Half-Bottle of Moutai Prince

Baijiu had always been a hole in my spirits knowledge, which I imagine is true for most American spirits lovers. But anyone who has a desire for the unique and distinctive should be familiar with Moutai. Moutai is actually a town in China, and all production comes from there. Made predominantly from organic, locally sourced red sorghum with some wheat finishing out the mash bill, it undergoes a natural fermentation and is aged in clay to mellow it out for bottling at an intense, aromatic 53% abv. It's tremendously umami, brothy on the palate, sometimes feeling like it's outright salty. But there's a richer orchard fruit underneath, like fig and pear. The flavor I'm left with then turns into the dark, chewy corner of a pan of brownies, that almost-charred bittersweet cocoa, with warming spices coming in through the finish.