Korea’s local craft liquors
of Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, dugyeonju is Korea’s best known alcohol made from flowers, or gahyangju. Dugyeonju is a clear rice-based beverage, or cheongju, made with azalea petals. The light yellow drink is 18 percent alcohol. Dugyeonju’s fans claim it has medicinal properties, including the ability to relieve a runny nose, nerve spasms, back pain and fatigue.
Samhaeju
Igangju
Seoul/Gyeonggi-do
Samhaeju is a high-end variety of cheongju. Made from rice, water and wheat yeast, the beverage is the product of three cycles of fermentation and filtration over three lunar months, beginning in winter on the first Day of the Pig. The clear drink goes down smooth, despite being 45 percent alcohol by volume. During the days of Joseon, so much rice was going to samhaeju production that the royal government enacted a prohibition on brewing alcohol.
Jeollabuk-do
Hansan Sogokju
Chungcheongnam-do
Brewers in the southwestern city of Jeonju and the northwestern province of Hwanghae-do have been producing pear and ginger soju, or igangju, for centuries. Pear juice, ginger extract, cinnamon and turmeric are added to soju, which in turn is sweetened with honey. The mixture is then matured for a month. The resulting beverage, yellow in hue, is spicy, sweet and goes down smoothly. Long regarded as a high-end beverage for high-end tastes, igangju was served to toast the signing of the United States–Korea Treaty of 1882.
Dugyeonju
Chungcheongnam-do
A specialty of the Myeoncheon area
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© Bohae
Brewers in the southwestern city of Jeonju and the northwestern town of Hansan have been brewing sogokju since the days of Baekje. The clear drink with a clean taste is made using water, glutinous rice, nonglutinous rice and only a tiny bit of yeast. Some brewers throw in ginger, pepper or wild chrysanthemums, too. Sogokju is about 15 to 16 percent alcohol by volume.
Bokbunjasul Jeollabuk-do
This sweet beverage, a specialty of