IT MAKSA ME FEEL GOOD! If you’re out drinking anywhere in Korea, you’ll see people, young and old alike, mixing up all sorts of boozy concoctions. Somaek (소맥), the combination of soju (소주) and beer (맥주), is probably the most popular. But you also see people making questionable drinks like gojingamrae (고진감래), which literally means “bitter…
KOREAN NAME: 부여 양송이 막걸리 REVIEW: Like Gondurae (my review here), the makers of Buyeo Yangsongi separate their makgeolli from the pack by infusing it with an unlikely ingredient – mushrooms! (Yangsongi, in fact, is another word for mushroom.) I have to admit – I picked this one up more for novelty’s sake but I was pleasantly surprised to find…
KOREAN NAME: 톡쏘는 쌀 막걸리 REVIEW: 토쏘는 쌀 막걸리 literally means Carbonated Rice Makgeolli but for some reason Woorisool translates the name as Tangy Canned Makgeolli. Despite this lack of inspiration (or accuracy), my first sip gave me high hopes for this canned makgeolli. The carbonation has a very pleasant mouth feel and it seemed like the sweetness…
KOREAN NAME: 두두 LOCATION: Seoul, Jopngno-gu, Hyehwa Station (서울, 혜화) OVERALL: Named after the owner’s favorite book of poetry, DooDoo is a quiet, low-key spot to sample a large variety of makgeolli and other types of Korean liquor. Another point in its favor is the friendly and patient staff; everyone we spoke to was enthusiastic about…
KOREAN NAME: 장수 생 막걸리 REVIEW: With all the interesting, new, and even hard-to-come-by bottles that are available in Seoul, it’s easy to overlook the unremarkable green bottle perched in every convenience store, corner store, and supermarket you go to. But I knew for that very reason, I couldn’t put it off forever – I had to talk about…
KOREAN NAME: 제주 감귤 막걸리 REVIEW: There’s something ironically amusing about kitschy souvenirs, and while it is probably a bad idea to give edibles a pass based on the same logic, I was intrigued by Jeju Gamgyool Makgeolli. With the label featuring pictures of glowing oranges and the cryptic phrase “Only Jeju Island”, this bottle practically…
KOREAN NAME: 곤드레 REVIEW: Gondurae is named after the cirsium setidens herb grown and eaten in Gangwon-do, the province from which Gondurae is brewed. Coincidentally (or not?), there’s a Korean expression “곤드레만드레” (gonduraemandurae), which I’ve seen translated as “staggering drunk”, “tanked up”, or, the best translation yet – “drunk as a piper”.
KOREAN NAME: 生生 막걸리 REVIEW: I haven’t tried all the canned makgeollis out there but I’d say Saeng Saeng is at the top of my list so far. It isn’t necessarily good but it balances dry and sweet flavors. This makes it unremarkable but drinkable in my book. I say this with the caveat that I wasn’t a fan…
takjoo journals 