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Spirits classifications

Three families of alcoholic drinks 发酵酒 · 蒸馏酒 · 配制酒

National standard GB/T 17204-2021 (Terminology and classification of alcoholic beverages) · 2021

Fermented drinks (发酵酒) · Distilled spirits (蒸馏酒) · Prepared or blended drinks (配制酒)

China’s reference standard sorts every alcoholic drink into three families. Whisky, gin, brandy and baijiu are all distilled spirits; liqueurs such as green plum wine or osmanthus wine usually fall among the prepared drinks.

Brandy age grades 白兰地等级

National standard GB/T 11856 · 2008

特级 XO: at least 6 years · 优级 VSOP: at least 4 years · 一级 VO: at least 3 years · 二级 VS: at least 2 years

Chinese brandy is graded by the age of its brandy in oak. The letters are the same as in Cognac, but the rules are not: a Chinese XO needs at least six years, while a Cognac XO now needs at least ten.

New brandy standard (2023) 浅陈 · 中陈 · 久陈 · 特陈 · 臻陈

National standard GB/T 11856.2-2023 (Quality requirements for spirits, part 2: brandy) · 2023

VS 浅陈 · VO 中陈 · VSOP 久陈 · XO 特陈 · XXO 臻陈

The updated standard gives each grade a Chinese name, adds the XXO grade, and separates grape brandy from fruit brandy. Grape brandy must be aged for at least two years, fruit brandy for at least six months.

Liqueurs and flower wines 配制酒

Steeped in baijiu or neutral spirit · Steeped in rice wine · Steeped in grape wine

Green plum wine, osmanthus wine and other fruit or flower drinks are usually made by steeping fruit or flowers in a base spirit, rice wine or grape wine, then sweetening and resting them. Under the national classification most fall among the prepared drinks.

China classifies spirits within a national system that covers every alcoholic drink. Fermented drinks, such as wine, beer and huangjiu, form one family; distilled spirits, such as baijiu, brandy, whisky and gin, form another; and prepared drinks, such as fruit and flower liqueurs, form the third. Brandy is the only Western spirit with a long Chinese tradition, and it has its own age grades. They use the same letters as Cognac, VS, VSOP and XO, but not the same rules, so a Chinese XO can be younger than a French one. Since 2023 each grade also has a Chinese name, from 浅陈 (lightly aged) to 臻陈 (the most aged). Whisky and gin made in China are young categories. China has had a national whisky standard for years, but the new distilleries look mainly to international practice, and especially to Scotch, ageing their malts in oak for at least three years so they can be sold abroad. Chinese gin follows the international definition of a juniper-led spirit, and its identity comes from local botanicals: Sichuan pepper, tea, osmanthus and citrus peel.

All styles

Sources

  1. GB/T 17204-2021 Terminology and classification of alcoholic beverages — ChineseStandard.net, 2021
  2. T/XJWA 003-2025 Mulberry brandy (grade table based on GB/T 11856) — Xinjiang Wine Industry Association, 2025
  3. GB/T 11856.2-2023 Quality requirements for spirits, part 2: brandy — KEM China, 2023
  4. XO — The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails