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Mixiang baijiu (米香白酒,mǐ-xiāng báijiǔ ; literally “rice-aroma baijiu”) is a style of Chinese distilled spirit made entirely from polished rice rather than the more commonsorghum.[1] Contemporary trade and academic literature group it with sauce-, strong- and light-aroma spirits as one of the “four major aromas” that structure modern baijiu classification.[2] Because itsester load is lower than in sorghum spirits, commentators describe mixiang baijiu as an approachable gateway for drinkers familiar withvodka,soju or mildsake.[3][4]
Ricebaijiu is famous for having a characteristic rice fragrance. One famous brand of ricebaijiu is calledSanhuajiu (三花酒; literally "three flower wine"), which is produced inGuilin,Guangxi province.
Instrumental analyses identifyethyl lactate,acetic acid andisoamyl alcohol as signaturevolatiles, with principal-component mapping citing ethyl lactate as the key marker distinguishing mixiang baijiu fromawamori andkome-shōchū.[1] Trade writers characterise the flavour as honey-like, floral and delicately sweet, calling it “one of the most elegant baijius”.[3]
The name "rice fragrance baijiu" may mislead the drinker, who may regard it as simply ordinarybaijiu flavoured by rice. In fact, this kind of distilled beverage differs fromsorghum-basedbaijiu in that its main ingredient is rice.
"Mibaijiu" is also the name of a type ofChinese rice wine produced in theJiangsu province.[5]
Producers steam long-grain or glutinous rice and inoculate it withxiaoqu, a rice-bran starter rich inRhizopus moulds and wildyeasts, enabling simultaneous saccharification and fermentation in a half-solid state.[1] The mash is distilled in small steam pots, producing spirit that national standards fix between 35 % and 55 % ABV.[6]
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