We reached the top at two of the three biggest competitions in the world. If we are recognized at all three next year, then Korea will reach the top at the world whisky competitions.
Do Jeong-han, head of Giwon Whisky, said this at a tasting for "Giwon Red Pepper Cask" held at the Hongdae RYSE hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 16th. He said, "As I travel to whisky competitions around the world, people working at other distilleries have come to find me saying, 'You have to drink this,' and I received the longest standing ovation among the 500 entrants at the Singapore whisky competition."
Giwon Whisky (hereinafter Giwon) is Korea's first single malt whisky brand, which established a distillery in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, in 2020. It has been raising its profile by winning back-to-back awards at major global whisky competitions recently. The brand name means both giwon (origin) and giwon (wish). Do's aspiration is to make it the beginning of Korea's single malt whisky distilleries and Korea's representative whisky.
The "Red Pepper Cask" is a limited-edition new release that symbolically shows the direction Giwon aims to pursue. Its first nose opens with red pepper along with vanilla and fruit aromas, and it finishes with the heat of red pepper. This is the result of splitting domestic red peppers in half and placing them in an oak cask, steeping them in hot water for about six weeks, discarding all the pepper water, and then aging the whisky in that cask. Instead of infusing (adding ingredients directly to the whisky), the flavor was imparted to the cask itself.
Through this approach, Giwon is seeking an answer to the question of how to express Korean ingredients, sensibility, and senses in whisky. The goal is not merely to add an exotic flavor, but to maintain a level of completeness that meets judging standards at international whisky competitions and resonates on the global stage. The strategy is to put Korean elements front and center while interpreting them well within the grammar of world whisky.
The "Red Pepper Cask" project brought in Scotland-born master distiller Andrew Sand and chef Edward Lee. Sand said, "In 2020, I went around markets to make gin with Korean ingredients, and every time I could always see red peppers," adding, "When we applied red peppers, which don't go with gin, to whisky, the result was a work that captured Korea's sentiment and had great balance. That is the 'Red Pepper Cask.'" He added, "At first, we wanted to present a taste where various flavors come up and a spicy kick hits at the end."
In particular, the collaboration with chef Edward Lee became a springboard to expand Giwon's pursuit of "Korean-style whisky." Lee said, "I was intrigued by the fact that Giwon is Korea's first and only single malt whisky and wanted to learn about Korean whisky," and, "When I visited the distillery in person, I was convinced we could create a whisky that contains Korean elements and would work anywhere in the world."
Lee also presented potential pairing dishes for the "Red Pepper Cask," including ▲ tteokbokki and chicken popcorn made with a kimchi sauce purée ▲ morel pork liver pâté ▲ seaweed abalone mille-feuille ▲ roasted kale and root vegetables ▲ strawberry-dill dacquoise. He said, "The red pepper cask is a whisky premised on pairing, one whose flavor does not collapse even when you eat and drink it with spicy food."
The "Red Pepper Cask" is set to be released at around 55% ABV based on cask strength. The one served at the tasting was 57.5%. In particular, the Red Pepper Cask will be limited to 1,500 bottles, of which 200 are planned for the U.S. market. In Korea, 1,300 bottles will be sold on a limited basis. Do said, "If we dilute it to around 46%, we could increase the volume to 2,500–3,000 bottles, but we decided not to do that for the sake of proper whisky flavor," adding, "We see the United States as our first strategic market because it has many Koreans and high popularity for K-food."
Starting with the collaboration with chef Edward Lee, Giwon plans to present at least one or two additional projects next year. On this, Lee joked, "Any additional collaboration depends on Do's will." Do said, "We already have some fun collaborations in mind and lots of ideas," while adding, "We plan to discuss together and make them concrete."