Lantang Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor

Lantang Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor

　　Lantang Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor is a well-known local specialty from Zhilian Village in Lanxi. The village itself is a picturesque ancient settlement steeped in historical wine culture. Thanks to its unique geographical setting, the legacy of local winemakers, and the use of time-honored traditional brewing methods, Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor has gained broad acceptance and familiarity. In terms of cultural history, Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor embodies it all. According to *Compendium of Materia Medica*, buckwheat has significant health benefits for the human body, making it highly advantageous. Therefore, bitter buckwheat is used as the raw material for brewing, and the resulting liquor offers notable wellness advantages.

　　 Lantang Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor. The ancient village of Zhilian boasts beautiful mountains, clean water, and fresh natural scenery. With its long-standing traditional brewing process and a history that spans generations, the village provides an exceptional environment for making liquor. In ancient times, Zhilian also had its own historical wine culture centered around Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor. "A thousand grains of buckwheat, one drop of liquor." Buckwheat liquor was first created by the Yi people two thousand years ago. Legend has it that during Zhuge Liang’s western campaign in the Shu region, his soldiers fell ill due to the swampy terrain and miasmic air. Local Yi people offered them self-brewed buckwheat liquor, which cured their illnesses. This enabled Zhuge Liang to succeed in capturing Meng Huo seven times, subduing the southern tribes, and achieving a great victory. Later, descendants of Zhilian brought this liquor from the western Shu region to the ancient Zhilian Village area in Zhejiang, where it quickly became popular and was hailed as a “miraculous liquor.” Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor is made from unhulled buckwheat grains. Its production process builds upon the traditional solid-state fermentation and distillation methods, adding steps such as grain soaking, initial steaming, grain steaming, and secondary steaming. Its characteristics include a richly aromatic brew, a smooth and lingering taste, and a unique flavor profile. It not only possesses the distinctive style of light-aroma Baijiu—being gentle on the palate and not causing dryness—but also carries the natural flavor of traditional small-curd rice wine.

　　To this day, Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor continues to be produced using ancient traditional brewing techniques. Zhou Shurong, a winemaker from Zhilian Village, is a direct inheritor and leading figure in preserving this craft. Today, within Jinhua and Lanxi, anyone who drinks is familiar with Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor. As the saying goes, “Good liquor needs no deep alley.” Master Zhou says that good liquor will naturally find its audience, and fine traditional brewing techniques will surely be passed down. His greatest hope is that the ancient traditional brewing process of Zhilian Buckwheat Liquor will continue to thrive, allowing the rich heritage of Chinese wine culture—and particularly the wine culture of Lanxi Zhilian—to endure.