Aroma: I’m guessing Strong

Horsiness: 3 horses (out of 5)

Burn: 5 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Truong Thanh Liquors, (Chinatown, Boston)

Tasting notes:

This is a stinky one. Don’t let the three horse rating mislead you–it’s not a particularly horsey smell, but it’s a strong smell. Smells sour, and maybe faintly rotten.

The initial taste is where the horsiness really hits. Also sour apple, and a truly intense burn. At 50% alcohol, it’s not the strongest baijiu I’ve tasted, but it’s one of the burniest.

The aftertaste is sharp, sour, and continues to burn.

I bought this because I loved an earlier Wuliangye (it’s still my favorite baijiu…if only it weren’t so expensive!), and this was a cheaper product from the same company. Well, I guess it’s cheaper for a reason. It has some of the complexity of the other bottle, but it’s harsher, and the flavors don’t work as well together, if that makes any sense.

As an interesting side note, I was looking online to see if there was any pre-existing information about this baijiu, and found a restaurant in New Jersey that has baijiu on the menu! At hugely marked-up prices, but still, I’ve never before seen that in a US restaurant.

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Aroma: Unknown

Horsiness: 1 horse (out of 5)

Burn: 3 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: A liquor store in Washington DC that I unfortunately forgot to bookmark

Tasting notes:

Confucius Family Liquor turns out to be a whole baijiu company, not a single variety of baijiu, so labeling this tasting the way I have is somewhat misleading. Unfortunately, it’s the only English on the bottle that looks like a name–if there’s something in the label that gives a specific product name, I can’t find it. So if my readers want to try it, look for it based on the photos above, I guess.

This baijiu has essentially no aroma at all, which is highly unusual. What aroma there is is horsy, but there’s very little of it.

My first thought on tasting it is that it tastes watery. That’s probably because it’s only 39% alcohol–perfectly normal for Western liquors, but very weak for baijiu. Given that, it’s surprising how strong the burn is. I wouldn’t have thought that a liquor could be both watery and firey at once, but there you are. Aside from those flavors, there isn’t a whole lot else going on. It’s simple, sweet, with maybe some unspecified fruit. No meaningful aftertaste, just a lingering burn.

I don’t recommend this one. Baijiu-haters will probably find it too baijiu-ish for them, and I don’t find it baijiu-ish enough.

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Aroma: Unknown

Horsiness: 3 horses (out of 5)

Burn: 2 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Somewhere in China

Tasting notes:

This is the most mysterious baijiu I’ve ever reviewed for this blog. A friend of my wife’s brought it back from China. He brought it to a party here in the US, and everyone at the party hated it, so when they found out I’m writing about baijiu they gave it to me. I don’t even know the real name of it–an acquaintance translated the characters on the bottle as “Danfeng Batch” for me, but I’m not sure if it has some name beyond that.

There is a definite, but not overpowering, horsiness in the nose. Less so than something like Wuliangye, but much more than Red Star–maybe it’s a mixed aroma, with a blend of strong and light? I’m not enough of an expert to do anything more than guess to that.

Initial taste is fairly smooth, with notes of apple and maybe a little chocolate. Aftertaste has a bit more of a burn, and tastes like citrus and cinnamon, with the chocolate hanging on as an undercurrent.

Very tasty. I must ask my wife’s friend to bring back more next time.

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Aroma: Light

Horsiness: 1 horse (out of 5)

Burn: 2 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Walker Liquors (Chinatown, NYC)

Tasting notes:

I bought this bottle on a shopkeeper’s recommendation, and only discovered when I got it home that it (at least, the English parts on it that I can read) appeared to be identical to the Red Star that I previously reviewed. I was worried that maybe it was the same stuff, just in a nice bottle. But then I noticed the alcohol content, which is 50% for this one and 56% for the other Red Star. So it’s not exactly the same. I don’t know if it’s a different batch, or a different formula, or what–once again, my inability to read Chinese lets me down. But it’s worth posting a taste anyway.

For the first time, I’ll comment on the presentation. This is a beautiful bottle of baijiu. It’s clearly meant for giving as a gift, not for drinking at home. The bottle itself is a black ceramic, and it was topped with a pretty little wrapper.

