Chapter 278: The Best Wine Brewed with Fresh Flowers

The time for the blizzard beast to open its eyes was approaching.

As if to celebrate the upcoming legion of blizzard beasts, Frank Jiuzao, the brewmaster, ran all the way to the castle, shouting excitedly as he reported to Lord Bist.

"Lord, we have successfully distilled pure clear liquor!"

"Has it been successfully distilled?" Bist felt a surge of joy but maintained his composure. "How is the quality of the Flower-brewed liquor?"

"Even more mellow and smoother than juniper liquor," replied Frank. "Flower Brew is less intense but smoother and more mellow."

"Smoother and more mellow than juniper liquor? If it truly meets the standard, I will reward you generously."

The group quickly headed to the brewery, where Frank had the apprentices bring out the freshly brewed liquor. Several large barrels were filled with liquor as valuable as silver. The liquor in the barrels was authentic, without any foul smell or sour taste.

"We used a pot distillation method and found that the first batch was very strong but tasted unpleasant. However, when we refilled the raw materials and started the second batch, the distilled liquor was pure and free from impurities, achieving sales quality."

Bist tasted this second batch of distilled liquor.

It had the spiciness of white liquor. After comparing it with juniper liquor, he found them to be equally good but distinct.

"Go fetch Gort," he commanded his servant, Thomas.

Shortly after, Gort hurried over. "Lord, is the Flower Brew ready? I can't wait to try it!"

Seeing Gort's eager demeanor, Bist scolded him disapprovingly. "Haven't you been tasting the Flower Brew every day?"

The town advisor, whose greatest hobby in life was drinking and boasting, had been coming to the brewery every day after work to sip on the low-quality raw Flower Brew, getting drunk before going home to sleep.

"Hehe," Gort chuckled sheepishly, not offering any rebuttal.

Bist pointed to the newly brewed high-quality raw Flower Brew and said, "You're a liquor connoisseur. Taste this and compare it to juniper liquor. I want a comprehensive analysis."

"As you wish, my lord!"

Gort eagerly grabbed the wine jug, tilted his head back, and drank a mouthful of the raw Flower Brew, then closed his eyes and nodded slowly. After a moment, he opened his eyes, a gleam of excitement in them. "Lord, the favor of knightly glory is upon us! The Flower Brew can rival juniper liquor, with a completely different yet equally intoxicating taste!"

He then took a sip of the raw Flower Brew and compared it with juniper liquor.

One was highly potent and spicy, with a strong kick that led to quick intoxication; the other was slightly less potent, smoother, and mellow, with a smaller kick and less likelihood of intoxication.

"I believe that once the Flower Brew hits the market, it will sell better than juniper liquor. Its mild kick and absence of a strong aftereffect make it suitable for nobles to drink from the start to the end of a banquet. Juniper liquor can't last that long, making Flower Brew more suitable for more nobles, even the noble ladies!"

By the end, Gort was half-drunk, holding the wine jug, and giving a thumbs up. "To me, Flower Brew is inferior to juniper liquor, but for most nobles, it is superior—a truly exquisite liquor!"

After his analysis, Bist had a clearer understanding. Juniper liquor was similar to Russian vodka, strong and fiery, while Flower Brew resembled Beijing erguotou, less potent but smooth. Experienced drinkers might prefer vodka for its boldness, but more people would appreciate erguotou for its suitability at family gatherings.

"Erguotou? It seems Flower Brew is made from the second distillation. Could this be its true meaning?" Bist pondered briefly.

As he was not a frequent drinker, his knowledge of clear liquor was limited.

Turning to Frank, he asked, "Has the Flower Brew been graded according to the levels I specified?"

"Following your instructions, we have designated the pure second batch as the highest grade. The mixture of the first and second batches is the second grade. The first batch alone is the third grade. The mixture of the third and second batches is the fourth grade, and the third batch alone is the lowest grade."

Frank and the others had been very meticulous, evidently working as best as they could after being reprimanded by Liszt last time before reporting back to the castle.

"Bring out the lowest grade of Flower Brew for Advisor Gort to taste."

Having drunk too much of the top-grade second-batch raw spirits, Gort almost spat out the lowest-grade spirits from the third batch: "The taste is too mixed, only marginally better than the previous Flower Brew raw spirits; it definitely shouldn't be launched."

Gort then tasted several other grades, offering varying opinions. The top three grades could be sold as baijiu, but the last two grades were not up to standard.

Liszt now had a clear grasp of the situation.

With the top three grades of baijiu, Flower Brew would be a huge success. The distillery would become the largest generator of gold coins in Flower Township and the cornerstone of Liszt's career development.

"From now on, the distillery will be treated as Flower Township's top secret. No outsiders are allowed to enter. Patrols will be stationed around the clock, keeping the distillery isolated from other workshops. The skilled brewers holding the technology will be strictly protected... Advisor Gort, can you hear me clearly?"

"Please be assured, my lord, I'm just a bit tipsy, but I have heard your instructions clearly. I will treat the distillery as our top priority... hiccup." Gort swayed and finally let out a hiccup.

Seeing this state of Gort, Liszt found it difficult to trust him. He sent for Administrative Officer Isaiah and assigned the task to him instead.

Liszt then began to bestow rewards: "I promised you that if you brewed qualified Flower Brew, there would be gold and silver coins. Now, Frank Dregs, Bordin, Huntler, I will give each of you a gold coin as a reward, and each apprentice who helped brew will receive twenty silver coins!"

"Praise the Lord!"

"Thank you for your generous rewards, Lord!"

The brewers and apprentices thanked him enthusiastically as they received their gold and silver coins.

Liszt offered further encouragement and reminders, urging them to work diligently. He assured them that there would be more rewards in the future. Brewing was simple, but producing qualified baijiu was far more difficult than imagined. Fortunately, under his guidance on "distillation technology," the brewers had finally produced genuine baijiu.

"Actually, I deserve the most reward... sigh, forget it, I'll just hide my merit and fame. There’s no point in competing with a few serfs over such honors."

After praising himself internally, Liszt immediately took action to prepare for the launch of Flower Brew.

First, he sent someone to notify Levis.

The Flower Brew business required Levis’ strong cooperation to rapidly expand production, open up sales channels, and quickly recoup the funds. As the lord of the town, he was in dire need of money!