There are mainly 3 origins of spirit:

1. Malted grain - Represented by whisky, the ingredient of these spirit is malted and brewed into alcoholic beverage, which will then be distilled.

2. Fruit: Represented by Cognac, the ingredient of these spirit is fruit. They are fermented into wine and then distilled into spirit.

3. Moldy grain: Represented by baijiu, the ingredient of these spirit is mixed with Qu to go through saccharification and fermentation at the same time. Then distillation follows.

Therefore, British biochemist Joseph Needham stated Qu as the fifth Great invention of China in his writing on the history of Chinese science and technology.

Each unique kind of spirit is brewed by specific ingredient from specific region. However, the process of deciding which ingredient can be lengthy. This is exactly the case with Chinese baijiu.

Technically, baijiu can be brewed by all kinds of grain, such as rice, corn, sorghum, peas, potato, cassava. Since the starch, protein and fat content of each kind of grain are different, the spirits they brew are various.

Wheat / Barley / Pea: high protein content leads to overgrowing of infectious microbe and therefore unpleasant flavors.

Sticky Rice / Buckwheat: too sticky to ferment efficiently.

Rice: easy to make pasty because of low fat and cellulose, and relatively higher protein content results in unpleasant flavors. That’s the reason why sake makers need to polish the rice first.

Corn: too much phytic acid leads to sweeter baijiu and high fat results in unpleasant flavors.

Sweet potato / Cassava: lesser protein and fat results in less flavorful and lower quality baijiu, and higher pectin substance brings out the earthiness in baijiu.

Sorghum: higher starch content means more efficient fermentation. With perfectly right amount of fat and protein, unpleasant flavors can be avoided. Abundant vitamin B3 and B5 benefits the growing of microorganism.

As you can see, sorghum is undoubtedly the perfect ingredient of baijiu. There many species for sorghum. They can be divided into red sorghum, white sorghum and yellow sorghum according to the color of the ear or divided into glutinous sorghum and japonica sorghum according to their properties.

After years of experiments, glutinous sorghum is considered the best ingredient to make baijiu. The red glutinous sorghum in Luzhou city has been growing there since Shang and Zhou dynasty more than 3000 years ago. The purpose of growing glutinous sorghum was making liquor from the very beginning, which is very different from the sorghum grown in North east China.

The sorghum grown in North east China are mainly japonica sorghum, whose purpose is to eat and feed. The difference between North east sorghum and those grown in the south of Sichuan province is similar to rice and sticky rice. People live in the south of Sichuan use sticky rice to make liquor as well. That’s why sticky rice is also called the rice of liquor.

Unlike japonica sorghum, glutinous sorghum is better at locking up moisture during fermentation and slowly releasing nutrients.

For thousands of years, glutinous sorghum has been optimized to make premium baijiu. Now Guojiao No. 1 and No.2 red sorghum are specially bred for making Guojiao 1573.

To improve the quality of baijiu in Luzhou city, Luzhou Laojiao put forward the idea of organic ingredient production in 2001. Relevant explorations were carried out in selected locations in Luzhou and obtained the 'pollution-free base' certification and the “organic conversion product” certification over the following years.  

After the organic conversion period, Luzhou Laojiao obtained the 'organic sorghum' certification issued by COFCC.  The Luzhou Institute of Agricultural Sciences, the Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Sorghum Original Seed Base constructed by the Ministry of Agriculture jointly provided management and technical support for the sorghum base, which is unique among the premium baijiu producing areas in China.  

Organic agriculture benefits development of premium baijiu and baijiu industry will in turn benefits the development of agriculture. During the baijiu making process of Luzhou Laojiao, large quantity of fermented sorghum will be discarded each year to feed livestock, which means abundant organic fertilizer for the growth of organic sorghum. It’s a perfect ecosystem for organic agriculture.

Glutinous red sorghum plays an crucial part in Chinese baijiu industry. It is also one of the main reasons why Luzhou Laojiao can last for more than 440 years. The moment you taste baijiu at the tip of your tongue is the moment you truly understand the path from sorghum to baijiu, from grain to glass.