Baijiu is the most popular alcoholic drink in the world

If you think that the best—selling alcoholic beverages in the world are whiskey or Russian vodka, then you are deeply mistaken. Most of the world's population has never tasted this alcohol. And the most popular alcohol on the planet is probably unknown to you. This is not surprising, because the Chinese prefer it, that is, the most numerous people. This baijiu is not only the most popular alcoholic product, but perhaps the most ancient.

China is a country with an ancient culture and wherever you look, there are some traditional old things everywhere. Many experts consider baijiu vodka to be the oldest strong alcohol in the world. The first, primitive samples of it appeared in the 6th millennium BC!

Traces of baijiu have been found by archaeologists in prehistoric clay vessels. We do not know whether it was consumed as a simple drink or used in religious rituals of the tribes. But it is known that it was made from grapes and it was strong enough.

Officially, it is believed that the fermentation process, which involves yeast and mold, was discovered during the reign of the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC. Before that, natural processes were used, the same as in the production of wine. The discovery of the production of alcohol from sugar taken from grain sugar has revolutionized the production of alcohol. Baijiu has become much stronger and more popular.

Around 960-1270 AD, the recipe for traditional strong alcohol was improved. It hasn't changed much since then. Since the 13th century, baijiu has become a real national drink of the Chinese and it has been appreciated even outside the Celestial Empire. Now this vodka is one of the business cards of Chinese alcohol producers. There is not a single international exhibition with the participation of China, where baijiu of several types would not be presented.

The technology of baijiu cooking differs in different regions of China, but the basic rules are the same for everyone. They have been developed over many centuries and will survive many more generations. Nowadays, processes that were once manually mechanized, but the element of romance in production still remained.

We will tell you about the production of the most popular baijiu variety with the unpronounceable name Jiangxiaobai. The main raw materials for this drink are grains of red sticky sorghum. They are soaked in hot water for 18-20 hours. The swollen grains are steamed and then cooled. Yeast is added to them and the resulting mixture is kept in a special pit with stone walls until it is sugared and fermented.

When the material reaches the condition, it is lifted up and distillation begins. The temperature is raised gradually, starting from 25 degrees. Then separate the head and tail fractions and pour the finished baijiu into bottles or jugs.

China produces 13 varieties of baijiu with different taste and strength. The lightest drink is named Qing Xiang, and the strongest is Nong Xiang. The stronger the baijiu variety, the more popular it is. But the varieties of this drink are not well known in the world. Outside of the Celestial Empire, there is only one species, the preparation of which we talked about – Jiangxiaobai.

The alcohol content in this baijiu can be from 25 to 40 revolutions. The taste of the pure drink resembles Russian vodka. Often, different components are added to baijiu for taste, for example, almonds and apples. With such additives, this alcohol acquires a pleasant smell and a sweet taste.

Outside of China, only people from this country and few connoisseurs know about baijiu. In the homeland of the drink, it can be offered in any bar and restaurant.