The baijiu itself is very similar to the previous Red Star. Little to no horsiness on the nose. Simple, clean taste, slightly sweet. No burn in the mouth, but a bit on the back end, as well as a hint of raisin.

I probably wouldn’t buy this again–it was a little more expensive than the Red Star in the regular bottle, and very similar in flavor. You’re clearly paying for the packaging. But it still wasn’t expensive, and the packaging is beautiful. If I had a friend who liked baijiu, I’d give it as a gift.

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Aroma: I’m guessing Sauce

Horsiness: 1 horse (out of 5)

Burn: 3 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Somewhere in China

Tasting notes:

This is another baijiu where the Internet has completely failed me–I can find no information about it, at least not in English. It’s made (or at least claims to be made) by Moutai, but it’s not “Kweichow Moutai”–the bottle design is different. Also, it cost a lot less. (My parents gave it to me as a Christmas present after a trip to China last year. They didn’t tell me exactly how much they paid, but I’m sure it wasn’t anywhere near the $300 a bottle that Kweichow Moutai seems to be going for.)

It’s one of the most mild-smelling baijius I’ve ever had–not that it doesn’t have a smell, just that the smell is more appealing than many of the baijius I’ve tried (especially the strong aroma ones, of course). Or perhaps I’m just getting used to the smell of baijiu? It’s probably a bit of both.

The smell is a little salty, and that (combined with the Moutai name) makes me think it might be a sauce aroma baijiu.

The taste is mild too, with a bit of burn. It’s fruity, with a bit of pear. The fruitiness continues to the aftertaste.

Not a lot to say about this one, precisely because it is so (by baijiu standards) mild-tasting. I like it.

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Aroma: I’m guessing Light, maybe?

Horsiness: 1 horse (out of 5)

Burn: 3 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Truong Thanh Liquors, (Chinatown, Boston)

Tasting notes:

I bought this because I liked Wuliangye, and wanted to find something similar that didn’t cost $120 a bottle. This caught my eye because it’s made by the same company as Wuliangye. Well, it’s true, it is, and it has the nice little enamel medallion on the bottle to prove it, but the similarities end there.

This is the least smelly baijiu I’ve ever tried, less so even than the light aroma baijius I’ve had. (Which makes me assume it’s a light aroma baijiu, except that I don’t know if the Wuliangye people make light aroma? I still have a lot to learn about this stuff.) There’s almost no horse in the aroma, just a faint quality that my wife calls medicinal.

It’s sweet on first taste, with almost like a caramel flavor to it. Not overly complex (especially compared to its big brother, Wuliangye) but tasty. Mild but noticeable burn.

The aftertaste is minty, something I’ve never come across in a baijiu before. Maybe even a little chocolatey too, just a hint.

I really like this one. Like the Red Star, it’s one I would use as a first baijiu for people who are adventurous drinkers but are new to baijiu.

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Aroma: I’m guessing Sauce

Horsiness: 3 (but see notes) horses (out of 5)

Burn: 4 flames (out of 5)

Bought at: Gum Wing Lee Luquors, (Chinatown, San Francisco)

Tasting notes:

I bought this from a liquor store in San Francisco. The guy I bought it from said he had nearly every baijiu that was legal to import into the US. I asked him for a recommendation of a baijiu that was similar to Kweichow Maotai, but not $200 a bottle, and this is what he sold me. So I’m guessing this is Sauce Aroma, because Kweichow Maotai is. I’ve never had another Sauce Aroma baijiu, so I can’t really compare.

It’s certainly a different-smelling baijiu, which is why I put the “see notes” suggestion in the horsiness–it has a very strong smell, but it’s not horsey the way other baijius I’ve had have been. Going into it blind, I wouldn’t have said it smelled like soy sauce, but I can see where that would be coming from. It has kind of a rotten fruit smell to me, but not in a bad way, if that makes any sense.

The taste is dry and a little bit salty. Not a lot of complexity until you get to the aftertaste, which is rich and smoky, with maybe a hint of blue cheese.

This is a weird one. Definitely not a baijiu for beginners. I think I’ll want to try more at another time, perhaps in comparison to another baijiu, and judge it again.

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