Kaoliang

🌱 Vegan

Kaoliang, also called gaoliang or sorghum liquor, is a strong Chinese spirit made from fermented sorghum. It is produced mainly in China and Taiwan and is also popular in Korea, where it is known as goryangju.

History

Kaoliang is a light-aroma type of baijiu. According to the sources, it originates in Dazhigu, east of Tianjin, and is first recorded in the Ming dynasty. From there it spread across northern China, in provinces such as Hebei, Shaanxi and Shandong, where it became widely drunk.

During the Chinese Civil War, the nationalist general Hu Lien encouraged farmers on Kinmen to grow sorghum and distil their own spirit, since importing alcohol from Taiwan strained the local economy. That initiative became a lasting tradition, and kaoliang is now central to the island's economy. Its alcohol content usually ranges from 38 to 63 percent by volume.

Culture

On Kinmen, an archipelago under Taiwanese jurisdiction, kaoliang is closely tied to local economy and island identity. Well-known Taiwanese brands include Kinmen Kaoliang, sold in 58 and 38 percent versions, Yushan, whose XO is aged five years in tanks, and Matsu Tunnel 88, stored for at least five years in an abandoned military tunnel. The spirit also appears in popular culture, from Namewee's music video The Wall to Zhang Yimou's film Red Sorghum, set in a rural distillery in Shandong.

Trivia

A literary character. Li Kao, the protagonist of Barry Hughart's novels, is named after kaoliang. In the story, the abbot attending his birth took the syllables his dying mother spoke for the child's name.

A military tunnel. The Matsu Distillery on Nangan island stores its aged kaoliang in a former military tunnel for at least five years.