桂花酒 — Osmanthus Wine Poured to the Moon (guìhuā jiǔ)
A golden yellow rice wine, warm and infused with osmanthus flowers and sweetened with honey. Intoxicating floral fragrance, round sweetness, a slight warmth of fermented alcohol. A little is poured on the ground for the goddess before drinking.
A golden yellow rice wine, warm and infused with osmanthus flowers and sweetened with honey. Intoxicating floral fragrance, round sweetness, a slight warmth of fermented alcohol. A little is poured on the ground for the goddess before drinking.
Pour, and raise the cup toward me. A thousand autumns I have watched men toast below while my jade remains cold. Take a good yellow rice wine, still alive with its fermentation, and throw in the golden osmanthus flowers—the very ones that fall from the tree that Wu Gang endlessly prunes at my side. Sweeten with a drizzle of honey, warm it slightly without boiling, for flame kills the fragrance. First spill three drops for the Moon; then drink, and let my solitude be your sweet intoxication.
- •Fermented yellow rice wine (黄酒) — one jar (alcoholic base)
- •Fresh or dried osmanthus flowers — a handful (signature fragrance)
- •Honey — to taste (sweeten)
桂花酒 — Osmanthus Wine Poured to the Moon (guìhuā jiǔ)
A golden yellow rice wine, warm and infused with osmanthus flowers and sweetened with honey. Intoxicating floral fragrance, round sweetness, a slight warmth of fermented alcohol. A little is poured on the ground for the goddess before drinking.
Why this dish? This cup is raised to Chang'e and her lunar laurel: the osmanthus that perfumes the wine is the very flower of the celestial tree in her palace. The poet Qu Yuan already sang of 'cinnamon wine' (桂酒) offered to the gods; spilling a drop to the Moon is toasting with the exiled goddess.
Pour, and raise the cup toward me. A thousand autumns I have watched men toast below while my jade remains cold. Take a good yellow rice wine, still alive with its fermentation, and throw in the golden osmanthus flowers—the very ones that fall from the tree that Wu Gang endlessly prunes at my side. Sweeten with a drizzle of honey, warm it slightly without boiling, for flame kills the fragrance. First spill three drops for the Moon; then drink, and let my solitude be your sweet intoxication.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fermented yellow rice wine (黄酒) — one jar (alcoholic base)
- Fresh or dried osmanthus flowers — a handful (signature fragrance)
- Honey — to taste (sweeten)
Ingredients
- Yellow rice wine (Shaoxing or sweet huangjiu) — 500 ml (base)
- Dried osmanthus flowers — 2 tbsp (fragrant infusion)
- Mild honey (acacia) — 1-2 tbsp (sweet roundness)
- Candied osmanthus (糖桂花) — 1 tsp (optional) (reinforce fragrance)
Method
- Infuse osmanthus flowers in rice wine cold, 2-3 days in a cool place, lid closed.
- Strain to remove flowers (otherwise the wine turns bitter).
- When serving, gently heat the wine in a bain-marie without exceeding 50°C.
- Dissolve honey off the heat, adjust sweetness.
- Pour a drop into a cup turned toward the Moon, then serve warm in small cups.
How it was made : 'Cinnamon/osmanthus wine' is one of the oldest perfumed wines in China, mentioned as early as the Songs of Chu (Chǔ Cí, 3rd c. BC). Before distillation became widespread (under the Yuan), it was a fermented rice wine, low in alcohol, perfumed by maceration and warmed—never boiled.
The contemporary twist : Serve chilled in summer as a spritz: osmanthus wine topped with sparkling water and a thin slice of pear for a refreshing 'full moon'.
Chang'e · Charactorium