With the Korean whisky space still in its formative phase and thus very much up for grabs in terms of defining the category, the brewer-turned-distiller Craftbros has certainly jumped in for the task headfirst fearless!

As a matter of introduction, Craftbros has already long established itself as one of the leading craft beer brewers in South Korea, founded in 2014, best known for their hoppy IPA's. They had ran the full lifecycle of going from craft beer magazine to retailer, and then brewpub (being amongst the first to offer canned craft beers) and eventually of course a full fledged brewery. They've been innovative right from the beginning and were always quick to press forward as regulations around craft beers gradually eased up - it wasn't up till 2014 that South Korea had significantly rolled back regulations on allowing craft breweries to operate with viable requirements, which was exactly the same year Craftbros could and would immediately set up shop. Beyond just brewing great beers, they've also got a penchant for design and have made sure that their beers were terrific inside and out - a partnership with LIFE Magazine would see the iconic photo of Marilyn Monroe on a Craftbros beer can! They've also since created a series that features historical and heritage Korean designs, art and artefacts - I have obviously been a huge fan!

Yet, with the massive win that came with regulators easing back on craft breweries, all eyes turned towards deregulating whiskymaking. Historically whiskies haven't ever been fully made in South Korea - you'd have brands that imported whiskies from Scotland or Canada, which were then at the most bottled in South Korea, but never any that was made from grain to glass in the country, which entails everything from distilling all the way to ageing the spirit in South Korea. As more focus shifted towards the easing of regulations and taxation around spirits-making in South Korea, originally designed to protect local Korean sool (a broad term for Korean liquor) from foreign imported high proof spirits (and not actually to disincentivise whiskymaking in South Korea, however, the interest in and ability to produce whisky in the country is a very recent phenomenon!), several South Korean distillers have bravely stepped up to the plate! It's also encouraging to see sool-makers themselves rise to the occasion and press on in proudly expressing their history, heritage and further expanding on their unique craft, allowing for more premium and complex Korean liquors to be produced!

Now obviously you know where I'm going with this - Craftbros having already proven their mettle with bringing hoppy American style IPA's to South Korea, have of course taken it upon themselves to jump into the whisky distilling game as well! This makes them a pioneer in South Korean single malt at a time when only three distilleries formally exist! The thinking behind it was that both craft beer and whiskies are made with the same base ingredients and with the similar initial steps of fermenting the barley - and so, perhaps it wouldn't be too big a leap to give whiskymaking a go. Of course, they would quickly learn how different the two can be, and yet they've shown a remarkable ability at adapting and learning quickly, whilst pressing ahead at achieving some incredible firsts! 

Having started assembling their distilling set up in mid-2023, they were able to start filling their first casks by September of the same year, and by November 2024, they were ready to put out their first Newborns (spirits that would continue to age to become whiskies)! We've been incredibly fortunate to get to try some of Craftbros' Newborns and we have to say we've been incredibly impressed - they've ranged from being able to achieve a Highland Scotch style, as well as something very reminiscent of Speyside Scotch, all the way to something that's more Bourbon-esque - ultimately all of them have shown great depth, complexity and richness. It's been well understood that the current generation of new distillers have been able to achieve such high quality so quickly because many of them come from similar brewing or distilling backgrounds (being already a successful craft brewery or producing other spirits such as Shochu in Japan), as well as their willingness and ability to learn from existing distilleries (and these existing distilleries' openness to sharing too!) whilst still maintaining a systematically experimental attitude. And we're all for it!

Now most recently they've taken to producing something completely novel - they've collaborated with another new generation craftbrewer-turn-distiller, Japan's Nagahama brewery and distillery, to create the first multi-country blend of single malts, combining Craftbros' Korean single malt Newborn with Nagahama's Japanese single malt whisky! To emphasise - this has never been done before, and is also a great mark of collaboration and friendship between these emerging distilleries bonding over their shared craft beer brewing background! 

The Jegi toy is symbolic of playfulness and friendship.

"When I was young, I used to play Jegi with my neighbourhood friends and relatives around the Lunar New Year. When I played Jegi, the Jegi that fell down looked like a flower. I don't know if it was because Jegi was really shaped like a flower and looked pretty like a flower, or because I enjoyed playing with my friends as a child and so it looked pretty like a flower.

