Moutai Baijiu

Baijiu is China’s national spirit and the most consumed spirit in the world by volume. It is usually distilled from sorghum, sometimes with wheat, rice or corn. Fermentation is started with qu, a grain-based culture of yeasts and moulds. Unlike most spirits, the grain is fermented and distilled as a solid mash rather than a liquid wash. Baijiu is grouped by aroma type, the main styles being sauce, strong, light and rice aroma. It is generally bottled between 40% and 60% and served neat in small cups alongside food.

Kweichow Moutai is China’s best-known baijiu producer and the original maker of the sauce-aroma (jiangxiang) style. Its distillery is in Moutai Town on the Chishui River in Guizhou Province. Moutai is made from local glutinous sorghum and wheat, and the grain goes through nine steamings, eight fermentations and seven distillations over a one-year cycle. The spirit is then aged in clay jars and blended, a process of around five years for the flagship. The range runs from the entry-level Yingbin, through Golden Prince and Prince, to Moutai 1935 and the flagship Kweichow Moutai Flying Fairy.