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Baijiu Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to baijiu products
Did you know that the Instacart app allows you to order your favorite baijiu in just a few minutes and get it sent right to your door? You can also pick it up at the nearest store. When you order baijiu through the Instacart app, you can save some of your valuable time and make your life a little bit easier.
About baijiu
Baijiu is a clear, distilled Chinese spirit that's usually made with fermented sorghum. It can contain 20-60% alcohol by volume. Baijiu means white spirits, and in Imperial China, it was called shaojiu, meaning burnt wine. People also call it liejiu, harsh alcohol, or zhengliujiu, distilled spirits. It's different from huangjiu, yellow wine.
Baijiu was first distilled around 1000 A.D. China is a large country, and production techniques differ significantly by region and style. Most varieties resemble whiskey, and many smell like soy sauce. It's the most popular spirit in China, and it's also the world's most consumed spirit by volume. Annual outputs exceed vodka and whiskey combined. Baijiu is starting to become known outside China, and many quality baijiu are available worldwide. Baijiu most commonly comes from sorghum, but people also make it from rice, wheat, corn, and adlay millet or Job's tears.
Types of baijiu
Baijiu is usually categorized by its fragrance. Qingxiang, or light aroma baijiu, is delicate, dry, light, and smooth. It tastes like dried fruit with floral notes, and it's made from sorghum fermented in a stone vessel with a starter. Mixiang or rice aroma baijiu is distilled from rice. It has a subtle scent and a light and clean taste.
Nongxiang, or strong aroma baijiu, tastes sweet and mellow. Many varieties have banana, pineapple, and anise flavors. Nongxiang is made from sorghum and other grains fermented in mud pits. Jiangxiang or savory aroma baijiu is made from sorghum fermented in brick pits, and it tastes similar to fermented bean pastes and soy sauces. It pairs well with pickled or preserved foods.
Zhimaxiang or sesame aroma baijiu is made in stone pits with mud floors. It uses sorghum, millet, or barley, and it has a charred, nutty flavor. The microorganisms living in these pits contribute to baijiu's unique flavor, and some of these pits have been used for hundreds of years.
You can also buy baijiu infused with additional flavors or Chinese herbal medicines. Meiguilu jiu, or nectar of the rose baijiu, is distilled with sugar and a special species of rose. It's usually about 55% alcohol by volume. Chajiu or tea baijiu is flavored with tea leaves and hawthorn berries. It's usually a light reddish-brown color, and you can choose varieties made with oolong, green, or black tea. It's around 8-28% alcohol by volume.
Helpful tips for choosing great baijiu
Depending on the fermentation and distillation process, baijiu can vary significantly in taste. You can enjoy its rich, unusual flavor neat, or you can mix it in a cocktail. If you don't like the first brand of baijiu you try, don't give up. Different brands from different regions can vary widely, so you can eventually order a flavor on Instacart that you'll love.
Baijiu Near Me
Buy your favorite Baijiu online with Instacart. Order Baijiu from local and national retailers near you and enjoy on-demand, contactless delivery or pickup within 2 hours.
FAQs about baijiu
To make baijiu, manufacturers grind the grains they choose and heat them in water until they expand and rupture. Then, they add Jiuqu or Qu, a brick made from crushed wheat, barley, and sometimes peas that start the fermentation. After one to three months, the fermented grains are distilled.
Each bottle is a combination of many different batches, and they're blended for the best taste. Baijiu is the only type of alcohol fermented using solid grains instead of a grain soup or a filtered grain extract. To distill it, manufacturers steam it. The steam carries the alcohol and flavors of the grains, and it's captured and converted to a liquid.
You can make a Highball, with baijiu, lime, and tonic, or a Princess, with baijiu, lychee syrup, passion fruit syrup, yogurt, and lemon juice. The Perpetual Motion comes with baijiu, elderflower liqueur, blood orange, lime, and mint. With the Coriander Mojito, you'll get coriander, mint, baijiu, sparkling water, sugar, and lime.
Since baijiu is a distilled spirit, it usually won't go bad. Even if a bottle has been open for several years, it will rarely lose its potency and flavor.
You can make your day less stressful and more efficient and by placing your next baijiu order through Instacart. An Instacart shopper will take a trip to a nearby retail store so that you don't have to. They'll pick up all of your selections and deliver your baijiu in as little as 2 hours!