[Ibby]

no, gaoliang (or kaoliang or kao-li'ang or any of the other ways they spell it) is not, unfortunately, a narcotic, nor does it contain any narcotic derivatives.
And V - it's, well, nasty. there's a reason sorghum is almost exclusively used as animal feed rather than as food, for, well, humans. I don't really know how to describe the flavour, frankly. it's got the kick and bite and burn one would expect from grain spirits, but a truly wretched aftertaste that's... slightly sweet, but in a sickly stomach-turning way. thats the closest i can come to describing it, honestly. I have nothing else in my worldly experience to compare the taste to. I don't recommend trying it, but on the other hand, in Taiwan, it's just about the cheapest alcohol one can buy (five bucks or so for a (particularly distasteful and cheap) bottle of relatively standard size, 750ml or so), and comes in 38% ABV and 58% ABV (so 76 and 116 proof respectively) and so is the most disgusting but also most economical method of getting one's self well and properly drunk on a budget. I try to avoid it when I can, but the selection at 7-11 and the other convenience stores in the area tends to be limited to gaoliang, whisk(e)y, and sake or shochu, and frankly gaoliang is the least repulsive of the three in my opinion.