Tasmanian Baijiu - Traditional
Tasmania - China - Baijiu
Welcome to Sanyou where the purity of Tasmania meets the tradition and culture of China through baijiu. The story of Sanyou is built on Tasmania’s pristine resources, China’s rich traditions, and the unparalleled spirit of baijiu.
Tasmania - pure elements
The story of Sanyou begins in Tasmania, known for its pure air and water, rugged landscapes, temperate forests and fertile soils. Here, the natural elements converge to create the ideal setting for a baijiu like no other in the world. At Sanyou we harness these natural elements to make something truly unique – Tasmanian made Baijiu. The local grains are the building blocks of our fermentation, the pure waters flow to create the distillation and the cool temperatures nurture our traditional clay pot aging. Every drop of our baijiu carries the pure essence of Tasmania.
China – traditional methods
The structure behind the baijiu made at Sanyou is the tradition and culture of China, the homeland of baijiu, where centuries-old techniques have been refined and passed down through the generations. Our journey to China was a quest for knowledge that led us to the heart of China and the home of baijiu, Moutai. Here we learned from the baijiu masters on the banks of the Chishui River in the Guizhou Province, and we immersed ourselves in the art and science of traditional baijiu making which we now use everyday in our distillery.
Baijiu – spirit of connection
Baijiu is more than a liquor; it’s a symbol of celebration, connection, culture, unity and the joy of life’s special moments. At Sanyou, we honour this spirit by meticulously blending traditional Chinese techniques with Tasmania and Australia’s exceptional natural resources and environment, creating a baijiu which is both authentic and innovative. Our dedication to the craft has been recognised with international awards and is celebrated for its unique character and connection of the two worlds.
We look forward to welcoming you into the Sanyou family where we celebrate every bottle of our baijiu as a bridge and connection between two cultures.
Our Method
Forget everything you know about making spirits.
At Sanyou we follow the traditional baijiu making methods learned in China from the masters. Our Tasmanian distillery is the very first outside of China to follow the entire traditional baijiu making process with no imported materials or skipped processes. These traditional methods are both physically and scientifically challenging, which is why it is not typically done outside of China, but at Sanyou we embrace the challenge.
The first stage in baijiu making is to make the starter, called ‘Daqu’. The Daqu works as the starter similar to yeast in the fermentation process, but is its own scientific undertaking to make. We use only Tasmanian wheat in our Daqu. The wheat is crushed into a powder, then hydrated with water and formed into a brick shape. These bricks are then put into an incubator for 30 days where their internal temperature rises from room temperature, up to approximately 55’C, and back down to room temperature. After aging of the Daqu bricks for 6 months, they are crushed into a powder ready for use.
The second stage is the main fermentation. The primary grain in the main fermentation is Red Sorghum. At Sanyou we use Red Sorghum sourced from New South Wales. The Red Sorghum is soaked in water for 24 hours, loaded into and steamed in the still, then spread on the spreading floor to cool to room temperature. Once cooled the soft (but still solid, similar to cooked rice) Red Sorghum is mixed with the crushed Daqu. This mixture of Red Sorghum and Daqu is loaded into the fermenting pit 6 tonne at a time and allowed to ferment for 45 days.
The third stage is the distillation. Because baijiu is fermented on solid grains, rather than a liquid, the distillation is achieved by passing steam through the solid grain rather than boiling a fermented liquid. A baijiu still is arranged in 5 parts; steam boilers which deliver steam to the bottom of the still, a main vessel which has a perforated floor which is filled with fermented grain, a hood and line arm which deliver the steam to the final part, the condenser. Steam is pushed through the fermented grain which strips the alcohol off it and then is cooled in the condenser to create the baijiu.
The final stage in traditional baijiu making is the aging in clay pots. Baijiu is aged in massive clay pots. At Sanyou we age our baijiu in a combination of Tasmanian made and Chinese made clay pots. Our first baijiu was blended, bottled and released after one year in the pots, but commencing in 2024 our baijiu will be bottled at a minimum of 3 years old (and getting older each day).