And just like that, South Korea is today a veritable whisky-producing country! That's of course an over-simplification of the intense effort put in by the team at Ki One Distillery over the past several years, yet now the country can proudly say that they are finally here - this comes as Ki One unveils its new Signature Line which is designed to not just recognise their new identity, no longer going by Three Societies, but to also celebrate the huge milestone of the distillery now having a flagship line of whiskies that will be available year round.

This would also be South Korea's first ever consistently bottled whisky expressions that meets the Scotch whisky (and fast becoming the global standard) requirement of being 3 years old, made entirely locally, and will serve as a touchpoint and reference point for the whisky lovers of the world to know of Ki One and South Korea's whiskymaking. "Historic" would be an appropriate description for the moment!

The Ki One Distillery (formerly known as Three Societies) in Namyangju, South Korea. 

And so before we proceed let's recap alittle bit about Ki One!

Originally started in 2020 in the hilly area of South Korea's Namyangju, the distillery took the name Three Societies to represent founder Bryan Do's Korean and American heritage, as well as Master Distiller Andrew Shand's Scottish descent. These three cultures, or societies, would be represented by the animals Tiger for Korea, Eagle for America and Unicorn for Scotland. Under the Three Societies Distillery, together they would debut the brand Ki One (기원), which in Korean represents the word "origin" or "beginning", and is interpreted by the distillery as "hope" as a manner of aspiration for what South Korea's whiskymaking can become, with its contribution as being the country's first whisky distillery.

Over the past four years, the distillery has thus debuted several limited editions - the three-part Society Collection which gave ardent fans a check-in on how the newborn whiskies were progressing as they approached the haloed 3 year mark. This was seminal as it was the first time the world had gotten to try whisky that reflected the evolving South Korean climate. And then came the Batch Series which featured the distillery's whiskies under various different casks and malts to demonstrate the varying styles that the whiskies could be presented as. And then finally now we have the three-piece Signature Line, which is meant to be the distillery's core range of whiskies.

Look closely and you'll spot the distillery nestled amongst the hills of Namyangju! This rendering can be found on the new Ki One Signature Line expressions.

As the distillery had come to be better known under their Ki One moniker, they've since announced that with the advent of their Signature Line, the distillery will retire the Three Societies name and instead go with Ki One. This comes with a new and refreshed logo that features the Korean characters of Du-Re, and also a new logo that looks like three comets centering together, which is a more subtle embodiment of the whole three cultures concept.

And so without further ado, we're incredibly fortunate to meet Bryan Do again at Whisky Live Singapore 2024, where we got to try first hand Ki One Distillery's Signature Line!

Within the Ki One Signature Line are three expressions - Tiger, Eagle and Unicorn.

• Tiger: Sweet & Fruity, Sherry & Wine Casks, 46% ABV
• Eagle: Boldness, New Oak & Bourbon Casks, 43% ABV
• Unicorn: Smoky & Earthiness: Peated Malt, 46% ABV

Let's go!

Whisky Review: Ki One Signature Line Tiger, 46% ABV | 시그니처 라인 기원 호랑이가

First up, we have the Tiger, which has only just recently been released in Korea. This one's aged in Sherry and Wine casks.

Tasting Notes  

Colour: Amber 

Aroma: It's bright yet delicate in its sweetness. It opens up really rich, with lots of dates, prunes, figs and raisins. Whilst it's rich and really plush and velvety, almost moving about quite a bit, showcasing various dark fruits at each turn, it's not heavy despite being almost syrupy, just stopping short of being overly viscous. The dark fruits comes across simmered down and stewed, creating an almost syrupy quality to it. It's really elegant with this rich and lifted quality. There's also alittle bit of nuttiness, leather, just the slightest hit of rancio.

Taste: Really great richness here, it's medium-bodied yet feels thicker and fuller, incredibly lush and luxurious in texture. There's lots of honey, caramel, raisins, fruitcake, stewed prunes and plums, raisins, figs. The flavours are forward and bold yet at the same time really rounded and soft around the edges, yet it's delivered with great intensity. Just a good spiciness that gives it energy and presence.

Finish: It takes a more lifted approach here, yet keeps so much of those rich plum-y flavours. Incredibly rich and cohesive, seamless and rounded almost. There's more on brown sugar and molasses, along with light touches of rancio. Leather, browned leaves, and then it's back to those stewed prunes and plums. It's rich and plush into the finish. 

My Thoughts 

This was incredibly enjoyable! First off, kudos for the raised proof - 46% is a pretty solid place to be. Here it's rich and rounded, incredibly plush and seamless, with the body feeling fuller and well-saturated, the flavours are bold and delivered with great intensity and presence, and yet takes this subtle elegance and velvety, luxurious softness, almost coming through as waves of sweet stewed dark fruits and molasses.

