Maotai
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| Maotai | |
|---|---|
| Image:Maotai.gif | |
| Chinese name | |
| Simplified: | 茅台酒 |
| Traditional: | 茅台酒 |
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Máotái jiǔ |
Maotai, or Moutai (spelling used by the producing company), is arguably the most famous Chinese liquor, or baijiu. It is produced in the Guizhou province of southwestern China. Maotai, which classifies as "sauce-flavoured" (酱香, jiangxiang), is distilled from fermented sorghum and now comes in different versions ranging in alcohol content from the standard 53% by volume down to 35%.
[edit] History
Maotai is named after the town with the same name near Zunyi in Renhuai, Guizhou Province, where winemaking has a very long history. The Maotai of today originated during the Qing Dynasty and first won some international fame when winning a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Maotai received additional exposure in China and abroad when Mao Zedong used the wine to entertain Richard Nixon during the state banquet for the U.S. presidential visit to China in 1972. It is one of China's official state banquet wines and claims to be one of the world's three best known liquors (together with whisky and cognac).
[edit] External links
- China Kweichow Moutai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd
- Kweichow Moutai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd
- Moutai label
