Baijiu, that is an indispensable corner on the table of our Chinese. Therefore, how to choose liquor is also a compulsory course for most of us.
People who often drink alcohol know that there is always a string of mysterious numbers on the liquor bottles we buy, and this string of numbers is the implementation standard of Chinese liquor. The beginning is generally "GB", that is, the pinyin abbreviation of "national standard". T1 ×× or T2 ×× followed, each number has its own meaning, and this string of numbers is a good helper when we distinguish the type of liquor. Want to know the difference between a 1 and a 2? After reading this, I am sure that you will no longer have a headache when buying alcohol.
The implementation standards of Chinese liquor are more common:
(1) Solid liquor: 10781.1 (strong flavor type), 10781.2 (light fragrance type), 26760 (sauce flavor type), these are authentic grain wines brewed from pure grains, of course, there are other standards corresponding to pure grain flavor types.
(2) Solid-liquid combined wine: 20822. This liquor is a mixture of one part alcoholic liquor (about 70%) and one part grain liquor.
(3) Liquid liquor: 20821. The main ingredient of this type of wine is edible alcohol.
Our common GB/T10781.1 is a fragrant wine brewed from pure grains. According to the national standard, this kind of liquor must be made of grain as raw material and fermented by the traditional solid-state method to make a strong aromatic liquor.
With the process of solid-state fermentation of pure grain, according to the characteristics of "sorghum fragrant, corn sweet, rice net, wheat irritable, glutinous rice cotton, barley chong", sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, corn and wheat are selected as the main materials, which is what we call grain wine and good wine. The wine made from pure grains has a pure taste and does not hurt the body when drunk. How to distinguish between various wines and buy your favorite grain wine? In addition to looking at the national standard, there are other tricks.
1. Observe the main material
Good liquor has to look at Daqu liquor, and the top liquor rated in previous editions is made by this winemaking method. The raw materials for making koji are barley, wheat, and peas. If you look closely at the bottle, you can see that the ingredient list of the bottle contains barley, wheat, and peas, which is basically Daqu sake.
2. Observe the hops
Pick up the bottle, shake it upside down, and watch the hops take shape. If the hops are small, dense, and disappear slowly, nine times out of ten they are grain wine; The hops are big, scattered, and disappear quickly, that is alcohol.
3. Check for turbidity
Looking through the glass bottle, the liquor must be clear and transparent, without impurities, and the clearer the better. To assess the quality of the wine, the bottom of the glass should be carefully inspected to confirm that there is no sediment or cloudiness. A good wine is characterized by a delicate and well-balanced hop that is rich and well-layered as it rises, and then subsides. In addition, the wine should be clear and translucent, free of impurities, which are the hallmarks of a good wine.
4. Smell the fragrance
Drop a drop of liquor in the palm of your hand, rub your hands a few times and smell your palm. Grain wine will have a faint aroma of wine, as well as grain aroma, lees and other aromas. If you consume alcohol blended with alcohol, it will smell pungent, and the fragrance will last for a short time, and it will be tasteless for a while.
In addition to teaching you a few ways to distinguish good wine, I also prepared two serious pure grain wines for everyone, and the taste is a compliment! If you are interested, you may wish to buy a few bottles and try them.
(1) Guizhou sauce: Guokang 1935
This wine is not ordinary, it is authentic from Moutai Town, Guizhou, Daqukun sand sauce flavored liquor, you take a sip, you will find that the taste is too similar to Moutai! Speaking of the origin of this wine, I have to mention a cow, that is, the brewing master who has been working in Moutai for 37 years - Fan Yinghua. Guokang invited the retired Master Fan and asked him to personally guide the brewing of Guokang 1935, so that this wine has a solid foundation from the technical point of view.
According to the old-fashioned "12987" Daqu Kunsha process, Mr. Fan brewed a qualified base liquor, which has to lie in the jar for more than 5 years before it can be used. After this set of meticulous and rigorous operations, the mellow characteristics of soy sauce wine are fully revealed.
The quality of the wine also depends on the brewing process and the strength of the winery. Although Guokang is not well-known in other places, its strength has never been underestimated. Guokang 30 won the gold medal at the ISGC International Spirits Grand Prix; Guokang 10 took home a silver medal at the 2023 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). Guokang inherited the hundreds of years of sauce craftsmanship and ingenuity of Moutai Town, coupled with Fan Yinghua's stubborn spirit of quality, so that Guokang 1935 stood out in the fiercely competitive liquor market and gained a large number of loyal fans.
Guokang 1935 is slightly yellow in color, clear and translucent, after all, this wine has been aged in the cellar for a full 5 years, plus blended with more than 10 years of old wine, the taste is more mellow, and the charm of the old wine is also more sufficient. After taking a sip, the wine is delicate and smooth, with distinct layers and a long aftertaste, which is simply a rare fine wine for those who are obsessed with the flavor of old wine.
(2) Shaanxi Fengxiang: Xifeng Classic 1964
Xifeng Wine 1964 Collector's Edition, this wine is not simple, it guards the ancient method of Fengxiang passed down by the ancestors, and the wine made is called an authentic. On the packaging, the contrasting stitching of green and gold is classic and fashionable. The bottle has a classic shape, engraved with a phoenix pattern, full of texture, and the high-necked green bottle is highly recognizable and recognizable at a glance.
Xifeng Liquor 1964 Collector's Edition, which combines historical heritage, superior quality and unique taste, is the best in Fengxiang liquor. The hops are delicate and the aroma is fresh, and it has conquered the taste buds of countless wine lovers with its unique phoenix flavor. To be honest, this wine is definitely the favorite of people who understand wine.
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