Dale Dugas wrote:Pretty much you can use any form of booze. Some people like to use Rice Wine whether Bai Jiu(which is Rice Vodka basically. . .
Spoken like someone who has never truly "known" bai jiu.
Aside from the taste, Baijiu is almost never made from rice. So far, and I have sampled many, none of the baijiu that I have drank even has rice as an ingredient. It's made mainly from sorghum but often blended with wheat, barley, corn and other grains. Baijiu is more of a northerners concoction (Except for Sichuan where they make the best in the nation and a few Shanghai brands not worth mentioning) so they generally have not had rice available to make it from. Rice is usually made into huangjiu which is sort of like sherry but not as sweet. . . ok, a dry sherry. That stuff is sort of vaguely like Sake.
Most people think baijiu is made form rice because the only other Asian liquor they are acquainted with is Sake which
is typically made from rice. Not baijiu. The best baijiu I have had comes from Manchuria but all my "regular" brands come from either Sichuan or from Shaanxi where they do their best to copy the Sichuan style.
For tie da jiu I use either vodka or, if it's available, everclear. Depends on the formula. I got one formula online that I really liked that went well with vodka but it also included ingredients that were illegal in the states, mainly "she xiang" aka "musk", the musk glands of a certain kind of deer. The other formula I have is Yip Man's and also has a few illicit ingredients but you can get it made in Chinatown in SF. The Richmond district stores won't make it for you. Down on Grant St., if you speak Chinese or are at least a regular in the shop, they will mix if the herbs for you.
Everclear and vodka.