YouYang Liquor
### Youyang Liquor Introduction
Youyang Liquor has a rich history dating back to the Ming Dynasty during the reigns of Jiajing and Longqing (1572-1576 AD). The Jian brothers, Jian Yipin, Jian Yizhang, and Jian Yibiao, brought the Tian Guo brewing method from Jiangxi province to Sichuan, where it quickly became popular among the locals of Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei. Known for its superior quality, the Jian family's Tian Guo brewing technique has been passed down through ten generations, with Jian Chiqiong being the current inheritor.
With over 300 years of continuous brewing history, Youyang Liquor has been awarded titles such as "Chongqing Time-honored Brand," "Chongqing Intangible Cultural Heritage," and the gold medal in the "Seven Provinces and One City Liquor Quality Evaluation." This traditional Tian Guo brewing method produces pure grain-based, healthy liquor that doesn't cause headaches or stomach issues and has a quick sobering effect.
The distillation equipment consists of three main parts: a ground pot for heating, a steam barrel for distilling, and a Tian Guo for cooling. The first pot's condensed liquor contains many low-boiling substances, resulting in a harsh taste. The third pot's liquor, high in higher alcohols and acids, tastes sour, astringent, and bitter. The best quality liquor, known as "mid-section liquor" or "Erguotou," comes from the second pot's condensation and is produced using the traditional "head removal, tail removal, quality-based liquor collection" technique.
Youyang Liquor primarily uses Youyang bitter buckwheat as its main ingredient. Bitter buckwheat is a grain with both nutritional and medicinal properties, containing bioflavonoids, amino acids, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, minerals, and beneficial elements such as selenium, zinc, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, all in balanced proportions and with low sugar content. According to the **Compendium of Materia Medica**, bitter buckwheat is bitter, neutral, and cold in nature, strengthening the stomach and intestines, enhancing energy and spirit, benefiting the ears and eyes, and cleansing the five internal organs.
Modern clinical studies have shown that bitter buckwheat can lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids, enhance immunity, treat stomach diseases, detoxify, treat nephritis, promote bowel movements, and beautify the skin. The Youyang region has a 2000-year history of cultivating bitter buckwheat, with a perfect ecological environment and cultivation conditions, producing high-quality, green, and organic bitter buckwheat.
Youyang Liquor has established standardized bitter buckwheat planting bases in townships such as Houping, Huatian, Tianguan, and Liangzeng, driving the cultivation of bitter buckwheat across more than 20 townships in the county, with a total area exceeding 100,000 mu (approximately 16,500 acres). Bitter buckwheat is an ancient, non-hybridized variety with strong adaptability and resistance to pests, requiring no pesticides or fertilizers. It transfers its vitality to our bodies, embodying the principle of "righteous energy within, evil cannot invade."
At present, Youyang Liquor's products include three categories: tartary buckwheat liquor, fruit wine, and tartary buckwheat tea. The rich products are loved by many people.