Top 10 Chinese Alcohol Brands
Kweichow Moutai is the most famous Chinese liquor brand, regarded as the national liquor in China. It is the origin of sauce-aroma liquor and has a history of more than 800 years. Moutai is made from high-quality sorghums and high-temperature wheat yeast in Maotai Town in Guizhou Province. The amount of yeast is far more than sorghums. It is fermented for several times, and at least 5 years is spent to make the liquor. These are the reasons for its unique style and excellent quality. Moutai is characterized by prominent sauce aroma, soft and mellow taste, long lasting aroma after drinking.
2. Wu Liang Ye
Wu Liang Ye is a famous Chinese alcohol brand and a representative of strong-aroma liquor produced in Yibin, Sichuan Province. It is made of five kinds of high-quality grains: sorghums, glutinous rice, rice, wheats and corns at a harmonious ratio of 36: 18: 22: 16: 8. Thus it was named as “Wu Liang Ye”, literally meaning five-grain liquor. It is mellow and a little sweet with a long-lasting aroma. Wu Liang Ye has won many national and international prizes over years.
Jian Nan Chun is produced in Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, called Jiannan in Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) and liquor was called “chun” at that time, thus its name. As early as in Tang Dynasty, according to legend, famous poet Li Bai sold his coat to buy this liquor. Since then, Jian Nan Chun has been praised by people for thousands of years. It is a strong-aroma liquor that is made from high qualitied grains. It has the oldest fermenting cellar in China built in Qi (479 – 502 AD) of Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Jian Nan Chun is one of the best Chinese liquor brands in China.
Luzhou Laojiao might be the best strong-aroma liquor today and has been identified as a representative of Chinese alcohol. It is produced in Luzhou, Sichuan, where has a long history of winemaking since Qin and Han Dynasties (221BC – 220 AD). People there have a rich experience in winemaking. Luzhou Laojiao must reach a fixed standard before it can be sold, ensuring its quality and unique style. It is the first liquor using wheat yeast to ferment. It also has many ancient cellars, among which the oldest one was built in 1573. “Laojiao” in its name just refers to the ancient cellars.
5. Xifengjiu
Xifengjiu Liquor is a traditional wine produced in Liulin Town, Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province. It has a history of more than 3,000 years, and there are not a few folklores about it. Xifengjiu Liquor combines the advantages of both light-aroma and strong-aroma liquors, and formed a compound-aroma that is called Feng-aroma. It is famous for its unique style of not easy to be drunk, throat moisturizing and good aftertaste, and is commended by those who like to drink hard alcohol.
6. Fenjiu
Fenjiu is an ancient historical wine and the typical representative of light-aroma liquor in China. It is produced in Fenyang, Shanxi Province. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 - 589 AD), as the royal wine at court, Fenjiu has been highly praised and famous. In the late Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), Du Mu’s famous poem "Qingming" made it more popular. It has been a leading Chinese liquor brand for thousands years. Nowadays, Fenjiu enjoys a good reputation both at home and abroad.
7. Gujing Gongjiu
Gujing Gongjiu is a Chinese alcohol brand in Bozhou, Anhui Province. It got popular in 196 AD when Cao Cao, the powerful people in Three Kingdoms Period, promoted it together with its brewing method to the emperor at that time. Since then, Gujing Gongjiu has been a royal tribute. It has been honored as "the king in the wine". It features in the clear color as crystal, the pure fragrance as orchid, the mellow taste and the lasting aftertaste.
8. Dongjiu
Produced in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, Dongjiu is a famous Chinese liquor brand. It inherits Chinese traditional winemaking method of thousands of years. It is produced in a unique way, combing Chinese medicines with liquor. Therefore, Dongjiu is unique among Chinese famous wines, and its original making process and formula were listed as national secrets. Its aroma absorbs the strong fragrance of wheat yeast liquor as well as the mellow and sweet aftertaste of rice yeast liquor. The uique liquor aroma was named after Dongjiu called dong aroma. Dongjiu has a kind of Chinese medical aroma and refreshing and slight sour taste.
9. Yanghe Daqu
Yanghe Daqu is produced at Yanghe Town, Suqian City in Jiangsu Province. Yanghe Town has already been a famous winemaking place since Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). Yanghe Daqu is a kind of strong-aroma liquor that is made from the local spring water with high-quality grains and peas, combining with traditional techniques and modern biotechnology. It is soft and a little sweet. It has gain many prizes and was selected as one of China's ten famous wines.
10. Langjiu
Langjiu is one of the most famous Chinese alcohol brands from Erlang Town, Gulin County, Luzhou, Sichuan. For thousands of years, a unique microbial circle has been formed in the Langjiu liquor production base. The finished liquor has more than 400 kinds of microorganisms which can produce more than 110 kinds of aromatic ingredients through a series of complicated processes, which naturally form the unique taste of Langjiu. Besides, the unique wine banks of Langjiu are two natural caves located on the mountain slopes. Storing Langjiu in the caves for a period of time can make the taste better. The longer it is stored, the less harmful substances the wine has, and the more fragrant and healthier the wine is.
Further Reading
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Chinese Rice Wine (Mijiu) - Thousands of Years’ Old Brewage in China
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