Sauce-aroma Baijiu can be divided into six major categories

1. Daqu sauce-flavored liquor

The brewing process of Daqu sauce liquor involves using Daqu koji blocks as saccharifying and fermenting agents (the temperature for cultivating koji blocks is relatively high, belonging to high-temperature koji). It is a sauce-aroma Baijiu produced through solid-state fermentation. The main raw material for Daqu sauce aroma is wheat, and the Daqu sauce aroma in Maotai Town is produced from locally grown winter wheat. Daqu is further classified into medium-temperature koji, high-temperature koji, and higher-temperature koji. Generally, Daqu sauce liquor uses high-temperature koji, which is produced through pure grain solid-state fermentation. The quality of liquor brewed from Daqu sauce liquor is relatively good.

II. Fermented wheat bran sauce wine

The distiller's yeast used in bran koji sauce wine is bran koji. Bran koji was developed only in modern times. Through biotechnology, the main brewing microorganisms in Daqu are separated, purified, and cultivated. Then, pure-strain microorganisms are inoculated onto a culture made from bran as raw material, thereby producing distiller's yeast for wine brewing. Bran koji can be used to replace part of Daqu or Xiaoqu.

The bran koji sauce-flavor method features short koji making and fermentation times, as well as a high yield of liquor. However, compared to the Daqu sauce-flavor method, the quality of the liquor produced by the former is inferior, appearing thin, light, and lacking in richness of flavor.

III. Crushed Sand Sauce-flavored Wine

The production of crushed sand sauce wine typically involves adding dry yeast and enzyme preparations as saccharifying and fermenting agents using various crankshafts. After damaging the materials and pretreating them, the saccharifying and fermenting agents are mixed and fermented in the cellar for 20 to 30 days. Then, the wine is distilled and baked in one go. Additionally, the production of bran koji sauce-flavored Baijiu is characterized by short fermentation time, high yield, short storage period, fast capital turnover, and affordability.

However, its quality is strong in aroma, with a relatively simple sauce flavor, a slightly rough and unrefined body, and a relatively well-blended taste. The aftertaste has a sense of sauce and a sticky feeling. Products with long aging time have a mellow body, short-lasting aroma in the empty cup, and present a mixed and complex aroma.

IV. Sand-flipped sauce-flavored wine

Fansha sauce wine is obtained through a process of fermentation, distillation, and liquor extraction after the first round of roasting of Daqu sauce-flavored liquor, with appropriate additions of ingredients and koji. Its sauce aroma is more subdued, and the liquor body is more robust. Its texture and fullness are not as good as Daqu sauce-flavored liquor, with a burnt aftertaste, short-lasting aroma in the empty cup, and a burnt discomfort feeling.

V. Huisha sauce-flavored wine

Huisha sauce-aroma liquor is a type of Daqu sauce-aroma liquor. Some distilleries add ingredients during the fourth or fifth round of Daqu sauce-aroma brewing to produce sauce-aroma Baijiu. The subsequent processes are essentially the same as those for Daqu sauce-aroma liquor. It is characterized by a simple and elegant sauce aroma, a rich and mellow body, a strong aroma of grains and Daqu, and a long-lasting fragrance in the empty cup.

VI. Steamed Soy Sauce Flavored Liquor

Cross-steaming sauce-aroma liquor is produced by placing the fermented grains of Daqu sauce-aroma liquor or bran Daqu sauce-aroma liquor into a distiller, adding edible alcohol and spices at the bottom of the distiller, and then cross-steaming to obtain the sauce-aroma liquor.

In summary, the brewing technology used for sauce-aroma Baijiu is a traditional process. Sauce-aroma Baijiu is produced through a one-year cycle, involving two batches of ingredients, nine steaming processes, eight fermentation processes, seven distillation processes, and then long-term cellaring.