Baijiu (English name) (China)

Japanese: 白酒 - パイチュウ（英語表記）(中国)

A Chinese alcoholic beverage, a general term for distilled alcoholic beverages made from grains. The most common main ingredient is sorghum (a type of sorghum grown in China), but there are also varieties made from a combination of sorghum, glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice, corn, wheat, and buckwheat. Alcohol is generally fermented by adding preparation water to the main ingredient, but in baijiu, water is not added and the fermentation is carried out while the ingredient is still in a solid state. The main ingredient is steamed and placed together with koji in a rectangular hole dug in the ground called a " kochi " or in a jar buried up to its neck in the ground, then sealed and left to ferment. The mash remains solid even after it is turned into mash, so distillation is carried out by steaming the mash and cooling the steam. During this process, sorghum skins and rice husks are mixed into the mash before steaming, which creates gaps to allow steam to pass through more easily, and the ingredients contained in these ingredients also add new flavors. Also, new sorghum to be prepared next is often mixed in at this time, and distillation and the next steaming are often carried out simultaneously; this process is called "double steaming and combining." The residue after distillation contains steamed, unfermented sorghum, which is returned to the cellar with koji and fermented again. The process of repeated fermentation and distillation, called "multiple fermentation," has a huge effect on the flavor. The resulting product is then aged in jars to be produced. The solid mash, cellar fermentation, double steaming and combining, and multiple fermentation are distinctive features of traditional baijiu production methods, producing a complex, rich, unique flavor. Maotai and Fenjiu are particularly well known. In recent years, inexpensive baijiu made from sweet potatoes as the main ingredient, fermented with liquid koji, distilled in a continuous still to obtain a high concentration of alcohol, and with the addition of flavoring ingredients, has also become popular in China. In the past, strong alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of around 50 to 65 degrees were common, but in recent years, in response to changing tastes, relatively low alcoholic beverages with alcoholic content starting from 25 degrees have also been produced.

Shirozake (white sake)

It is a cloudy, sweet liquor made by adding steamed glutinous rice and rice malt to shochu or mirin, aging it for about a month, and then mashing it. Since the early modern period, it has been drunk on the Girls' Festival on March 3rd. The alcohol content is around 10%. Many of them are classified as liqueurs under the Liquor Tax Act.

Shiroki (white sake)

Sake brewed from rice harvested in the sacred fields . It was used in rituals along with kuroki sake . ◇"Ki" is an old name for sake.

Source: Kodansha Drink Dictionary Information

Japanese:

中国酒で、穀類を原料とする蒸留酒の総称。主原料はもっとも一般的なものはコーリャン（中国産のもろこしの一種）で、そのほかコーリャン・もち米・うるち米・とうもろこし・小麦・そばなどを数種配合してつくるものなどがある。酒の発酵は一般に主原料に仕込み水を加えて行うが、白酒では水を加えず、固体の状態のまま行う。主原料を蒸し、麹とともに、「窖池(こうち)」と呼ばれる地面に掘った長方形の穴や、首まで地中に埋めたかめに入れ、密閉して発酵させる。もろみとなっても固体のままなので、蒸留はもろみを蒸し、その蒸気を冷却して行う。この際、もろみにコーリャンの皮や籾殻(もみがら)などを混ぜて蒸すが、これで隙間を作って蒸気を通しやすくするとともに、これらに含まれる成分からも新たな風味が付加される。また、このとき次に仕込む新たなコーリャンを一緒に混ぜ、蒸留と次の蒸しを同時に行うことも多く、「双蒸合一」などと呼ばれる。蒸留後のかすには蒸されて未発酵の状態のコーリャンが含まれており、このかすを麹とともに窖池に戻して再び発酵させる。発酵と蒸留を繰り返す「連醸」と呼ばれる工程は、風味にきわめて大きな影響を及ぼす。これをかめで熟成させて製する。固体のもろみ、窖池発酵、双蒸合一、連醸は、伝統的な白酒の製法上の際だった特徴であり、複雑で濃醇な独特の風味を生み出している。茅台酒(マオタイしゅ)、汾酒(フェンチュウ)などが特に知られる。このほか近年は、主原料にさつまいもを用い、液体の麹などで発酵させ、連続式蒸留機で蒸留して高濃度のアルコールを得、香味成分を添加してつくる安価な白酒も中国国内に普及している。アルコール度数は50～65度程度の強いものが一般的であったが、近年の嗜好の変化に合わせて25度からの比較的度数の低いものもつくられるようになった。⇒黄酒