Maotai
| Maotai | |||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | |||||||||||||||
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| Hanyu Pinyin | Máotái jiǔ | ||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Máotái jiǔ |
| IPA | [mǎu.tʰǎi.tɕjòu] |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | maau4toi4 jau2 |
| IPA | [ma̭ːu.tʰɔ̭ːy.tsɐ̌u] |
Maotai or Moutai is a brand of baijiu, a distilled Chinese liquor, made in the town of Maotai in China's Guizhou province. Produced by the state-owned Kweichow Moutai Company, the beverage is distilled from fermented sorghum and now comes in several different varieties.
Maotai originated during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), when northern Chinese distillers introduced advanced techniques to local processes to create a distinctive type of baijiu. Thereafter Maotai was produced at several local distilleries. During the Chinese Civil War, People's Liberation Army forces camped at Maotai and partook of the local liquor. Following the Communist victory in the war, the government consolidated the local distilleries into one state-owned company, Kweichow Moutai (the name is an old romanization of "Guizhou Maotai"). It became a popular drink at state functions and one of the country's most popular spirits.
Maotai became the first Chinese liquor to be produced in large-scale production, with an annual output of 170 tons. In 2007, more than 6,800 tons of Maotai were sold. Maotai is named after the town with the same name near Zunyi in Renhuai, Guizhou Province, where liquor distillery has a very long history. The Maotai of today originated during the Qing Dynasty and first won international fame when winning a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.
Maotai was named a national liquor in 1951, two years after the founding of People's Republic of China. Maotai also claimed two gold medals separately at the Paris International Exposition in 1985 and 1986. Maotai has won 14 international awards and 20 domestic awards since the Chinese Revolution.
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Wikipedia