GS Retail announced on the 7th that its convenience store GS25 and supermarket GS The Fresh will launch a collaboration called "Mak & Ski" featuring Jiphyeong Makgeolli by Jiphyeong Brewery and Jim Beam whiskey by Beam Suntory.
"Mak & Ski" will be available for limited sale of 60,000 bottles nationwide at GS25 and GS The Fresh starting on the 15th. A pre-order for a 6-pack of "Mak & Ski" conducted the day before through their app, Our Neighborhood GS, was fully sold out. At that time, GS Retail had prepared 250 boxes (a total of 1,500 bottles).
"Mak & Ski" is a product made with domestic rice and Jiphyeong nuruk fermented three times, containing 7.7% Jim Beam whiskey, characterized by simultaneously capturing the sweet taste of makgeolli and the oak aroma of whiskey. Its alcohol content is 10%, which is double that of regular makgeolli. Notably, the product enhances its flavor by incorporating the distinctive bourbon aroma through cool maturation.
This product was planned in line with the mixology trend of mixing drinks. According to GS Retail, the ratio of highball sales among GS25's highball, wine, and whiskey sales increased from 10.8% in the first half of 2023 to 25.9% in the first half of 2024. Recently, mixing whiskey with makgeolli, referred to as "Mak Ski" (a blend of makgeolli and whiskey), has become popular.
Lee Ha-rim, manager of the liquor team at GS Retail, noted, "We planned the launch of 'Mak & Ski' as an unusual liquor to combine makgeolli and whiskey in a new way. We will continue to lead liquor trends by developing various unique alcoholic beverages in the future."