Baijiu
Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: báijiǔ; lit. 'white (clear) liquor'), or shaojiu (烧酒/燒酒), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of qū for fermentation to create a distinct and characteristic flavor profile.
A glass and bottle of “Jiugui” (酒鬼) brand baijiu | |
| Type | Distilled beverage |
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| Country of origin | China |
| Region of origin | East Asia |
| Alcohol by volume | 35–65% |
| Proof (US) | 56–130 |
| Color | Clear |
| Variants | light aroma, strong aroma, sauce aroma, rice aroma, phoenix aroma, mixed aroma, chi aroma, sesame aroma, medicine aroma, extra-strong aroma, special aroma, laobaigan, small qu baijiu |
| Related products | shōchū, soju, huangjiu, mijiu, sake |
| Baijiu | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 白酒 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "white (clear) liquor" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 烧酒 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 燒酒 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | to heat (distilled) liquor | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Baijiu is a clear liquid usually distilled from fermented sorghum, although other grains may be used; some southeastern Chinese styles may employ rice or glutinous rice, while other Chinese varieties may use wheat, barley, millet, or Job's tears (Chinese: 薏苡; pinyin: yìyǐ) in their mash bills. The qū starter culture used in the production of baijiu is usually made from pulverized wheat grain or steamed rice.
Because of its clarity, baijiu can appear similar to several other East Asian liquors, e.g. Japanese shōchū (25%) or Korean soju (20–45%), but it often has a significantly higher alcohol content (35–60%).