The history of this traditional Chinese liquor goes back over 2000 years with a significant evolution during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) when Chinese distillers introduced advanced and unique techniques for processing this distinctive type of liquor.

Maotai became the first Chinese liquor to be produced in large-scale production. The Communist government consolidated a lot of local distilleries into 1 state-owned company, Kweichow Moutai (the name is an old romanization of “Guizhou Maotai”).

The superior spirit of China

Since its gold prize in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, Moutai shares the title of the world’s top 3 distilled liquors with Cognac brandy from France & Whisky from the Scottish Highlands. It is however the only one of the 3 that is distilling yeast during its distillation process (7 times) and the only one using solid grain material in the fermentation process which makes this liquor even more special & unique !

With reason, this multiple award winning and high-end spirit was named China’s superior liquor in 1951, two years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It has become the ultimate gift for special people & various celebrations. It is the only alcoholic beverage presented as an official gift by Chinese embassies in foreign countries and is used on many official occasions with foreign heads of state.