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Te Chu Chiew (‘特曲’) is another delicious offering from Luzhou Laojiao, available in the US market. The marketing copy for this product always mentions its designation as ‘one of the four famous strong aroma liquors,’ which I don’t know exactly how to interpret. But this is a great example of the strong aroma baijiu category. […]
Lian Zhou Gong Jiu has been in business since 1944 in Hebei, and they are just starting to export to the west. In fact, the exporter kindly sent us a sample to review, but they didn’t yet have final bottle design samples – thus the mockup versions shown here. The ‘Dade’ product (can this be […]
The Luzhou Laojiao Bainian is so named: bai nian = 百年 = century or 100 years. Hold your horses, though – this isn’t a product that’s been aged for one hundred years. But it has been procesed through a pit at Luzhou that’s been in operation for 100 years, so there’s a nice buildup of […]
Peppery! Actually quite delicious despite the low end bottling. Horsey smell but no detectable barnyard taste. Warm but not fiery. There’s a sharp, greenish flavor here – this is pretty delightful. Interestingly, this is neither Strong nor Light aroma, but ‘Phoenix Aroma’ – one of the smaller subcategories. The baijiu is fermented in mud pits, […]
This is a tiny 100mL bottle of Jiannan Laojiao; presumably related to Jian Nan Chun Chiew (which is delicious). Note: this is a discontinued product, and if you see it in stores, it’s the tail end of this stock. Grab it if you can! It’s another strong aroma, Sichuan-style baijiu, and it’s tasty: layered, with […]
If you know Red Star, you’ll appreciate this Beijing Erguotou; you’ll immediately recognize a similar flavor profile, but a marked quality increase. It’s clearly an upgrade from the cheap-but-everywhere baijiu. And there’s a reason for the similarity! Beijing was formed by former employees and executives at Red Star, creating a new company that could focus more […]
A light-aroma fenjiu from Tianjin in northern china, this baijiu is made from the typical sorghum but also includes barley, wheat and… peas, which I guess are grain-like enough. It’s a reliable choice, and widely available in the US. It’s got a chocolatey nose, perhaps like the avenging ghost of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate. The back […]
Confucius Family is a pretty widely available low-end baijiu, and this 375mL ceramic jar version comes distilled at a relatively mild 39% / 78 proof. It’s pretty smooth, and the sweetness of the sorghum gives it a wet mouthfeel. But be warned: the predominant flavor is very horsey – that barnyard tang you know and […]
Jian Nun Chun is: REALLY GREAT. This strong-aroma baijiu has tons of flavor. This is a great example of a baijiu that explodes on the tongue. Once you get past the initial blast, there’s maybe some nuttiness? Perhaps some warm papaya? You’ll definitely find a big barnyard aftertaste, but this layered, complicated flavor is part of […]
Apparently, the big brand Wuliangye – the heavyweightiest heavyweight next to Kweichow Moutai – spun off Jinliufu as a separate brand in China. But this bottle is cobranded – Wulianye on the front, Jinliufu on the side. Maybe an expert can set us straight here, but this is a mid-tier baijiu that packs a lot […]