The journey of an oriental food

Its name is sorghum
Red glutinous sorghum to be exact

In accordance with the ancient, traditional and authentic way of brewing Baijiu, which is using only one kind of grain as raw material, Luzhou Laojiao has always been using the grain of supreme quality consistently for brewing --- the organic red glutinous sorghum, which grows only in the south Sichuan, so that the Baijiu will become more pure and mellow. The sorghum grown on purple soil in the south Sichuan is red and bright in color, full in grain, free from impurities and pure in texture. The starch is mostly amylopectin, with certain tannin content, strong water absorption and easy gelatinization. 


Qu - an ingredient unique to Baijiu making
Qu - the backbone of Baijiu

In 1324 A.D., after more than thirty years of exploration and experiment, Guo Huaiyu, the inventor of Luzhou Laojiao traditional Baijiu-making technique, developed Ganchun Qu, a kind of Big Qu that can make the fragrance and taste of Baijiu more abundant and varied, opening a new era of Chinese Baijiu. Today, the Big Qu Baijiu owns more than 92% market share of Chinese Baijiu, and Guo Huaiyu is the true “ancestor of Chinese Big Qu”.


Qu - an ingredient unique to Baijiu making
Qu - an ingredient unique to Baijiu making
We call them fermentation pit
We call them fermentation pit
We call them fermentation pit
Solid fermentation happens here

The The older the pit is, the more microbes multiply in the pit, and more fragrant the Baijiu will be. The precious 1573 National Cellars (fermentation pits) have been producing Baijiu without interruption for more than four hundred and forty years and are the most ancient, most well preserved and most historical now in China. It is also acclaimed as the 'living cultural relics'.


Distillation
Distillation
Solid distillation different from other spirit

The traditional Baijiu-making techniques of Luzhou Laojiao passed on only by “oral instruction and mental comprehension” between the masters and the apprentices, for 24 generations. Our distiller looks like a huge Dim Sum steamer. Alcohol has a boiling point of 78.37℃, which is lower than water. When apply heat to fermented sorghum, the steam that comes out will contain more alcohol. The steam is then collected and condensed to liquid with higher alcohol percentage. Only the heart of distillate will be collected. Since it is solid distillation, distillate of up to 70% abv can be collected in one go.



Cultivate itself during years of dwelling in the cave
Cultivate itself during years of dwelling in the cave
Cultivate itself during years of dwelling in the cave
Baijiu is a living spirit with unique characters

Luzhou Laojiao has its three natural caves that are all ideal for storage of Baijiu , namely Chunyang Cave, Zuiweng Cave and Longquan Cave. The air in the caves flows extremely slowly and the temperature is stable at around 20 ℃ and the relative humidity at around 80% all year round. The constant temperature, humidity and abundant micro- organism varieties provide optimum conditions for the esterifying, aging and flavoring of Baijiu body. Baijiu in the clay pot can breathe and interact with the air outside and the interaction is vital for eliminating the substances that cause Baijiu to taste pungent and spicy. The flavor of each pot is unique.





Blending different batches
Blending different batches

Ensuring high quality and consistency

Different batches of ingredient, different distillates and different ageing period will give us various batches of baijiu. In order to ensure consistency on flavors and quality, various batches of baijiu will be blended through tasting and technical analysis by our baijiu-brewing master and liquor body design team.