Baijiu certainly has a distinct flavor, and it’s one that’s hard to put down into words. From personal experience, it tastes like the fiery fury of the disappointment of my ancestors dancing on my tongue, but Westerners have described it as “funky, with a rotting, sweet fruit flavor and a touch of nuttiness.” Some baijiu emit a scent that reminds a seasoned nose of soy sauce, but it all really depends on the type of baijiu you have on the table. The variety of baijiu stems from the different mixes and qualities of the yeast used to ferment the alcohol, or the aforementioned jiu qu, or just qu.
Baijiu is not a specific spirit but one that can take on many forms, smells, and subtle colors. The JiangJi Distillery classifies the types of baijiu into 13 categories: strong aroma, light aroma, a hybrid xiao-qu light aroma, sauce aroma, rice aroma, phoenix aroma, mixed aroma, chi aroma, sesame aroma, medicine aroma, extra-strong aroma, special aroma, and laobaigan aroma.
