Have you heard of this famous Chinese drink, the moutai , or mutai ? Before Mao Ze Dong and his communist revolution, the drink was already considered traditional, obtained from sorghum ferments.
We tell you more about this interesting story that has to do with special weather conditions and with a Singular site to the southwest of China.Are you with us?
Moutai, the luxurious drink of the Chinese
The moutai is what the Chinese call a type of baijiu , which traditionally means alcohol in traditional Chinese.In the West they tend to translate it as "wine", but in reality it is rather an alcoholic beverage of the "brandy" type, and is obtained from the distillation process of a ferment of sorghum.
Its origin is located in the province of Guizhou , and it was always thought that the particular conditions of the city of Moutai, and especially the waters of the Chishui River, gave it its delicious, delicate and unmistakable aroma and flavor.

Already in the remote times of the Qing dynasty, in the seventeenth century, the drink was made with the current recipe.In those days a very severe law was imposed that punished whoever soiled the waters of the river, a law that Mao maintained after ascending to power, because the production of liquor would be jeopardized.In fact, the only factory that has permission to be there It is that of the moutai, a city within another, a huge white complex where they are responsible for packing between 20,000 and 30,000 tons per year of the liquor in special and luxurious porcelain bottles.
Mao entertained his powerful international guests with this drink, and so it became a symbol of power.So much so that there is a Chinese saying that "those who buy moutai do not drink it, and those who drink moutai do not buy it."

When the inauguration of the Panama Canal was celebrated in 1915, it was awarded in that event, and from then on it began to have international fame.But in 1951, just two years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the moutai was declared a "national liquor", becoming a symbol of identity.
Moreover, this liquor was the first to be produced at large scale in China; According to some accounts, it is said that when the Red Army entered the city of Moutai during the Great March, the troops used the drink to sterilize their wounds and food (it is logical if we think it has a high alcohol content, which varies from 35 to 53%.) This made Zhou Enlai, the Chinese prime minister, attribute the success of Mao's army to the moutai.
All Chinese leaders have confirmed the deeply "typical" and "national" character "Of this drink, a Chinese liquor that very few Chinese can drink due to its high cost: depending on the year of production, a bottle could cost the discrete sum of 1,540 dollars.From the year 1982, it can cost up to 10,000, and in 2012 it I auction a 1980 bottle at no less than $ 1,300,000! The common price ranges between 150 and 200 euros a bottle, an amount that millions of Chinese cannot afford to spend.

Today, the moutai is the official drink that is served in the state protocol acts, and the gift that Chinese ambassadors most offer at their embassies in other countries.
Would you like to try it? We invite you to know the 15 most curious drinks in the world.
Images: Wikipedia, Holy Chinese, Alvin Smith, Yue Tian, Kent Wang.
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