Baijiu: The World’s Most Popular Spirit You Should Know Now

Baijiu, a traditional Chinese liquor, is not just a drink but a cultural phenomenon. And it’s also a financial juggernaut in the global spirits industry.

The global baijiu market was worth approximately $167 billion in 2023, according to London-based market research firm Euromonitor. And baijiu producer Kweichow Moutai was valued at approximately $87.52 billion in 2023, compared to Budweiser at just $12.96 billion, according to Kantar.

Often referred to as the world’s most consumed or popular spirit, baijiu is more than just a beverage. In China, it is a symbol of hospitality and social bonding.

“The role of alcohol runs much deeper than aesthetic harmony in Chinese culture,” says Derek Sandhaus, co-founder of Ming River Baijiu. “Alcohol has served a ritualistic purpose in China since its earliest prehistory, when it was used to connect connections between humans and spirits. People would make alcoholic offerings to gods, and later to dining companions, as a means of demonstrating respect and strengthening social bonds.”

Baijiu plays a pivotal role in traditional Chinese banquets and celebrations, where it is often consumed during toasts and ceremonies. The act of drinking baijiu is deeply embedded in Chinese etiquette, where it is customary to offer a toast to one’s guests or elders as a sign of respect.

“Intoxication is viewed with more ambivalence in China than in the Western cultures. When gathering with friends and family it’s crucial for everyone to honor one another with toasts, to drink together. This is especially true during major holidays or celebrations,” Sandhaus explains. “Drunkenness is in this context not a lack of restraint but a sometimes messy byproduct of a necessary social function.”

Baijiu is also a common sight during important events such as business meetings. Its role in fostering camaraderie and goodwill cannot be overstated, as it is believed to bring people closer together through shared experiences and mutual respect.

“There’s a saying in Chinese that roughly translates, ‘It’s not a meal without alcohol,’” says Sandhaus. “In China, food and drink are necessary components of a cuisine, each providing complementary flavors to the other and rounding out the dining experience.”

A Brief History

Baijiu, which translates in English to “white spirit,” boasts a legacy dating back over a thousand years. The earliest confirmed image of a Chinese still dates to the 19th century, and the first baijiu production manual wasn’t written until 1959.

“Very little is known about how baijiu was produced in pre-modern times, but there are a few things we can say definitively about how its production changed in the past century,” Sandhaus says. “Production equipment, in particular the Chinese pot still, improved in quality and yield. Blending and resting became standard practice. As experts studied various regional styles of baijiu, they developed a classification system and new production techniques.”

In modern times, baijiu production has become more streamlined and efficient, resulting in higher quality and more diverse output. While the fundamental techniques that define the category—wild micro-organic fermentation, solid-state fermentation and distillation—remain largely unchanged, our understanding of these processes has deepened.

Alcohol consumption patterns have also changed greatly in the past century and, to a lesser extent, decade. “Most of Chinese history drinking involved undistilled rice and millet-based fermented beverages, which were too expensive for ordinary people to drink regularly,” Sandhaus notes.

Archeological remains suggest the Chinese have been consuming alcohol for about nine thousand years, first using it in religious rituals as offerings to gods and spirits, later as a means of demonstrating respect and cementing the bonds of family and friendship. Elaborate rules governing everything from seating arrangements to pouring and toasting developed around it.

“Baijiu has a long connection with the Chinese countryside and working people, and after the Communist Revolution in 1949 proletarian baijiu eclipsed rice wine in prestige and prominence,” Sandhaus says. “After the reintroduction of free market economics in the 1980s, most people could afford to drink baijiu whenever they liked, and the usual range of social problems related to overconsumption emerged.”

Baijiu was not available for export in most countries until the 1980s, and Chinese distilleries mostly target local consumers who are already familiar with the drink. As a result, Sandhaus notes, most of the world’s baijiu is still consumed only in china.

“Even if a drinker wants to try it outside of China, they have few to no options at most Western retailers,” Sandhaus says. “This poses a tremendous educational hurdle for any baijiu brand to clear in the global market. Not only does one have to build a brand, but one also has to introduce an entire category of drinks.