These days, I get along well with friends who make whisky. When I have fun with friends from other distilleries and drink whiskies that each of us has made, we often mix and drink our own whiskies. I also want to make a more delicious whisky by blend single malt whiskies. That’s what playing together is all about. We are thus releasing Korea’s first Double Malt Korean Whisky, a blend of single malt whiskies produced by two Korean whisky distilleries.

 

 

The whisky that blends the single malt whiskies of Kim Chang-soo Whisky Distillery and the single malt whisky of Craftbros is therefore the Craftbros Jegi Kimchangsoo. Making delicious whisky is fun, blending each other’s whiskies with distillery friends is fun, and tasting and enjoying whisky is all fun. It’s like having fun together while kicking Jegi."

Craft Korean whisky distiller Kim Chang Soon (left), and pioneering barrel-aged Soju maker Han Kyung-ja of Danong Bio (right). 

Building upon that, Craftbros then newly launched what they've called the JEGI series, which sees Craftbros again achieve numerous firsts! The first two releases from the JEGI series are a blend of Korean single malts from Craftbros and fellow Korean distiller Kimchangsoo Distillery (who we're also big fans of!) - this is the first ever Double Malt Korean Whisky, fully distilled, aged and blended in South Korea! - and also a blend of Craftbros' distilled IPA craft beer (which is not a whisky spirit as it is hopped and fermented) and local craft Soju maker Soorok's PX and Tawny Port Wine casks aged Soju (distilled rice spirit) - also a first! The inspiration between these two All Korean collaborations comes from the series' name itself - Jegi being a toy made of colourful strips that are held to a small weighted anchor that's popular with children in Korea, and thus a symbol of playfulness and friendship. As such the series is adorned with a beautiful imprint of a Jegi!

And so without further ado! Let's get to it!

PS: Cheers to Eddie for your always generosity and openness! :) You're doing incredible things and constantly inspire us!

Whisky Review: Craftbros JEGI Craftbros x Kimchangsoo Double Malt Korean Whisky 크래프트브로스 제기 김창수 JEGI Kimchangsoo

This was bottled at 54.8% ABV, and is a blend of single malt whiskies from two pioneering Korean distilleries, Craftbros and Kimchangsoo!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Honey

Aroma: Deeply rich and honeyed tones, filled in with lacquered wood, maltose candy, a touch of caramel, and a deeper base of layers of fruit. It's giving baked apples and pears, in the form of fruit compote and apple pie filling, delicately spiced, yet alittle gooey and caramelised. There's in between wafts of gentle heathery smoke, lightly peaty and earthy with some dried shrubbery and black tea, accented by some more vibrant candy floss. Also alittle bit of leather and fruitcake, which then leads into a darker base of stewed plums and prunes. There's a gentle yet rustic maltiness about it, of barley grist, that also comes with alittle bit of incense. With time it continues to open up to lavender, as well as green apples and pears coated in manuka honey and dusted with cinnamon and clove. There's also a lovely floral bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums and chrysanthemum tea resin that emerges, folded in with that gentle peat. Finally alittle bit of slate and cement pavements that gives it this minerality. It's overall sweetly herbal with richer tones of spiced manuka honey.

Taste: It opens with a satisfying peppery kick that is quickly backed up by warm herbal honeyed tones, gently floral of chrysanthemum tea and black tea, drizzled with alittle bit of manuka honey and maltose. Weaved in are some spiced and stewed orchard fruit, of apple pie filling and also some plum compote, as well as stewed prunes. It's got a lightly bitter ashiness of burnt tea leaves, as well as more earthy tones of browned leaves and leather. Some more sweet herbal qualities come through in the form of eucalyptus and camphor. It's medium-bodied, rich and rounded, yet not weighty, with a sweet floral and herbal quality and just a touch of earthy bitterness.

Finish: The smoky and sweet floral and herbal notes persist and waft about beautifully, still backed up by manuka honey, eucalyptus, smoked and dried black tea leaves and lots of yellow chrysanthemum tea. It's delicately sweet, with a light saltiness and alittle more oaky dryness, leading through a seamless finish. Vibrant confectionary aromatics emerge in the form of pollen, candy floss, with also some temple incense and sandalwood.

