Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖; Luzhou Old Cellar) is a Chinese liquor distilled from fermented sorghum. It is a

baijiu ''Baijiu'' (), also known as ''shaojiu'' (/), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of ''qū'' for fermentation to create a distinct and charact ...

of the "strong aroma" class. It is produced by Luzhou Laojiao Company Limited, which is headquartered in Luzhou, in southern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, China.

History

The distillery dates back to 1573, in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

, and it is the oldest continuously producing baijiu distillery in the world. It was included in the first "List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage" in 2006. The company produces a baijiu brand named Guojiao 1573 (国窖 1573, 'National Cellar 1573'), in commemoration of its founding year. Luzhou Laojiao was reportedly the favourite liquor of China's paramount leader,

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

. The company commenced international operations in 2012, concentrating initially on the Asia-Pacific market but expanding into Africa during 2016–17. In 2018 it was estimated to be worth nearly (US$15.75 billion). In 2019, Luzhou Laojiao became an associate sponsor of the Australian Open tennis tournament for five years, making it the largest Chinese sponsor in Australian Open history. Court 2 at the tournament's

Melbourne Park Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988 Australia's bicentenary, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament played ...

venue was named the " 1573 Arena", after the company's Guojiao 1573 brand, starting from the

2019 Australian Open The 2019 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 14 to 27 January 2019. It was the 107th edition of the Australian Open, the 51st in the Open Era, and the first Grand Slam of the year. The tour ...

Product characteristics

Luzhou Laojiao is a complex, premium

of the "strong aroma" (''nóngxiāng'') class. It is a strongly

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

(more than 50% alcohol), clear liquid with a sharp

aroma An odor (American English) or odour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their se ...

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

es. It is fermented in old cellars (fermentation pits), whose walls are coated with a unique clay composition that gives the spirit its aroma and palate. Luzhou has a mild climate with extreme temperatures of -1 to +40 °C, and annual precipitation of 750 to 1615mm. This climate is ideal for local soft cereal quality and microbial groups. The

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

water, after treatment by the water plant, is rich in calcium, magnesium and other trace elements. Water quality is weakly acidic, with a suitable hardness.

References

External links

Luzhou Laojiao Company Limited
Companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Companies based in Sichuan Chinese brands Baijiu Government-owned companies of China Ming dynasty Luzhou {{Distilled-drink-stub