Erguotou
Bottles of the two most famous brands of erguotou, Red Star and Niulanshan (at far right) | |
| Type | Baijiu, Qingxiang |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Beijing Hongxing, Niulanshan, Beijing Erguoutou, Huadu, Xinhuamen, and others. |
| Country of origin | China |
| Region of origin | Beijing |
| Introduced | Qing Dynasty |
| Alcohol by volume | 42–65% |
| Colour | Clear |
| Ingredients | Sorghum |
| Erguotou | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 二锅头 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 二鍋頭 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | "second pot head" (second distillation) | ||||||||
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Erguotou (Chinese: 二锅头; pinyin: èrguōtóu; lit. 'second pot head', 'i.e. second distillation') is a style of qingxiang baijiu originating in Beijing and primarily made in the region surrounding.
The process of erguotou production is what sets it apart from other qingxiang baijiu's like Fenjiu. Three ingredients, sorghum, fuqu (麸曲; a wheat bran based qū), and water make up the ingredient base. The sorghum is crushed, cooked, cooled, and mixed with the qū before being added, in a liquid state, to a stone or steel fermentation vessel where it will be left to ferment for a relatively short period of about four to eight days. After the qū has converted the starches and sugars in the sorghum into ethanol, the grain is transferred to a still that will extract the ethanol from the mixture. The distilled output is then rested in ceramic jars for a relatively short six to twelve months before being blended, proofed, bottled, and sold.
The relatively short fermentation time, and the stone or steel fermentation vessel result in less production of esters overall. For that reason, erguoutou is a milder spirit than other baijius in terms of aroma.