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{{#seo:
|title=Moutai (茅台酒 Maotai / Kweichow Moutai Baijiu) - Chinese Food Wiki
|keywords=Moutai,Maotai,茅台,茅台酒,Kweichow Moutai,贵州茅台,sauce aroma baijiu,酱香型白酒,jiangxiang,Renhuai,Guizhou,Chishui River
|description=Moutai (茅台酒), also spelled Maotai, is a sauce-aroma (jiangxiang) baijiu from Maotai town in Renhuai, Guizhou, made from local sorghum and wheat qu; Kweichow Moutai is its best-known producer.
}}

{{Infobox chinese food
| image = Moutai.jpg
| caption = Chishui River bank in Maotai town, Renhuai, Guizhou
| alternate_name = Maotai; 茅台酒; 茅臺酒; Kweichow Moutai (贵州茅台); Maotai-jiu
| pinyin = Máotái jiǔ
| type = Baijiu (distilled sorghum spirit), sauce aroma (酱香); usually 53% alcohol
| course = Beverage (banquet spirit)
| country = China
| region = Maotai town, Renhuai, Zunyi, [[Guizhou Food|Guizhou]] (Chishui River valley)
| other = Style defined by place of origin; best-known producer is Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd.
}}

'''Moutai''' (Simplified Chinese: 茅台酒; Traditional Chinese: 茅臺酒; Pinyin: ''Máotái jiǔ''; also spelled '''Maotai''') is a [[Baijiu]] made in the town of Maotai, near Renhuai in northern [[Guizhou Food|Guizhou]] on the Chishui River. It is the reference example of the '''sauce-aroma''' (酱香, ''jiangxiang'') style of baijiu, known for a deep, savory, roasted aroma. The name refers both to the spirit of this town and, in everyday use, to the brand of the state-owned producer '''Kweichow Moutai''' (贵州茅台), which is by far the largest maker; other distilleries in Maotai town also produce sauce-aroma baijiu.<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maotai English Wikipedia: Maotai]</ref><ref name="wpco">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kweichow_Moutai English Wikipedia: Kweichow Moutai]</ref> It is one of the best-known Chinese spirits and has long been served at state banquets.

== Origin and region ==

Maotai lies in a narrow, hot and humid river valley at roughly 400–500 m above sea level. Producers stress that the local climate, the purple-red soil and the airborne microbes of the valley shape the spirit, which is why the name is tied to its place of origin.<ref name="ich">[https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/14365.html China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network: 茅台酒酿制技艺 (Moutai brewing technique)]</ref> Local histories record distilling in Maotai village by the early Qing dynasty. After the town's workshops were destroyed during the Taiping-era wars of the 1850s, new distilleries were founded in the 1860s and 1870s; three of them (Chengyi, Ronghe and Hengxing) were merged into a state-owned distillery in 1951, which became today's Kweichow Moutai.<ref name="wp" />

== Raw materials ==

* '''Sorghum''' — a small, hard, local red glutinous sorghum is preferred
* '''Wheat''' — used to make the high-temperature ''daqu'' starter
* '''Water''' — from the Chishui River valley

Overview only — not a recipe.

== Production (overview) ==

Moutai is known for a long, seasonal production cycle of about one year. Qu cakes are traditionally trodden around the Dragon Boat Festival, and grain is loaded around the Double Ninth Festival. Sorghum is added in two batches and then goes through repeated rounds of steaming, piling, pit fermentation and distillation — often summarised as nine steamings, eight fermentations and seven distillations. High-temperature qu and high-temperature piling are key features. Spirits from each round are stored separately, then blended and aged for several years before bottling.<ref name="ich" />

In 2006 the Moutai brewing technique was included in the first batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list.<ref name="ich" />

== Style and taste ==

Sauce-aroma baijiu is often described with notes of soy sauce, roasted grain, nuts and dried fruit, with a long finish; an empty glass is said to keep its aroma for a long time. The standard bottling is 53% alcohol. Compared with strong-aroma spirits such as [[Wuliangye]], it is less fruity and more savory.<ref name="wp" />

== Culture ==

Moutai became closely associated with modern Chinese political history. Accounts of the Long March describe Red Army soldiers passing through Maotai in 1935, and after 1949 the spirit was served at diplomatic banquets, including the 1972 welcome banquet for U.S. President Richard Nixon in Beijing. It is also a prestige gift, which has made it a symbol of formal hospitality.<ref name="wp" /><ref name="wpco" /> Kweichow Moutai's shares were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001, and it became one of the most valuable spirits companies in the world.<ref name="wpco" />

== Notes ==

* Kweichow Moutai is not the only maker of Maotai-town sauce-aroma baijiu; the brand name and the style are related but not identical.
* A separate spirit called "Moutai" is made in Taiwan by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation; it is a different product.<ref name="zh">[https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/茅台酒 Chinese Wikipedia: 茅台酒]</ref>
* This page does not give prices or buying advice.

== See also ==

* [[Chinese Alcohol]]
* [[Baijiu]]
* [[Guizhou Food]]
* [[Wuliangye]]
* [[Fenjiu]]
* [[Luzhou Laojiao]]
* [[Chinese Drink]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Moutai - Revision history

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