My Thoughts

This was absolutely spectacular! I was completely taken in by that lovely richness of honey layered with these yellow floral, herbal and also gently earthy bitterness - it felt warm and autumnal, yet at the same time bright and cheerful. It feels incredibly complete and also sensorial, yet at the same time so harmonious and well-balanced, rendered in a rich and rounded body that was also not weighty. It's almost like a peated Highland Scotch where here the honeyed, floral, earthy and herbal qualities are all amplified yet kept harmonious. With all of that going on, it was nevertheless the two stars of the show that really blew me away - the confectionary cotton candy and the musty temple incense! The confectionary highlight was perfectly reminiscent of spun rock candy and had a streaky, delicate and wispy, yet candied sweetness that was stunning, whilst the temple incense gave the whisky this depth of field that deepened the experience. It also opens with a nice spicy kick on the palate, which gets more tamed with sips, making sure you take notice of it, and then also dries out nicely into the finish.

Whisky Review: Craftbros JEGI Craftbros x Soorok Collaboration IPA Newborn 크래프트브로스 제기 이파뉴본 수록 JEGI IPA Newborn Soorok

Another worldwide and Korea first - this is a blend of distilled IPA from Craftbros and PX and Tawny cask aged Soju (which is also distilled from the clarified half of the Korean rice wine Makgeolli, called the Cheongju or Yakju) from Soorok. Soorok is a popular brand of craft Soju that's made by artisanal barrel-aged Soju maker Danong Bio. And so this is blend of two completely different categories of spirit - one hopped and barley based, while the other is rice based and aged in Sherry and Port wine casks! Yet, at the same time, having been a fan of Korean Sool, I can't help but think about Honyangju (혼양주), which is a traditional style of Korean liquor where a distilled spirit is mixed with a fermented alcohol, typically distilled Soju and fermented Takju - this blend from JEGI is of course not that, yet I can't help but wonder if Korean liquor making sensibilities have in some way inspired this! This was bottled at 56.3% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber / Copper

Aroma: Immediately perfumed with rose syrup and a evaporated milk - it's intensely aromatic and milky at the same time with a delicate sweetness (if you're in Southeast Asia you might know this as Bandung, a beloved drink of rose syrup and milk). That milkiness develops into a rich tteokbokki rice cake starchiness, with also this light smokiness about it. Weaved in are green tropical tones, almost alittle citrusy, of fingerlime, sudachi and green mangoes, which comes together as vibrantly floral, milky and also with a zestiness.

Taste: It's rich and honeyed and led by that same rose syrup and evaporated milk qualities. Incredibly aromatic and delicately sweet. It's medium-bodied and plush, greatly aromaticised, yet with a good malty depth to it. It then seamlessly evolves into what feels much more IPA like, with those tropical citruses of grapefruit, passionfruit, pineapples and apricots, yet keeps that milky character - almost like a tropical milkshake, now with drizzles of sweet herbal manuka honey.

Finish: Some green and leafy yet very aromatic fresh hoppiness emerges, leading into a firm and resolute finish where some grapefruit pith and white florals persists.

My Thoughts

Distilled IPA's have long been this niche and all too underrated spirit that I genuinely believe everyone should give a taste - that is if you can find one. They're not common in the slightest, and typically emerge from craft beer breweries who are much more experimental. And yet they yield these incredibly vibrant and intensely powerful aromatics - thus far the few I've managed to try have been full of roses, and I've been a big fan since. Now this isn't the first time we're trying a distilled IPA from Craftbros - we've previously tried their IPA Newborn, which we loved and reviewed here - and so we've got some frame of reference to make a comparison.

This Craftbros JEGI collaboration with Soorok is incredibly impressive. Whilst the intensely perfumed roses were by now to be expected - yet it still blows our minds every single time - what was particularly impressive was this deep and gently sweet milkiness that combined with the rose syrup aromatics, which was further given this zesty dimension in the form of limes. Totally compelling from the moment it was uncorked! Even its aromas felt textural, and with this great depth and suppleness.

Beyond the powerful aromatics, the body here was also rich, cohesive and firm, with this two part flavour profile of roses in cream first, that then developed into something more IPA-like, with all those citrusy fruits coming through in the form of a New England or Hazy IPA! Again, superbly textural and with a lovely richness. Into the finish, those fresh hops begin to come through, again really IPA-like, which totalled into a nicely firm and resolute finish, with a bouquet of white florals awaiting at the finish!

Even within the niche of distilled IPA's, this one takes the cake!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot