Bendantang Wine

Bendantang Wine

　　Bendantang wine is a traditional homemade liquor brewed by the Buyi people of Wangmo County during festivals, holidays, or weddings and funerals. In the Buyi language, it is called “Bendantang.” The brewing process starts with making the “brewing starter” and ends with the actual fermentation and distillation, involving unique techniques throughout.

　　 To brew “Bendantang,” the first step is to make a homemade brewing starter that matches the raw materials. This starter is made from 12 kinds of aromatic herbal plants such as “Gao Galie,” “Ran Banan,” and “Ba Yanxiang.” These wild plants used to make the brewing starter are commonly found in the rural areas of Wangmo County. Farmers collect their leaves, stems, and flowers, dry them, then crush or grind them before mixing with steamed millet to form a paste-like dough. This mixture is wrapped in sweet rice leaves to ferment, then shaped into small “peanut”-like pellets and dried for storage. Through the distillation process using this traditional “brewing starter” and raw materials, the resulting “Bendantang” is an authentic, pure liquor that exudes a rich earthy aroma.

　　 Almost every household in Buyi villages has a simple setup for brewing “Bendantang.” The equipment includes one large stove, one big iron pot, wooden barrels for fermentation, a wooden steamer for distillation, and nearly a hundred kilograms of firewood, as well as wooden buckets for collecting the distilled liquid and jars for storage. The main ingredients for making “Bendantang” are corn, rice, glutinous rice, and wheat, with corn being the primary choice due to the region’s larger land area and fewer fields—corn is abundantly available for brewing. In addition to these, the resourceful and hardworking Buyi people can also use ten other products such as plantains, cycad seeds, taro, jujubes, bananas, and sugarcane syrup to produce “Bendantang.” Each type of ingredient lends a unique fragrance and characteristic to the liquor, offering an unforgettable taste experience.

　　 The key to brewing good liquor lies in the proportion of brewing starter to raw materials. Before making “Bendantang,” farmers first boil water in a large pot based on the amount of grain needed for distillation. They then pour in processed, shelled, and crushed corn, stirring continuously with a large ladle until fully cooked. After cooking, the mixture is covered and left to steam in the pot for over ten hours. It is then taken out and spread out on a large tray to cool. The “peanut”-shaped brewing starter pellets are ground into powder and sprinkled evenly over the cooked grains according to the required amount. The mixture is stirred repeatedly with a spatula or wooden ladle, then transferred to a large plastic bucket and sealed for fermentation for over a month. Once it develops a wine-like aroma, it is ready for distillation. If the ingredients are distilled before a month, the resulting liquor may have an alcoholic taste but will lack fragrance. The longer the sealed ingredients are stored, the better the quality of the distilled liquor. Such high-quality traditional liquor is referred to by the Buyi people as “Old Cellar Buyi Brew.”

　　 During the distillation process, Buyi farmers place a steamer over the pot and pour the fermented ingredients into the steamer. A small hole is left on the side of the steamer to serve as an outlet tube, where a 50-centimeter-long hollow bamboo tube is placed horizontally, with the other end positioned over a wooden barrel. Inside the steamer, a wooden trough measuring 40 to 60 centimeters in length and 10 to 14 centimeters in width is placed flat, connecting to the outlet hole. As the fire heats the pot, the fermented ingredients in the steamer vaporize into distilled liquid, which flows through the wooden trough into the outlet tube and then into the barrel, becoming genuine “Bendantang.”

　　 Brewing Buyi “Bendantang” requires very particular methods. The distillation water comes from well water or mountain spring water. Distilling one batch of traditional liquor takes six hours. When the water in the pot becomes too hot, it needs to be poured out and replaced—a total of four water changes are made. The fire must be carefully controlled to maintain a moderate flame. This careful process results in a more fragrant, mellow, and smooth “Bendantang.”

　　 The traditional “Bendantang” brewed by the Buyi people is divided into three grades. The first distillation yields a liquor with an alcohol content of 30–40%, which can be diluted to lower the proof. The second distillation produces liquor around 20% alcohol, and the third yields liquor below 10%.