Osmanthus wine, also known as cassia wine or Kuei Hua Chen Chiew, is a Chinese alcoholic beverage produced from weak baijiu and flavored with sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers. It is distilled but typically has an alcohol content less than 20%.
While the plant itself is sometimes associated with cinnamon,Small, Ernest. Top 100 Food Plants, p. 179. NRC Research Press (Ottawa), 2009. Accessed 8 November 2013. the blossoms' lactones impart a flavor closer to apricots and peaches.Chartier, Francois. Taste Buds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food, Wine, and Flavor, p. 199. John Wiley & Sons (Hoboken), 2012. Accessed 8 November 2013.
Owing to the time at which Osmanthus fragrans flowers, 'cassia' wine is the traditional choiceQiu Yaohong. Origins of Chinese Tea and Wine, p. 121. Asiapac Books (Singapore), 2004. Accessed 7 November 2013.Liu Junru. Chinese Food, p. 136. Cambridge Univ. Press (Cambridge), 2011. Accessed 7 November 2013. for the "reunion wine" drunk during the Mid-Autumn Festival.Li Zhengping. Chinese Wine, p. 101. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge), 2011. Accessed 8 November 2013. Because of the homophony between ("alcohol") and ("long", in the sense of time passing), osmanthus wine is also a traditional gift for birthdays in China.Li Xiaoxiang. Origins of Chinese People and Customs, p. 101. Asiapac Books (Singapore), 2004. It is also considered a medicinal wine in traditional Chinese medicine.Flaws, Bob. Chinese Medicinal Wines & Elixers, p. 17. Blue Poppy (Boulder), 1994. . Accessed 8 November 2013. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica credits sweet osmanthus with "curing the hundred diseases" and "raising the spirit"."." – [Li Shizhen]. [Compendium of Materia Medica]. Op. cit. "". Sichuan Online. 22 September 2013. Accessed 8 November 2013.
Within China, osmanthus wine is associated with Xi'anXiang Yang. Xi'an – China's Ancient Capital, pp. 90 ff. Foreign Languages Press (Beijing), 1993. and Guizhou,China Directory of Industry and Commerce and Economic Annual, Vol. 2, pp. 429–430. Xinhua Publishing, 1984. but production now occurs throughout China, including BeijingChina Market, Issue 11, p. 15. China Market Publishing Corporation, 1987. and at the Hong Jiang Winery in Hunan.Zhonghua Mei Jiu, p. 408. 中国轻工业出版社, China. 食品工业局. 轻工业出版社, 1985. Accessed 8 November 2013.
In popular culture While the wine is also frequently referenced in Chinese period dramas (often referred to as Xianxia or Wuxia), it has also been referenced many times in the game Genshin Impact as the favorite beverage of the character Zhongli, the Geo Archon.
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