Wufeng Rice Brewing's First Mist Shochu wins gold again at international spirits competition

Yiquan Fragrant Rice (Taiwan Rice 71) is a famously model student in the domestic fragrant rice world, making the list of the Top Ten Classic Fine Rice year after year. But this time it has not only dominated at home, it has also become famous overseas: the fine liquor brewed from Yiquan Fragrant Rice, "Chuwu Shochu," has again won a gold medal at this year's German International Spirits Assessment. The good rice and good liquor have become a veritable "twin treasures" of Wufeng.

Taking only the sweetest rice heart to brew fine liquor

Anyone who has eaten Yiquan Fragrant Rice will surely remember its faint taro aroma and fragrant, springy texture. Yiquan Fragrant Rice, named Taiwan Rice 71 (Taichung 71), and Taoyuan No. 3 are well-known domestic fragrant rice varieties that have repeatedly won recognition as Top Ten Classic Fine Rice. But the Wufeng Township Farmers' Association was not satisfied with that, and eight years ago began researching the brewing of sake from Yiquan Fragrant Rice. At the end of 2007 it established a winery, using "Chuwu" as its brand and launching liquors such as "shochu" and "junmai ginjo." Among them, the distilled liquor "shochu" won a silver medal in its first attempt at the German International Spirits Assessment the year before last, and last year and this year it went a step further and won a gold medal. Besides using good rice, the technique and dedication behind it are the key to their success.

Sake brewed from rice removes the brown rice outer layer containing protein and fat, taking only the starch of the rice heart. Generally speaking, retaining 60% of the rice is already considered top-grade sake, but the Wufeng Winery mills away 55% of the rice, reaching a rice-polishing ratio of 45%, in order to make the liquor more fragrant, mellow and smooth.

"Our liquor has a sweet aftertaste when you drink it, and the aroma in the mouth lasts longer than ordinary liquor, because we brew it from very good fragrant rice." Winery director Zeng Qingtang opened the bottle cap, and a faint rice aroma immediately wafted out. He said proudly that Chuwu liquor has no added chemical flavorings at all, and relies entirely on the rice's own flavor and brewing technique to bring out the taste. The general public may think sake should be drunk warm, but in fact only drinking it cold can reveal the sake's aroma and original flavor.

Besides carefully selecting polished rice, washing the rice, draining the water, and steaming the rice are also a major art. "The rice must be steamed so that each grain is distinct and not sticky to the hand, hard on the outside and soft on the inside, and the rice heart must be cooked...." After a production process lasting forty days, it still has to be left for several months or even several years to mature. Zeng Qingtang talked on and on about the steps of brewing, and his professional manner made it hard to imagine that a few years ago he knew nothing at all about brewing.