A potent clear liquor distilled from sorghum and toasted at Chinese banquets. Solid-state fermentation in earthen pits with qū starter makes it unlike any other spirit, and it is the world’s best-selling spirit by volume.
Distilling is illegal without a licence, and the fermentation depends on centuries-old pit mud and a living qū culture that exists nowhere but in those distilleries.
What goes into it
- sorghum, sometimes with wheat, rice, maize and glutinous rice
- qū — a brick of grain colonised by moulds, yeasts and bacteria
- water
How it is made
Steamed grain is mixed with crushed qū and buried in earthen pits, sometimes lined with mud that has been in use for centuries, where saccharification and fermentation happen together in a solid mass rather than a liquid. The fermented grain is then steam-distilled, and the mash is often refermented and redistilled several times over. Each distillery’s pit mud and qū are its identity.
How long it takes: weeks to months per fermentation cycle, then years of jar ageing
How it is eaten
In small cups at banquet toasts, at room temperature, with food.
History
Distilling reached China by the Yuan dynasty; solid-state fermentation in earthen pits with qu starter makes it the world’s best-selling spirit by volume.
Frequently asked questions
What is Baijiu?
Baijiu is a wine & spirit from China: potent clear liquor distilled from sorghum, toasted at banquets. Distilling reached China by the Yuan dynasty; solid-state fermentation in earthen pits with qu starter makes it the world’s best-selling spirit by volume.
How is Baijiu made?
Steamed grain is mixed with crushed qū and buried in earthen pits, sometimes lined with mud that has been in use for centuries, where saccharification and fermentation happen together in a solid mass rather than a liquid. The fermented grain is then steam-distilled, and the mash is often refermented and redistilled several times over. Each distillery’s pit mud and qū are its identity. It takes weeks to months per fermentation cycle, then years of jar ageing.
Can I make Baijiu at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Distilling is illegal without a licence, and the fermentation depends on centuries-old pit mud and a living qū culture that exists nowhere but in those distilleries.
What goes into Baijiu?
Sorghum, sometimes with wheat, rice, maize and glutinous rice, qū — a brick of grain colonised by moulds, yeasts and bacteria, water.
How is Baijiu eaten?
In small cups at banquet toasts, at room temperature, with food.
