From shochu in the Yuan Dynasty to modern liquor, the birth of high-quality liquor in China has gone through centuries. But the current spirits(baijiu) is no longer the shochu it used to be, but this does not affect the main position of baijiu (Chinese spirits) in the Chinese liquor market.
As one of the three major distilled spirits in the world, Chinese liquor may be inferior to the other two in terms of history, but in terms of volume, relying on the single market of China, it has achieved an output value of hundreds of billions of scale (non-retail price comprehensive) . The history I am talking about should start from the merger of shochu houses into a state-owned liquor, and the beginning of setting the fragrance and making the tune! Before that, it could not be called Chinese spirits, only shochu.
In fact, whether it is modern spirits or shochu, the produced koji and fermented grains produce aroma and fermentation reaction, and then the liquor is distilled at high temperature. However, as microorganisms, they are very sensitive to the environment, temperature, humidity and raw materials, so the spirits making process has been optimized in various places, and the spirits in each place have their own characteristics.
However, microorganisms are born in heaven and earth, and they also have their own personalities. If the environment changes slightly, they will become angry. Even the best liquor maker cannot guarantee that the quality of the spirits will be the same every time. However, as a burning workshop, this is a normal thing! Isn't this the case with traditional handicrafts? When the master of the old-fashioned steamed buns has made mistakes, the traditional rice noodles in the south will not taste good if they have a little problem (except for the current cornstarch and rice noodles).
However, after the large-scale production of liquor, the once unstable production will definitely not be able to meet the later commercial needs. Tons of original spirits are produced at every turn. Although it is the same batch of masters and the same batch of grains, it is still impossible to produce the same quality and flavor of original liquor every time. And each time there are several sections of liquor, the quality difference is even greater. Especially as a strong fragrance, the pits and glutinous rice must be used all the time, and the spirits must be produced all the time.
Can baijiu be able to mass-produce different products in a stable and stable manner like a Ford car?
At this time, the blending process came into being, and a large number of different styles of original liquor were selected to complement the spirits body for matching and coordination, which not only increased the output, but also reached a certain extent. optimization. However, it is still flawed to rely on manual labor and mass production. After all, there are too many spirits. Seasoning through the senses is not only inaccurate, but also extremely inefficient for a large number of different batches of spirits.
After the 1970s, with the gradual development of the country and the advancement of science and technology, it is imminent to use the means of science and technology to solve the problem of hooking. Wuliangye took the lead in using digital means to carry out micro-control. The country has divided the flavor types according to the market demand of liquor, and with the advent of scientific and technological means, the main aroma substances of different types of liquor have been analyzed, and it has been concluded that "the main aroma substances of Qingxiang spirits are ethyl acetate, The strong aroma is mainly fragrant and the flavor substance is ethyl caproate" and other conclusions, and scientific chromatographic analysis is carried out for different styles of spirits with the same aroma.
Liquor is particularly rich in aroma substances, but the main components are acids, esters, alcohols, aldehydes and other substances. Then, for each batch of spirits picked, the taster needs to make a preliminary judgment through the senses, and then combine the analysis results to grade and store the picked spirits. The approximate proportion and presentation style of the aroma substances in each batch of the original spirits are analyzed and then stored as the base liquor for later use in bartending.
I still have to say here that the blending of pure grain alcohol must be different batches of new spirits, vintage spirits, and seasoning spirits are prepared according to the results of artificial sensory and machine analysis, without adding any externally sourced ingredients from beginning to end, just using the body of the spirits The material richness and the quality of the style presentation are graded and priced. Inexpensive pure grain alcohol is produced by blending with lower-grade base spirits as the main part. Taking Luzhou-flavored spirits as an example, the high-quality liquor essence extracted from the old cellar pool and traditional craftsmanship is used in high-end spirits.
Simply put, mixing different liquids and ingredients together can be called "blending". Many alcohol drinks that many young people like are blended, such as cocktails, blended whiskeys, fruity vodkas, etc.
In fact, the most important thing is not the blending process, but what is being blended!
The above is the scientific part, followed by the metaphysical part. When it comes to microorganisms, metaphysics cannot be escaped, at least scientific research can't keep up, so let's call it metaphysics for the time being. The knowledge of liquor-making, no matter how powerful a master is, can’t guarantee that the spirits will be of high quality every time. high. The same thing cannot be copied, let alone the difference between Zhenjiu and Maotai, but it cannot be said that (previous) Zhenjiu is not good. It can only be said that there is a difference in flavor from Maotai. Out of Maotai Town, there is no more Maotai! But it's not that there is no good sauce!
There is never a perfect thing in the world, and the same is true of spirits. There are always some advantages and disadvantages in the spirits essence brewed with heart, but it is undeniable that it is time.
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