SGwhisky hits Korea!

Greetings to all SGwhisky readers from the land of Kimchi, Bibimbap, and K-pop! It's a short break to recharge the senses, and from a whisky perspective it is also a great time to check out the whisky scene in Korea. Whilst this blog definitely still focuses on Singapore, it's good to have a break and look away for a while. In recent years, Korean giants Lotte have taken to looking into liquors for their duty free market so a look at the Lotte Duty Free world if the chance allows for it would be a great form of insight to how the market is growing here. This year also marks the landmark agreement between Korea and the Scotch Whisky Association to phase out the 20% import tariffs on scotch (if I'm not mistaken!), so it that would lead to some interesting developments in the near future! So in many ways, there is cause to believe that whisky has a bright future in Korea!

But before we get to the Korean whisky scene, it is most definitely worth detouring for one specific Korean beverage. As they say, when in Rome, do what Romans do, so when in Korea, drink what Koreans drink!

That bottle above of course, is one of Korea's native spirits, Soju. Traditionally made using rice, other items like potatoes, wheat and barley have been used by enterprising producers to make soju as well.

But a quick history lesson first. Soju was believed to be brought in by the Mongols when they invaded Korea in the 13th century. The Mongols in turn got distilling from none other than the Persians, who are believed to be one of the earliest civilisations to discover the art of distillation. As a drink, it is usually bottled within a wide range of alcoholic percentages, though it is usually around 20%. It, of course, differs from whisky as it is a white spirit and is not matured in any way, but it is a staple beverage amongst the Korean people, who usually drink it with the BBQ beef pictured right on the top of this post.

So how does this taste? Let's see!

Name: Soju
Brand: Jinro (Can't tell the expression though!)
Alc/Vol: 19.5%


Nose: Very grassy and sweet (sugar is added as a flavouring to soju during the production process). Notes of fermented rice vinegar (though not to sour), some light citrus...

Taste/Palate: Sweet, very rice-based sweetness, some grassy notes. Interestingly fruity with notes of fruit candy, maybe lemon candy?

Finish: Lightly sweet, but a bit artificial... Interesting though!

Do the notes change with MEAT?


Now that is one thing to ponder. As this is usually eaten with the Korean Barbequed meats, does it change the flavour to match it with meat? I think it's a bit easier to drink as it is refreshing and sweet, cutting through the richness of the beef I was eating, but not significantly better.. Though I think Soju with beef is not a good way to identify notes in soju...

Overall: Of course no scores for this one! It's a bit light and quite interesting, but overall it is quite a rough white spirit. Neverthless, it's always good to have a try...

Will be back with more information on whisky here, hopefully something more substantial for everyone!