How is sauce-aroma Baijiu specifically blended?

It is well known that sauce-flavored Baijiu needs to be blended.

Blending is a technical term in liquor production and an important process in the production of Baijiu. Because the quality of the produced liquor cannot be completely consistent, it is necessary to blend various types of liquor with different alcohol contents, strengths, and weaknesses to achieve a unified style, characteristic, and quality index. This is blending.

Essentially, blending skills involve mastering and utilizing the trace components in liquor. The art of blending Baijiu emphasizes the use of liquor to adjust other liquors.

Many indicators of sauce-flavored liquor rely solely on the blender's intuitive sense of liquor. The inheritance of sauce-flavored liquor blending skills relies on oral and physical teaching, as well as mutual understanding between generations of apprentices and masters.

Over 200 types of blended liquor samples are used in the production of sauce-flavored liquor. Generally speaking, to blend a cup of sauce-flavored liquor that meets the standard, a minimum of 30 to 40 types, and a maximum of 70 to 80 or even more than 200 types of single-type liquor need to be allocated.

Before blending, the base liquor of seven batches is classified and graded based on its sensory characteristics into three types: sauce aroma, cellar bottom aroma, and mellow sweetness. After classification and grading, the base liquor is stored in separate tanks according to different aroma types, grades, and batches.

Next, we will embark on the journey of sauce-flavored liquor blending, which involves three steps: pan blending, blending, and flavoring.

Pan Hook

After storing the base liquor for one year based on its type and grade, it undergoes a blending process. Blending involves combining base liquors according to the criteria of the same aroma type, same grade, same sequence, and same age. The intention is to stabilize the styles of base liquors of different aroma types and sequences, laying the foundation for subsequent blending work.

blending

When the base liquor after being blended and stored reaches 2 years, it can enter the blending process. Blending involves mixing and coordinating base liquors of different aroma types, different batches, different aging periods, and different grades, with the aim of making the base liquor achieve the style and characteristics of the finished product.

During blending, sauce aroma is the dominant factor, mellow sweetness is the foundation, and aged liquor is the supplement. The aroma of the cellar floor and other flavors are used as seasonings. No other external substances are allowed to be added during blending. Blending is done by using liquor to blend liquor and adjust liquor with liquor. After blending, fine seasoning is carried out.

seasoning

After blending the basic liquor, select the appropriate flavoring liquor for meticulous flavoring, mainly adjusting the aroma, richness, sweetness, bitterness, and improving the spicy taste of the basic liquor. Flavoring liquor is required for flavoring, which includes sauce aroma, cellar bottom aroma, mellow sweetness, and aged aroma.

The process of flavoring involves careful and repeated tasting to clearly analyze the quality of the base liquor blend, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and then appropriately add flavoring liquor to accentuate its strengths and compensate for its weaknesses. For example, if a blended liquor has a short aftertaste, it is necessary to appropriately add tail-end liquor to make the aftertaste longer.

Blending and flavoring are intertwined processes, each with its distinct function. As the saying goes, "Aroma is born from fermentation, enhanced through distillation, shaped through blending, and defined by flavoring.".

In essence, the entire blending process of sauce-flavored Baijiu involves using liquor to blend with liquor and adjust the liquor. It requires the resulting liquor to be clear and transparent, without turbidity or suspended matter, with a strong sauce aroma, elegant fragrance, harmonious flavors, and a lingering aftertaste.