijiu & how it is made, however, it is possible to make general statements about the spirit;
-
The raw material used in all Baijiu is grains, however this is not limited to what type of grain. Commonly used grains are: sorghum, rice, corn & wheat.
-
Solid state fermentation is used over the course of weeks or months, as a result the parallel fermentation creates heavy flavours from the high esterfication that flavours all alcohol.
-
Typically maturation takes place in terracotta pots to allow the alcohol to settle & mellow before blending.
-
Baijiu is drunk classically in 15ml cups with friends at all occasions, it is also served in sharing 75ml carafes that can serve up to 5 people.
-
Baijiu is the family name of the alcohol category that is this spirit.
-
Within this category, Baijiu is broken into 4 major styles & 9 minor styles, these are known as "Aromas".
-
The 4 major aromas are: Strong, Light, Sauce & Rice (the name represents the production not the final product flavour or strength).
-
The 9 minor aromas are variants or hybrids of the 4 major aromas; Phoenix/ Sesame/ Fat/ Medicine/ Mixed/ Special/ Laobaigan/ Extra-Strong/ Light Aroma-Small Qu.
-
These are made all over China, with some being so rare that only a single distillery produces the aroma.
