BEIJING, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Chinese Mongolian Cask made its global debut at the Beijing Whisky Festival, marking a culmination of two-year relentless exploration by Laizhou Distillery. The unveiling at Laizhou’s booth at the festival drew a crowd of industry experts, media representatives and whisky enthusiasts across the country to witness this historic moment.
A Taste of Chinese Flavor
Laizhou’s booth was abuzz with excitement as guests savored the unique flavors imparted by this Chinese Mongolian Cask. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the whisky’s distinctive flavor and hailing it as one of the most intriguing drams they had recently experienced.
Gold Standard for Chinese Mongolian Cask
The unveiling extended beyond the cask itself, as Laizhou also presented their groundbreaking discovery of the “Gold Standard” for Chinese Mongolian Cask, a culmination of two years of dedicated research, which encompasses three key criteria: the aperture of the wood vessel is less than 280 micrometers; the number of vessels per 4.5 square millimeters is between 42 and 73, and over 67% of the vessel is occupied by tyloses. Oak cask meeting these stringent criteria ensure optimal cask maturation, preventing leakage while allowing for proper aeration and flavor extraction.
This marks the first-ever established standard for Chinese Mongolian Cask, setting a guide for the selection and growing of Mongolian Oak trees, as well as for future selection for Chinese Mongolian wood for cask making.
Laizhou’s Quest for Chinese Flavors
Driven by the vision of crafting “truly Chinese whisky,” Laizhou embarked on a nationwide search for indigenous cask-aging materials early in its establishment. In 2021,the first Huangjiu Cask were filled in Laizhou Distillery，drawing on the experience of the process of Sherry Cask and integrating the flavors of Chinese Huangjiu into whisky. This is the very first Huangjiu Cask created by Laizhou around whisky world. In 2022, Laizhou partnered with Beijing Forestry University to initiate the “Laizhou Mongolian Oak Breeding Program,” an environmentally conscious program aimed at improving the quality of Mongolian Oak suitable for cask making. While Mongolian oak is considered a premium variety for cask aging, the lack of suitable cultivars has led to widespread issues among them. These issues include low content of tyloses, resulting in poor watertightness, which can cause leaks and shorten the flavor extraction process. After two years of extensive research, Laizhou has established the Gold Standard for Chinese Mongolian Cask.
Laizhou’s exploration of Chinese flavors has been a continuous journey. In 2023, their innovative Huangjiu Cask received rave reviews, selling out within hours of its single-cask release. Now, in 2024, the Chinese Mongolian Cask and its accompanying Gold Standard mark another significant milestone. Both Huangjiu Cask and Chinese Mongolian Cask are crucial R&D results of unique Chinese flavors, which is also a sustainable innovation for Chinese whisky. Looking ahead, Laizhou remains committed to advancing the development of Chinese Mongolian Cask, with the ultimate goal of establishing it as a signature mark of Chinese whisky in global market.