On top of that, baijiu is a nuanced category with more than a dozen distinct styles that can be radically different in terms of production techniques and flavor. There has been progress has been made to introduce baijiu to new markets.

There are newer brands and entrepreunerus—including the team at Ming River—that believe that baijiu can carve out a place for itself beyond China’s borders. Sandhaus says his team is committed to educating consumers and alcohol industry professionals, one glass at a time. And since the company was founded in 2017, Ming River has expanded from two states and two countries to more than 35 states and 15 countries.

The Distillation Process

Solid-state fermentation and distillation are the defining techniques of baijiu production.

“About 5,000 years ago, probably by accident, the Chinese developed something called qu,” Sandhaus explains. Simply put, qu is grain mixed with water, formed into clumps, and allowed to naturally decompose in a controlled environment. Over days or weeks, the microorganisms that live in the air—mold, yeast and bacteria—form on the interior and exterior of the qu. It is then dried out to suspend the chemical processes and crushed into a powder to prepare for use.

“While it might seem like you’ve just spoiled some grain, what you’ve actually done is created the perfect alcohol starter,” Sandhaus says.

When qu is mixed with fresh steamed grain (usually sorghum, but any grain will do), the mold breaks down the grain’s starches into sugar (saccharification), while the yeast converts that sugar into alcohol (fermentation). Most Western grain alcohols, like beer and whiskey, perform saccharification and fermentation separately and in a liquid state, making baijiu distinct. Meanwhile, the bacteria in the qu mix with the alcohol to form the esters and aldehydes that give baijiu its unique funky, fruity and floral flavors. Because qu harvests microorganisms from the air, the flavor of a given baijiu is entirely dependent on the microclimate at the distillery, giving baijiu a characteristic similar to the winemaking notion of terroir.

At this point, you have a solid fermented grain mash. To extract the alcohol, the Chinese use a large pot still that functions similarly to a dim sum or vegetable steamer. The pot has a slotted bottom that holds the solid mash and is placed over boiling water. As the steam travels through the fermented mash, the alcohol vaporizes and begins to rise off the top of the mash. The vapor is trapped, piped into a condenser, and cooled back into a crystal-clear liquid, usually about 35% to 65% alcohol by volume, which in the end is called baijiu.

Flavor Profiles

Baijiu’s flavor profile can be a surprise to the uninitiated. It is known for its strong aroma and complex taste, which can range from fruity and floral to earthy and savory.

“Geographically, China is as big as continental Europe, and baijiu—really just a byword for all traditional Chinese liquors—contains as much diversity as one finds in Western spirits. Some are more approachable, like mild rice-aroma baijiu and fruity strong-aroma baijiu, and some may be more of an acquired taste, like umami-rich sauce-aroma baijiu,” Sandhaus says. “But every style has something to recommend it, there are thousands of distilleries in China, and I believe there is a baijiu out there suited to most every drinker’s taste.”

This diversity in flavor can be categorized into several distinct aroma types, the most notable being the following four:

Sauce Aroma (Jiāngxiāng): Characterized by a rich, umami flavor with soy sauce-like notes. Moutai, perhaps the most famous baijiu brand, falls into this category.

Strong Aroma (Nóngxiāng): Known for its bold, sweet and floral profile. This type is popular in Sichuan province. Ming River works with China’s oldest distillery, Luzhou Laojiao, which has operated continuously since 1573, and maintains traditional methods of strong-aroma baijiu production.

Light Aroma (Qīngxiāng): Offers a more delicate and clean taste, often associated with northern China.

Rice Aroma (Mǐxiāng): Mild and slightly sweet, this type is reminiscent of sake and is prevalent in southern China.

Baijiu’s strong and unfamiliar taste can be challenging for those not accustomed to it. However, with increasing globalization and cross-cultural exchanges, there is an opportunity for baijiu to carve out a niche in the international market.

Sandhaus’s advice to someone trying baijiu for the first time? “Drink widely and deeply.”