Lay Mau 1978

In 1951, the Chinese government decided to produce Kweichow Moutai on a large scale to increase revenue for the country. To achieve this the 3 leading distilleries Chengyi (founded in 1863, brand Hua Moutai), Ronghe (founded in 1879, brand Wang Moutai) and Hengxing (founded in 1929 as Hengchang, brand Lay Mau) merged into the Kweichow Provincial Monopoly Company Renhuai Moutai Distillery (a.k.a. State-owned Moutai Distillery), owned by the newly formed Communist government.

Chengyi was purchased for 13.000 Yuan on November 8, 1951, Ronghe was added in October 1952 after the distillery was confiscated from the Wang family and in February 1953 Hengxing became the 3rd distillery which was integrated in the Maotai Distillery.

Hengchang, founded by Zhou Bingheng, was sold to Lai Yongchu from Guiyang in 1941 and renamed Hengxing. From that moment the wealthy Lai family, along with the Hu and Wang families, dominated the market in Maotai town. The brand name for Hengxing's moutai became Lay Mau Moutai, with its registered trademark of the mythical bird Roc, designed by Hu Wensei. From 1943 labels were printed at Hu Wensei's Shilun Printing Factory in Guiyang.

This very rare bottle was released on 1st October, 1978, a significant day as it commemorated the 39th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.

Content 500ml - volume 53%