No.1: Maotai Wine 
Maotai Wine has a history of over 800 years. It is named after its origin in Mao Tai town in Guizhou province. It is made from wheat and sorghum through a unique distilling process that involves seven iterations of the brewing cycle. This wine was made famous to the western world when the Chinese government served it in state banquets entertaining US presidents. Alcohol content by volume: 54-55%.

No.2: Fen Wine
Fen Wine or 

Fenjiu（汾酒）, produced in Xinghuacun Village, Fenyang City, Shanxi Province, is also known as "Xinghuacun Wine". As a traditional Chinese famous liquor, Fen Wine is a typical representative of fragrant liquor in China.  With over 1500 years history, Fenjiu was highly regarded as a royal imperial court by Emperor Wu Qi of the Northern Qi Dynasty (420-581). And it was the earliest national wine in China. Fen Wine is the original Chinese white wine made from sorghum. Alcohol content by volume is 63-65%. Known for its color, aroma and taste, Fen Wine is is one of China's eight famous alcoholic drinks.It won a gold medal at the Panama International Fair, in 1916.

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No.3: Xifeng Liquor
Xifeng Liquor (西凤酒 Xi Feng Jiu), also known as Qin Liquor or Liulin Liquor, is produced in Liulin Town, Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province.With over 3000 years history, Xifeng Wine was originally produced in the Shang Dynasty. And it was very popular to be flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties.
Xifeng wine has the characteristics of clear and transparent, mellow and fragrant. After drinking Xifeng liquor, people do not get  drunk  on head, do not dry the throat, which make people have a pleasant aftertaste.

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No.4: Luzhou Laojiao Wine
Luzhou Laojiao Liquor (泸州老窖), is produced in Luzhou City of Sichuan Province, Southwest China.With over 2000 years history, Luzhou Laojiao Wine is not only the most local specialty but also one of the top four famous wines in China. Luzhou Laojiao Wine was originated in the Qin & Han Dynasties(221BC-220).  Adhering to the traditional Chinese wine-making technology, it was brewed in the first generation of Luzhou Laojiao Daqu Liquor in 1324 during the Yuan Dynasty. Luzhou Laojiao wine has the characteristics of "a strong aroma of the cellar, especially after drinking, sweet and refreshing, long aftertaste". It has always been the most popular Chinese traditional liquor that people like to drink.

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No.5: Wuliangye Liquor
Wuliangye liquor (五粮液酒) ,produced in Yibin City of Sichuan Province, is one of the eight famous wines in China. In Wuliangye Winery, there are relics of the old cellars, which were left over by the Ming Dynasty and have a history of more than 300 years.
The brewing materials of Wuliangye are five kinds of grains such as red sorghum, glutinous rice, rice, wheat and corn.The water is taken from the heart of the Minjiang River and the water quality is clear and excellent. Wuliangye liquor has its rich and unique experience in brewing, which fully guarantees its excellent quality and long-term stability, and has won a good reputation among Chinese and foreign consumers.

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Some scholars believe that the technique for making Chinese liquor originated in the Xia Dynasty (c.2100 BC-c.1600 BC). Historical records credit Yi Di and Du Kang as the founding fathers of making liquor professionally.

 

According to historical records, Yi Di made great efforts to make mellow wine with fermented glutinous rice. Du Kang, who lived in the Xia Dyanasty, is credited with making top-notch liquor with Chinese sorghum beans.

As the story goes, "Du Kang stored some cooked Chinese sorghum seeds inside a hollow tree stump on a winter day. In the spring of the following year, a fragrant aroma wafted from the tree stump into the nostrils of Du Kang. Afterwards, Du Kang found that it was the fermented sorghum seeds which gave off the alluring fragrance." This accidental discovery inspired him to make liquor from fermented sorghum seeds.

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Taste of of Chinese Liquor

There are a number of popular descriptions in English which comment unfavorably on the taste of baijiu, comparing it with rubbing alcohol or diesel fuel. The author Tim Clissold, who writes frequently on China, noted that he'd "never met anybody, even at the heights of alcoholic derangement, prepared to admit that they actually liked the taste,” and that "after drinking it, most people screw up their faces in an involuntary expression of pain and some even yell out.”

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Types  of Chinese Liquor

According to its fragrance, Baijiu can be classified into 6 different categories.

"Sauce" fragrance: A highly fragrant distilled liquor of bold character. To the Western palate, sauce fragrance baijiu can be quite challenging to the senses. It has solvent and barnyard aromas, with the former, in combination with the ethanol in the liquor, imparting a sharp ammonia-like note. Its smell has been described as stinky tofu crossed with grappa. To the initiated, it is quite delicious and is considered the perfect complement for fine preserved and pickled foods. This class is also referred to as "Mao xiang," after the best known wine of this class, Maotai.

Heavy/thick fragrance: A class of distilled liquor that is sweet tasting, unctuous in texture, and mellow, with a gentle lasting fragrance contributed by the high levels of esters, primarily ethyl acetate. Most liquors of this class are made using Aspergillus-type starters. One example of this type of liquor is the Five Grains Liquid of Yibin.

Light fragrance: Delicate, dry, and light, leaving a delectable mellow and clean feeling in the mouth. The flavor of this distilled liquor is contributed primarily by ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate. An example of this kind of liquor is Fen jiu of Shanxi.

Rice fragrance: The character of this class of wine is exemplified by baijiu distilled from rice, such as Tri-Flower Liquor of Guilin. This type of wine has long history and is made using Rhizopus spp. type starters ("Small starter"). It has a clean feeling in the mouth and is slightly aromatic aroma, dominated by ethyl lactate with lesser flavor contributions by ethyl acetate.

Honey fragrance: A class of distilled liquor with the fragrance of honey. Liquors of this class are subtle in flavor and sweet in taste.

Layered fragrance: A class of distilled liquors that contain the characteristics of “Sauce,” Heavy, and Light Fragrance distilled liquors. As such, liquors of this class vary widely in their aroma, feeling in the mouth, and dryness. An example of this type of liquor is Xifeng Jiu, produced in Fengxiang County of Shaanxi.