In China, the special fragrance and aroma of Moutai were particularly names as “Jiang-flavour”, with fragrance and aroma the much, the richest, the most balanced, the many layers and the most mysterious in the world.

Moutai factory locates in the valley of Chishui River with just 400 meters more above sea level; while the Mountains around are averagely over 1,000 meters above sea level; the big difference in heights formed a huge “wine-steamer-like” environment, plus the Chishui River keeps flowing all year round; all those elements therefore created a climate with nice weather and temperature. Hence hundreds of microbes live actively in the factory environment and benefits the brewing process; these invisible and untouchable elves affect the formation of the Jiang-flavour directly.

Four-seasons Brewing

During its whole year producing period of Moutai, organic sorghum and wheat manufactured around the river valley area provide essential bouquet contents for this unique “Jiang-flavour”. Within a year’s time, these two kinds of organic grain experienced the brewing sections like batch feeding, cooking, starter propagation, materials storing, materials adding, stacking, fermenting, and distilling etc.; these unique and mysterious techniques are already being inherited for a thousand years.

With microbes’ sufficient acting, the liquor enriched by the nature was being brewed in the cellars with different types and processed to mixing after that; when the whole process is done, 5 years passed. At that time, Moutai is intoxicating enough. The judge in San Francisco World Spirits Competition, cocktail columnist in magazine Malt Advocate said “Kweichow Moutai is, one of the liquors with the most complicated and interesting texture on the planet.”

The Most Complicated Aroma

The main content of this Jiang-flavour liquor with “the most complicated texture” still could not be confirmed. As early as 1982, Japanese scholars used the Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method to analyze the bouquets of Moutai and resulted that there are 230 kinds.

A long-term specific study shows Moutai has more than one thousand kinds of aroma are all comparatively higher. Beside the fragrant materials like ester, alcohol, aldehyde and acid, it contains other materials which are good for health like natural pyrazine, natural homofuraneol, 5-HMF and coumarone etc., which are also very important for forming the unique Jiang-flavour. 

It can be said that Jiang-flavour liquor is the grain distilled spirit with the most complicated aroma in the world, and Moutai as one of them has the best quality. It has brewed not only a long-lasting Jiang-flavour for more than 2,000 years; but had recorded a scroll of ancient Chinese liquor culture.

Source Reference: Issue 3 of Moutai Magazine - International Edition