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Maotai, or Moutai (), is a style of baijiu made in the Chinese town of Maotai in Guizhou province. Maotai is made from
sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
, a
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
-based '' '', and water from the Chishui River. It uses traditional Chinese techniques of fermentation, distillation, and aging, to produce a spirit with a nutty, grainy, and savory aroma and flavor. The most famous and best-selling brand of Maotai is produced by Kweichow Moutai, which has become the most valuable spirits brand worldwide. However, despite common misconceptions, Kweichow Moutai is not the only producer of Maotai, nor do they own any exclusive right to the name. To be classified as Maotai, it must be produced in the eponymous town and follow regulated production guidelines.


History

Alcohol production in Zunyi, on the banks of the Chishui River, has a long history dating back to at least the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE where there is record of
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
Emperor Wu tasting and praising a goqijiu produced in Yelang. However, it was not until the Tang and
Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
dynasties that grain-based distilled alcohols began to develop in China as a whole. The origins of Maotai itself, and the distilleries that preceded Kweichow Moutai, lie in the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
after 1644. Beijing officials of the salt monopoly were stationed at an outpost in Maotai. They introduced baijiu production methods from their northerly home ( Qingxiang), which were merged with the then-in-use methods from neighboring
Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
( Nongxiang). The result of this blend of techniques served as the basis for jiangxiang baijiu and more particularly for Maotai itself. The earliest explicit record of Maotai is in 1704, when in Renhuai Caozhi, a local newspaper, it was written that "Moutai Village in the west of the city ranks first in the whole country for making liquor." In 1854 during the Taiping Rebellion, the town of Maotai was destroyed and all of the distilleries reduced to ruins or abandoned completely. Nine years later, in 1863 a salt merchant from a neighboring town bought one of the abandoned distilleries, hired a retired master distiller, and resumed the production of Maotai in the newly founded "Chengyi" distillery and sixteen years later, in 1879, three Renhuai landlords opened the "Ronghe" distillery. It's with these two distilleries that many of the techniques and profiles of contemporary Maotai were finalized. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the fall of the Qing dynasty and the birth of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, Maotai continued to be in demand with "tribute liquor" being crafted at the request of the short lived Chinese leader Yuan Shikai for the occasion of his coronation as emperor. In that same year, Maotai was presented at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and awarded a medal which spurred a rapid increase in demand for the spirit within China and in response a rapid increase of production capacity for the two distilleries. In 1929 the third distillery "Hengxing" was founded and it is on the foundation of these three distilleries that Kweichow Moutai was to be built. Maotai's importance in contemporary China has many of its roots in the era of the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
. It was in Zunyi, the prefectural city over the town of Maotai, that
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
became the leader of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
at the Zunyi Conference; and it was during the
Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...
that many Chinese troops and many of China's future leaders, including Zhou Enlai, gained an appreciation for Maotai. Stories from the time recount Red Army soldiers and officers enjoying Maotai both for consumption and for more practical purposes, primarily the cleaning and disinfection of the soldiers feet. In "Memoirs of the Long March" the author Cheng Fangwu wrote; “Because of the urgent military situation, we dared not drink much liquor. The liquor was mainly used to wipe our feet and relieve fatigue on the road. Wiping feet with the maotai is effective. Everyone praises it." In a likely apocryphal story, company commander Wang Yuenan, and one of Mao's guards Chen Fengchan, were returning from a trip to purchase Maotai for this purpose when they ran into Mao himself who told them; "Maotai is a place famous for its wine, but it would be a pity to wipe your feet with this wine!" While in the town of Maotai during the Long March, the political bureau of the Red Army issued a notice to the passing soldiers to note the importance of Maotai liquor and refrain from interfering in the private distillation of the spirit ongoing except to buy or sell. Shortly after the end of the Chinese Civil War and after the founding of the People's Republic, the three existing Maotai distilleries, Chengyi, Ronghe, and Hengxing were merged to create the modern, state-owned Kweichow Moutai in 1951. Since the foundation of the modern Kweichow Moutai, the spirit has served as part of the standard fare for Chinese diplomatic meetings and dinners. From Mao's gifts of Maotai given to
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
and Kim Il-Sung in 1950 and 1973 respectively, to Zhou Enlai's use of the spirit as a diplomatic tool for the 1954 Geneva Conference and the welcoming banquet for
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
1972 visit to China, Maotai has served as one of the primary cultural items representing China on the international stage. Its use in these terms has become so well known that when Deng Xiaoping visited the United States in 1979,
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
told him "I think if we drink enough Moutai we can solve anything."


Gallery

File:HK Wan Chai North 灣仔北 Grand Hyatt Hotel 保利集團 Poly Auction preview exhibits 拍賣 Moutai 貴州茅台酒 Maotai 大麯白酒 Sept 2017 IX1 01 label.jpg, A bottle of Maotai produced in 1983-1984 has an estimated price range of HK$115,000-173,000 (US$14,700-22,200) in an auction in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in 2017. File:HK Wan Chai North 灣仔北 Grand Hyatt Hotel 保利集團 Poly Auction preview exhibits 拍賣 Moutai 貴州茅台酒 Maotai 大麯白酒 Sept 2017 IX1 06.jpg, Vintage Maotai in the more common white porcelain bottles displayed in the same auction. File:HK Wan Chai North 灣仔北 Grand Hyatt Hotel 保利集團 Poly Auction preview exhibits 拍賣 Moutai 貴州茅台酒 Maotai 大麯白酒 Sept 2017 IX1 05 wine bottles.jpg, Maotai in red special version bottles


References

{{Authority control Baijiu Renhuai Guizhou cuisine