Xinghuacun Fenjiu

Shanxi Xinghuacun Fenjiu Distillery Co. Ltd.

Company type	Public, State-owned enterprise
Industry	Alcoholic drink
Predecessor	Jinyu Fenjiu Corporation (1919)
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Fenyang , China
Area served	International
Key people	Yuan Qingmao (Chairman and Committee Secretary)
Products	Baijiu, including Fenjiu and Zhuyeqingjiu
Number of employees	13,712 (2022)
Website	fenjiu.com.cn

Shanxi Xinghuacun Fenjiu Distillery Co. Ltd. (), widely recognized as Xinghuacun Fenjiu (), is a baijiu producer based in Xinghuacun, Fenyang, Shanxi, China. Its signature offering, Fenjiu, is a qingxiang baijiu that has been honored as one of the "Four Famous Spirits" since the 1952 National Alcohol Appraisal Conference. It exemplifies the fēnxiāng (汾香; fen aroma) style, which served as the forerunner to today’s qingxiang variety.

By 2023, Xinghuacun Fenjiu had secured its position as the third most valuable spirits brand globally, underscoring its significant market presence and strong brand reputation.

| revenue = (2022)

| num_employees = 13,712 | key_people = Yuan Qingmao (Chairman and Committee Secretary) | traded_as = | industry = Alcoholic drink | products = Baijiu | area_served = International | type = Public, State-owned enterprise | foundation = 1949 | homepage =fenjiu.com.cn

Product Characteristics

The primary product of Xinghuacun is Fenjiu, a classic qingxiang (清香; light aroma) style baijiu. Its production begins with sorghum that is milled, soaked, cooked, and cooled before being combined with a qū made from barley and peas. This blend undergoes fermentation for approximately one month in clay jars and is subjected to two rounds of distillation—the first extracting spirit from the initial mash and spent grains, followed by re-fermentation of the grains with additional qū prior to the second distillation. The resulting distillates are then blended together, aged for nearly a year, adjusted to desired strength, bottled, and distributed.

This method produces a liquor abundant in ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate, which imparts Fenjiu’s signature delicate aroma characterized by floral, herbal, and stone fruit undertones.

In addition to Fenjiu, Xinghuacun manufactures Zhuyeqingjiu (竹叶青酒), a sweet herbal liqueur crafted by infusing fenjiu with various botanicals including sharen, zitan, dong quai, chenpi, clove, linxiang cao, and yunmuxiang.

History

Archaeological findings indicate that alcohol production in Xinghua village dates back around 6,000 years to early grain-based wines.

Over time, advancements in saccharification and fermentation techniques were made. An early form of Fenjiu known as Fenqingjiu appeared during the Tang dynasty and received mention in the Book of Northern Qi. By the Song dynasty and Yuan dynasty periods (960–1368), fermentation and distillation practices had evolved into forms closely resembling those used for modern Fenjiu. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), merchants from Shanxi played a key role in disseminating Fenjiu and its distillation methods throughout China, thereby establishing the Qīngxiāng (清香; light aroma) baijiu category.

In 1919, Jinyu Fenjiu Corporation was founded as one of China’s earliest modern distilleries. Xinghuacun Fenjiu Distillery itself was created in 1949 amid the Chinese Civil War era, shortly before the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

External links

• Official Website in China