The luxury brand Sogokju's 'Sogokju' won the grand award at the 2025 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards.
The Korea Wine & Spirits Awards is the representative liquor competition in South Korea, now in its 12th year. ChosunBiz has been hosting this event annually since 2014 with the goal of "discovering and widely promoting quality domestic alcohol, as well as supporting the formation of a healthy drinking culture."
This year's event featured 236 companies presenting a total of 1008 brands, making it the largest liquor competition in South Korea. Among them, 431 brands received Daesang.
According to the luxury brand Sogokju, 'Sogokju' fermentation occurs if the temperature is appropriate and the cool autumn breeze provides ventilation in the morning and evening, creating sounds as the alcohol matures. After 40 days, the lid is closed, and it is allowed to mature slowly for 60 days. As time passes, the aroma becomes rich, and the deep flavor of the alcohol is completed.
A representative from luxury brand Sogokju said, "The low-temperature aging period exceeds 100 days, and to achieve a balanced flavor, all the liquor is collected in one place and filtered to remove rice bran, impurities, and so forth," adding, "By aging at low temperatures for over 200 days (6 months), we realize the deep flavor of Sogokju."
This liquor is an unsterilized product that has not undergone pasteurization. It allows for a more vibrant tasting experience of the fresh alcohol compared to sterilized versions. During the fermentation process, grains (glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice, nuruk, etc.) undergo saccharification, resulting in a clean sweet taste.
A representative from luxury brand Sogokju noted, "This is a luxury liquor passed down for three generations, from mother to spouse, to the current son-in-law, maintaining a traditional production method that has been inherited for 50 years since the mother's time," adding that as the son-in-law joined the manufacturing business, they considered the modern tastes of young people to realize the flavor of Baekje's legendary liquor with a history of 1500 years.