Traditional liquor maker Heukhwa Brewery said on the 28th that its premium makgeolli Gunjoo won the grand prize in the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards in the Korean rice wine pasteurized makgeolli and traditional liquor institutional sector categories.
Marking its 13th year, the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards is Korea's representative liquor evaluation event. With the goal of "discovering good domestic liquor, promoting it widely, and supporting the formation of a sound drinking culture," ChosunBiz has hosted it annually since 2014.
This year's event drew entries of 1,118 brands from 260 companies. It is the largest among domestic evaluations that cover all categories of liquor. Of these, 449 brands won the grand prize.
Heukhwa Brewery is a traditional liquor manufacturer that preserves the locality of Gunsan, North Jeolla, which is specialized in traditional brewing. Based on the philosophy that "the most local is the most global," it focuses on translating the region's heritage and traditional brewing techniques into a modern form.
Gunjoo, selected as this year's grand prize winner, embodies the historical identity of Gunsan, once famous as a producer of clear rice wine. Heukhwa Brewery said it is the culmination of the brand's direction grounded in tradition.
In particular, it has been evaluated as a premium makgeolli that modernly reinterprets Gunsan's traditional brewing culture, applying the samyangju method of brewing three times using rice that has undergone a precise polishing process and handcrafted rice nuruk. The flavor and balance of rice, the single raw ingredient, stand out.
A Heukhwa Brewery official said, "We brew with pride that we are making 'our own traditional liquor,'" adding, "Gunjoo is the result of deeply exploring and obsessing over how to capture the essence of Gunsan in our liquor. We will prove the new competitiveness of our traditional makgeolli in the global market."