A rice liquor distilled only in the Matsu Islands has been recognized as county-level intangible cultural heritage, Lienchiang County Cultural Affairs Department Director Wu Hsiao-yun (吳曉雲) said.
The liquor known as laojiu (老酒) is made with distilling techniques and equipment unique to the archipelago, and has a special place in Matsu’s gift-exchange culture, Wu told a news conference held by the county government on Aug. 5.
The county is to launch a program to promote the production and sale of the liquor and apply for the central government to recognize the beverage as national cultural heritage, she added.
Photo courtesy of a Matsu Island resident
Laojiu is an essential component of the archipelago’s culture, she said.
The beverage is consumed by fishers to warm themselves before going to sea, as well as utilized as an ingredient in medicinal foods prepared for women who have given birth, she said.
Local historian Yu Kuei-hsiang (游桂香) said that laojiu is the archipelago’s regional variant of huangjiu (黃酒), which is made from glutinous rice and red yeast rice during the winter months.
An incomplete survey found that 105 inhabitants of Nangan Island (南竿島), or 4.98 percent of the population, make laojiu at the 95 distilleries across the island, she said.
The report likely understates the number of inhabitants involved in making laojiu due to the secretiveness of the distillers, she said.
Matsu’s distillers have developed their own recipes with distinct flavor profiles using tradition that dates back a century, she said, adding that the history of the beverage reflects how the residents interact with their environment.
The local distilleries have persevered, despite a 1961 ban on alcohol production by the military, which directly governed Matsu as a frontier garrison at the time, she said.
Even today, distilleries jealously keep their laojiu production a secret out of fear that they could run afoul of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act (菸酒管理法) or lose control of secret recipes, she said.
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