Yet because of that really nice spiciness and lifted quality, it doesn't feel heavy, flabby or cloying in the slightest - it still keeps a defined and muscular structure - which gives this sense of elegance. It's very lush in texture, yet keeps that brightness even with the dark fruits, and is also nicely energetic. This overall leans sweeter, really lux, and so cohesive and rich. Absolutely stellar whisky, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Whisky Review: Ki One Signature Line Eagle, 43% ABV | 시그니처 라인 기원 독수리가

Now we come to the second expression, the Eagle! This expression is aged in Missouri new oak and Kentucky bourbon casks.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Amber

Aroma: This definitely feels brighter, with wafts of toasted nuts, as well as more  airy, toasted wood ply. That all rests on a base of honey, caramel, butterscotch, and buttered pancakes. There's also lots of fresh and springtime aromas of walking through temperate pine forests. Incredibly aromatic, fresh and lifted.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's again honeyed yet leans brighter. There's more maltose, and lots of vanilla cream, along with a gentle, aromatic toastiness of toasted wood ply and buttered toast coated in maple syrup. It keeps that richness along with that buttery quality, and yet remains airy and lifted. There's also a light bit of char that gives just a slight savouriness.

Finish: That savouriness carries through into the finish where it's met with more honey and vanilla cream. Still loads of that buttered toast, joined by toasted marshmallows, candied pecan nuts, and also caramelised burnt sugar, that creme brulee crust.

My Thoughts 

This was quite an evocative whisky that felt reminiscent on the nose of walking through European pine forests during the brisk spring time, really fresh and just completely photorealistic. It juggles this sort of richness with an airiness of a lifted quality where it's brighter in flavour yet very buttery and decked in caramel - it's this wonderful quality that carries through to the palate and finish as well. And then on the palate it struck me as a fresh square of butter melting atop a stack of pancakes and then drizzled in maple syrup. Something also has to be said at this point about the toastiness that is so aromatic and delightfully slightly savoury, the sort of char you'd find on toast. The finish brought upon more caramelised confectionaries of caramelised pecan nuts, marshmallows and creme brulee, which together reminded me of American-style carnival treats. 

I found the Eagle thoroughly enjoyable and it just stirred so much of the imagination with those photorealistics aromas and flavours. That said, I also find that comparatively, this is definitely more subtle than the Tiger, which is almost certainly going to be more intense simply by virtue of the Sherry and wine casks, and hence I find that this might tend to get overshadowed by the Tiger if you're having that first. This was actually my favourite of the lot and something that I'd easily keep a bottle of as a daily drinker - very, very enjoyable indeed. I do think this should be tasted before the Tiger as it is more gentle and delicate. Onward!

Whisky Review: Ki One Signature Line Unicorn, 46% ABV | 시그니처 라인 기원 일각수가

And last but not least, the Unicorn! As an homage to Master Distiller Andrew Shand's Scotland, this expression makes use of peated malt.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Gold

Aroma: Here's soft and aromatic BBQ smoke. It comes through alittle herbaceous yet has a sweetness about it at the same time, with more honey residing at the base. It has a gentle richness of smoked vanilla cream or smoked butter, alongside some more buttered popcorn.

Taste: A good richness here, more of that honey and caramel comes through, as does the herbaceous smokiness, which persists in being quite aromatic with just a touch of salinity and some kombu seaweed, and yet is also a little heathery of dried shrubs and florals. Its body is deeply honeyed, with more on BBQ sweet and savoury glaze, even alittle umami too.

Finish: Sweet and smoky, that aromatic BBQ smoke gently pushes through into the finish, rich and honeyed with more of that BBQ glaze. It remains lightly herbaceous with still that umami savouriness.

My Thoughts 

The Unicorn is a nice take on a peated whisky without itself becoming as daunting or overwhelming as sometimes peaty Scotch whisky can be. Here the smoke is always met with honey and BBQ glaze, giving it a more overt savoury-umami quality that tends to disallow the smoke from simply staying on its own, and also keeping it really approachable and rounded. I can't quite tell if the peated malt here comes from Islay or the Highlands, the former being more herbaceous and briny, and the latter being more heathery - I seem to find qualities of both!

That said, what I particularly appreciated about the Unicorn is how friendly and accessible it is - it almost feels like Korean honey soy wings to be quite honest - and also that balance between all the more angular flavours of savoury, umami and sweet, they're all rounded off nicely with not one of them going off key.