SHĀNG: The World’s First Baijiu Whiskey Unveiled in Kentucky

SHĀNG
Jiang Xiang Baijiu Whiskey
Maritine Brands

SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ
50% ABV (100 Proof)
SRP: $64.99 (500 mL), $15.99 (50 mL)
SHĀNG East + West Kentucky Blend
46% ABV (92 Proof)
SRP: $45.99 (500 mL), $13.99 (50 mL)

SHĀNG Baijiu Whiskey Is Introduced To The World

On Monday, June 15, 2026, at the Whiskey House of Kentucky, a brand new spirit was unveiled: SHĀNG, a spirit that unites China’s iconic baijiu with American whiskey craftsmanship.

What Is Baijiu?

For those not familiar with baijiu, it is a traditional grain-based spirit widely consumed in China. It is most commonly made from sorghum, although other grains can be used. It has four main types: sauce aroma, strong aroma, light aroma, and rice aroma. SHĀNG begins with sauce aroma baijiu, called jiang xiang baijiu, made from red sorghum. Although baijiu is a grain-based spirit, its production process is very different from that used for whiskey.

How Jiang Xiang Baijiu Is Made

The process begins with sorghum that is cleaned, soaked, and steamed until the starch is fully gelatinized to allow for enzymatic conversion. Once cooled, the grain is mixed with daqu, a large-brick fermentation starter made primarily from wheat and containing molds, yeasts, and bacteria. In jiang xiang baijiu, saccharification and fermentation happen simultaneously: molds convert starch into sugars while yeasts and bacteria ferment those sugars into alcohol and a complex array of aroma compounds.

The fermentation process for jiang xiang baijiu is completely different from that used for bourbon. Importantly, a dry, or “solid-state,” fermentation is used, in contrast to the wet, porridge-like mixture used for bourbon. The cooked sorghum-daqu mixture is then placed in pits and covered with clay, where the initial fermentation takes place. The fermented grains are then removed from the pits and piled on the floor into heaps for additional fermentation. Finally, they are distilled in a process where steam is passed through the dry fermented sorghum-daqu mixture, known as solid-state distillation. The mixture is then re-fermented and re-distilled multiple times. The distillate from the initial distillation is not retained, much like the heads in whiskey distillation. However, the distillate from subsequent distillations is collected, later blended, and then aged in clay pots. For this baijiu, the aging period is three years.

How Jiang Xiang Baijiu Differs from Bourbon Production

The process for making jiang xiang baijiu is entirely different from that for making bourbon. To summarize what we stated above:

• The sorghum is cleaned, ground, soaked, and steamed until the starch is gelatinized.
• It is then mixed with daqu, the fermentation starter of yeasts, molds, and other microbes.
• Fermentation first takes place in clay-covered pits, then in heaps on the ground.
• The grains are distilled by passing steam through the dry fermented mixture in a process called solid-state distillation.
• The process of fermentation and distillation is repeated multiple times.
• The distillate from each round of fermentation is collected and later blended together.

How Baijiu Becomes SHĀNG Jiang Xiang Baijiu Whiskey

Traditional jiang xiang baijiu production would stop there. However, to produce SHĀNG, which is a whiskey, additional steps must be undertaken. The finished baijiu is then distilled again in a traditional copper pot still, and the resultant distillate is sent to Kentucky to be barreled.

There are currently two expressions. SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ matures in charred American oak barrels for one month to just under one year. SHĀNG East + West is a blend of jiang xiang baijiu whiskey and an American red sorghum whiskey distilled at the Whiskey House of Kentucky, both aged in charred American oak barrels.

Tasting Notes – SHĀNG Jiang Xiang Baijiu Whiskeys

The relatively large group gathered for the event participated in a tasting of the baijiu distillate, SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ, red sorghum whiskey distillate, and SHĀNG East + West. The following are collective tasting notes and impressions from the group regarding the two SHĀNG whiskeys.

SHĀNG Dàn Yǎ showed the more expressive baijiu character of the two whiskeys, but with enough oak influence to round it out and soften the raw intensity of the jiang xiang distillate. The group picked up notes of pineapple, raspberry candies, candied ginger, toasted grain, elderflower honey, anise, baking spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, tart apple, green tea, tannins, tangerines, umami, bright floral fruit flavors, vanilla, char, sweetness, pineapple gumdrop, grassy notes, burnt sugar, and chocolate-covered fruit.

SHĀNG East + West was the more approachable and whiskey-like of the pair, with the American red sorghum whiskey helping push the profile toward flavors of vanilla, melon, caramel, butterscotch candy, tangerine peel, sesame, cucumber, salt, umami savoriness, ginger snap, bitter chocolate (cacao nibs), cinnamon candy, and mild smokiness. Compared with Dàn Yǎ, it had less baijiu intensity and more familiar whiskey character.

A Collaboration Across Continents

SHĀNG is a collaboration between Maritine Brands, True Essence Foods, Guìzhōu Guótái Shùzhì Liquor Group, Whiskey House of Kentucky, and The Blending House.

Note: I was graciously invited to the unveiling by the Brand. I appreciate it!

If you would like to learn about another whiskey that is a blend of East and West, read this article next: Bardstown Bourbon Company Distillery Reserve Mars Single Malt Japanese Blend Announced. If you would like to learn about different whiskey styles, then check out this article: Bourbon Whiskey vs Irish Whiskey.

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!