To say that Chinese liquor and vodka, also belong to one of the world's eight major distilled spirits, but it is a typical "same wine is not the same life". China's liquor is mainly produced in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Chishui River Basin and sold throughout the country; Avotega has become the national liquor of Poland and Russia, and is known all over the world. What is the difference between the two?
When it comes to liquor, the first thing that everyone thinks of is "fragrant and spicy", which is also the reason why the Chinese people flock to it.
The aroma of Chinese liquor is beyond doubt, only from the perspective of aroma, there are as many as 12 kinds of liquor in China.
Let's briefly give a few representative examples here, for example, the sauce-flavored liquor in Moutai as an example has an extremely delicate and elegant taste, and the aroma is long-lasting. The aromatic liquor represented by Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao is sweet and mellow in taste, which is refreshing. The fragrant liquor is extremely refreshing and pure, making people feel fragrant. As for the aromatic liquor, there are relatively no other extremes in terms of taste, and it is quite eclectic and eclectic.
After talking about the incense, let's talk about spicy, the degree of domestic liquor is basically above 50 degrees, which belongs to the typical liquor, and it is naturally spicy and stingy to drink.
More critically, most of China's liquor is brewed with koji, and in the process of natural fermentation, there are many microorganisms involved, so its taste is more unique.
What about Russian vodka, the national liquor? There is only one main feature, that is, "Qing".
It is said that the top vodka tastes almost the same as water when drunk, and the appearance is even more indistinguishable, although this sentence can not distinguish between true and false, but it greatly indicates the brewing characteristics of the vodka "distillation + filtration" model. Because vodka itself pays great attention to the elimination of toxins and other substances in the wine, its clarity is quite high, and the smell is extremely light and almost non-existent.
In general, the taste of vodka is far lighter than that of liquor, neither sweet and delicious taste, nor strong smell, but it still maintains the strong sense of stimulation of liquor, a mouthful of vodka belly, as if swallowing a mouthful of flame in the throat, making people quite evocative.
In fact, it is precisely because of the "purity" of vodka itself that it can be guaranteed to be perfectly integrated with other liquors and become the basis for various blended liquors.
Baijiu is the opposite, because its aroma and flavor are too unique, and it is easy to obscure the characteristics of other liquors, so it is difficult to be applied to blended wine.
It is also for this reason that vodka can sell well in the world, while liquor stops at the national gate. Of course, it is precisely because the taste of vodka is extremely pure, so people on the Internet often say that it is "alcohol to water". But this statement is inaccurate.
There are many raw materials for the brewing of Chinese liquor, such as cereals, fruits and the like, and it can even be said that as long as the crop meets the conditions of high sugar or starch content, it can basically brew Chinese liquor.
But you know what? Traditional vodka is also based on cereal grains as raw materials, but their raw materials are mainly potatoes and corn, which is still different from China's liquor.
In addition to the difference in the raw materials for brewing, there are also great differences in the production process between the two types of distilled wine. Relatively speaking, China's liquor is more complicated to make.
If you want to produce qualified Chinese liquor, then the procedures of "steaming, saccharification, fermentation, aging, and blending" can not be less than one step, and in the specific operation process, it is also very particular about the heat, and there is no certain winemaking kung fu. Not to mention the different liquor categories in China, it is necessary to use different methods. From big to small, from bran to mixed, a single brewing method cannot accomplish such a complex task.
As for vodka, the production process is slightly simpler, as long as you have the "distillation + filtration" skills, first use the distillation method to obtain 96% of the alcohol liquid, and then use a container containing charcoal to filter, remove impurities, and finally add water to dilute to 40 degrees to 50 degrees.
Due to the many differences between these two types of alcohol, there are also great differences in their drinking methods.
When we drink liquor, we generally drink it slowly in small glasses and at room temperature; when we drink vodka, we often add ice cubes and drink heavily.
Of course, this is related to the difference in the degree of the two wines, but in addition, it also involves the drinking culture of different types of wine.
Chinese has always adhered to a humble and elegant style in drinking, the reason why Chinese liquor will be brewed with extremely high intensity, secretly meeting the meaning of drinking, and the thick and fragrant aroma of the room is alluded to the temperament of Junzi Huilan. Westerners are more efficient and straightforward in their daily lives, which has also been brought into the culture of drinking, so they pay attention to "clarity" when making wine, and deliberately add ice when drinking to highlight the heat of vodka.
In fact, the difference in the composition of Chinese liquor and vodka is still quite large, because Chinese liquor pays attention to "eclecticism", which contains trace amounts of methanol, acetic acid, ethyl ester and some other ingredients. Vodka, on the other hand, pays attention to a single "purity", like the things deliberately retained by Chinese liquor are basically sieved out of vodka, and they only retain the original taste of alcohol.
From this point of view, it seems quite appropriate to describe vodka as "alcohol mixed with water", because vodka is not only distilled, but can be called "purified" to be precise.
What some people may not know is that in fact, China also has this type of liquor, that is, the famous "Hengshui Old White Dry", but its intensity is often as high as 60 degrees or more, a mouthful into the throat, it can be said that people "heart pain".
In fact, there is no obvious advantage or disadvantage between Chinese liquor and vodka, and it can only be said that it is equally divided and each leads the way. The mellow aroma of China's liquor is like the foundation of a thousand years of culture, and vodka seems to be the directness of Westerners into the wine.
Although the current sales of China's liquor in the world are not good, we do not need to worry about it, because as more and more people understand and love our culture, they will naturally experience the charm of Chinese liquor.