A Sino-US joint venture has developed a baijiu and American whiskey hybrid, debuting two iterations of the spirit in the US this month.
Maritine Brands is a tie-up between True Essence Foods and Guìzhōu Guótái Shùzhì Liquor Group that has created the Shāng brand in partnership with distiller Whiskey House of Kentucky and The Blending House. The two expressions in Shāng’s line-up sit in a category of spirits that the company has dubbed “jiàngxiāng whiskey” (pronounced jong-shong).
Both consist of baijiu that has been distilled from red sorghum and aged in clay pots in China, before being “redistilled to a whiskey base”, then matured in American oak and blended in Kentucky.
Shāng Dàn Yǎ has spent a minimum of a month and up to “just under” a year in charred American oak. The ‘whiskey’ carries an ABV of 50% and an SRP of US$64.99 per 50cl bottle or $15.99 for 5cl. Shāng East + West Kentucky Blend, meanwhile, mixes the bajiu with a “proprietary” American whiskey distilled from red sorghum grown in the US, prior to an unspecified maturation period. At 46% ABV, the SRP is slightly lower at $45.99 per 50cl and $13.99 per 5cl.
The iterations go on sale this week online in the US.
“Shāng represents the future of global spirits innovation,” said Maritine CEO Matt Rubin. “By bringing together centuries-old Chinese fermentation techniques with the precision and structure of American whiskey-making, we are creating something entirely new.”
Guìzhōu Guótái Shùzhì chair Yán Kǎijìng added: “The … craft of dual-brewing and dual-aging defines the unique character of Shāng. It embraces the classic Western liquid-state fermentation technique, integrates the millennia-old art of Chinese solid-state jiàngxiāng brewing, nurtured through slow aging in ceramic jars and refined by maturation in American oak barrels, letting the … brewing and distilling wisdom of both worlds blend … in every bottle.”
Reports at the start of this year linked Diageo to a review of its controlling stake in baijiu producer Sichuan Swelfun. No developments have emerged since Bloomberg‘s claim in mid-January.
