Lidu Liquor

Lidu liquor is a daqu multi-aroma baijiu from Lidu town in Jinxian county, Nanchang, made from local glutinous rice by methods handed down since the Yuan dynasty, prized for "four aromas in one sip"—rich on the nose, light on the palate, sauce-like as it goes down, and rice-like in the finish.

The Lidu distilling craft reaches back to the Yuan dynasty, and the Lidu Yuan-dynasty distillery ruins are over eight hundred years old; their 2002 excavation was named one of China's top ten archaeological finds, and in 2006 the State Council listed them among the sixth batch of major nationally protected sites, the earliest and most complete baijiu-distillery ruins in China; legend tells of the statesman Wang Anshi dismounting at the scent and Yan Shu drawing his boat in to taste it.

Lidu liquor is best sipped slowly from a small cup to follow its "four aromas," often served at Jiangxi banquets and given as a gift, and a fine way to taste the liquor culture of Jinxian near Nanchang.

The ancient Yuan-dynasty fermentation pits, the multi-aroma "four aromas in one sip," and the centuries-old tale of Wang Anshi dismounting at the scent are the clearest marks of Lidu liquor.