I've had baiju that's more herbal before as well. generally good baiju should smell floral. The big problem with Baiju is that most people, at least in the US,

I've had baiju that's more herbal before as well. generally good baiju should smell floral. The big problem with Baiju is that most people, at least in the US, are trying the equivalent of Smirnoff / cooking grade stuff because it's cheaply sold at asian marts. Fen Chiew (https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/baijiu/xinghuacun-fen-chiew-30year-qinghua/p/243380375 https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/baijiu/xinghuacun-fen-chie...) is decent stuff that I've bought at a Total Wine in Socal. You can also go to somewhere like a Ranch 99 and look for a mid tier bottle. Whatever you do don't get the "Red Star" brand (google for pics), it's bottom of the barrel stuff, the "Popov Vodka" of Baiju as a rough analogy :)