Baijiu producer Vinn Distillery in Portland is operated by the Ly family, who came to Oregon via Vietnam via China. Centurian Magazine recently interviewed Michelle Ly, daughter of the distillery founders. Here’s Ly on making Vinn baijiu:
For our baijiu we use 100% brown rice from California, which we cook off and let cool to a specific temperature. We then add our small qu (an enzyme and yeast blend). We allow the mixture to ferment in small containers for a few months before we distill it three times in a pot. The mixture then settles for about a year before we bottle it. Our Vinn Baijiu does not go through a filtration process, so it retains the earthy and bold aroma and flavour.
Click here for the rest of the interview.
Meanwhile, The Whiskey Exchange has a review up of HKB–Hong-Kong Baijiu–which recently became available in the UK. In terms of aroma, the reviewer found “notes of Fruit Salad sweets, red pear drops, sweet cherry, Chinese allspice and a faint hint of grass”. Get the full review here.
World Baijiu Day is held each August 9. See our 2018 event list here. The 2019 list is coming soon. Follow World Baijiu Day on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Get in touch with Jim Boyce via spirit (at) worldbaijiuday.com.
