Yijuyong Gaoliang Liquor

Yijuyong Gaoliang Liquor

　　Yijuyong Gaoliang Liquor is one of Tianjin’s three most famous traditional export liquors. It represents the city’s liquor industry and is the sole inheritor of the Dazhigu liquor-making tradition in Tianjin, as well as China’s most widely exported high-proof liquor. Historical records indicate that the liquor brewing industry in Tianjin emerged as early as the third year of the Yuan Dynasty's Tai Ding era (1326), and during the Qing Dynasty’s golden age, Dazhigu became the hub of liquor production in Tianjin at the time. Over the long course of history, Dazhigu developed a unique traditional brewing technique, represented by Yijuyong Gaoliang Liquor.

　　 During the Yuan Dynasty, Dazhigu in Tianjin Wei became a crucial hub for transporting grain from the south to the north due to its strategic geographical location, giving rise to a thriving scene described as “grain ships from the southeast arriving by sea, gathering by the thousands with the tide.” The many sailors of the time also brought their reverence for the sea goddess Mazu here, where it quickly spread. The *Yuan Dynasty Maritime Records* state: “Thus, provincial and transport officials performed divination and purified themselves before the sacred Mazu Palace.” The rice transported from the south and the sorghum brought from Liaodong were both premium ingredients for brewing, and Dazhigu’s proximity to the Hai River provided an ample supply of high-quality water. These factors led to the birth of Tianjin’s liquor industry.

　　　　Two additional key factors also contributed to the rapid growth of Tianjin’s liquor industry at the time: first, both official and civilian ceremonies used Dazhigu liquor as the ritual offering; second, sailors, after long and arduous journeys at sea, would stop here to rest and often drank to relieve fatigue. A line from the Ming Dynasty poem *Zhigu Rowing Song* reads: “The Mazu Temple faces Zhigu, drums echo along the willows as boats are summoned; before the wine is poured, the helmsman reports — yellow butterflies have already flown onto the cabin roof.” This describes the custom of sailors conducting wine offerings in front of the Mazu Temple upon arriving in Zhigu. In the centuries that followed, the liquor industry in Dazhigu flourished and gradually spread to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian Chinese communities that worship Mazu, becoming a cultural bond integrating Chinese heritage, liquor culture, and Mazu beliefs.

　　　　By the Qing Dynasty, Tianjin’s liquor industry had grown even more prosperous, with dozens of distilleries employing around 2,000 workers and gaining increasing fame. During the Qianlong era, poet Cui Xu praised Zhigu’s fine liquor in his poem *A Hundred Songs of Tianjin Gate · Dazhigu*: “Famed liquors are all called Dazhigu, their color amber-bright, their texture smooth as suet.” Another verse proclaims: “When horses and men pass through Zhigu, the scent of wine wafts ten miles.” Yet among the vast array of folk distilleries, few stood out — only the Yijuyong distillery was not only the largest but also the most representative. By comparing southern and northern yeast strains, experimenting with liquors of different compositions and types, and inheriting the Yuan-era Dazhigu distilling techniques, Yijuyong developed a unique koji-making process. During fermentation, they added acid mash to enhance the vitality of the koji, significantly improving yield and establishing the distinctive style of Tianjin’s light-aroma liquor by the late Qianlong period. To this day, the popular Yijuyong Jin Xing series of liquors sold both domestically and abroad still retain this traditional craftsmanship.