Kweichow Moutai is the most famous baijiu in China and, according to Brand Finance, the most valuable spirits brand in the world, a position it has held for ten years in a row. It is made in the small town of Maotai, in Guizhou, on the banks of the Chishui River, and it defines sauce aroma, the most complex and most prestigious style of baijiu.
From the Qing dynasty to the state banquet
Distilling in Maotai dates back to the Qing dynasty. In 1915 baijiu from Maotai was shown at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and won a medal, which made it famous across China. From 1951, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic, the town's three distilleries, Chengyi, Ronghe and Hengxing, were merged into the state-owned company that exists today.
Since then Moutai has been the spirit of Chinese diplomacy, served at official banquets for foreign leaders. The most famous toast came in 1972, when Premier Zhou Enlai poured it for Richard Nixon during the US President's historic visit to China.
Not the only Maotai
Kweichow Moutai is not the only producer in Maotai town and does not own exclusive rights to the name: many other distilleries in the area make sauce aroma baijiu.