🥃 Kaoliang

Kaoliang (高粱酒) is the sorghum spirit often met in Taiwan and China: a clear grain distillate made from sorghum, which in Chinese is called gaoliang. It is one type of baijiu: cooked sorghum is fermented with a wheat-based starter in a solid state, without liquid mash, and then distilled. The best-known kaoliang is made on Kinmen island (Quemoy), under Taiwanese administration; its usual strength is 38–58% ABV.

Raw materials. Sorghum is drought-tolerant, so it grows where rice lacks water and fertile soil. Its stalks were once burned as fuel, while the grain went into the drink. Starter bricks are formed from wheat and water, then ground and mixed with cooked and cooled sorghum.

Production. According to Taiwan Today, the process takes over two months: the grain ferments for about ten days and is distilled; a month later it is fermented again and distilled a second time. The first distillate reaches 80–90% ABV, then the spirits are blended and brought down to 58% ABV. The water comes from beneath the island's granite, and the spirits mature for years in stainless steel or pottery jars and in granite cellars.

History of Kinmen. In the 1950s the island held a large garrison, and bringing in rice, fuel and spirits was costly. General Hu Lian proposed that farmers grow sorghum and exchange it for rice, pound for pound. According to available records, the state distillery began work in 1952 (the company is often dated 1956) and remains the county's main source of income.

Why it matters to you. Ordinary kaoliang has 58% ABV, far more than vodka or whisky, so even a small glass contains a lot of alcohol. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.