Latest news with #singlemalt
CNA
25-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
KI One, South Korea's first single malt distillery, is crafting a bold new future for Asian whisky
On the slopes of Namyangju, just 40 minutes northeast of Seoul, a bold new chapter in Korean craft is quietly ageing in barrels. Surrounded by forest and the familiar soundtrack of summer cicadas, South Korea's first single malt distillery is redefining what craft looks like in this part of the world. Inside its hand-hammered copper stills and stacked barrel rooms, KI One is ageing more than whisky — it's maturing a new identity for Korean spirits. This is the home of KI One (pronounced 'kee-won') Distillery. Elegant, bold, and distinctly Korean, KI One has captured the imagination of collectors and connoisseurs not just because it's the first single malt whisky made in the country, but also because the whisky is flavourful, complex, and produced with both technical expertise and emotional intention. 'I used to travel with Japanese or Taiwanese whisky as gifts,' said Bryan Do, founder of KI One, formerly known as Three Societies. 'And one day a friend asked, 'Why not Korean whisky?' That simple question stuck with me.' At the time, the idea of Korean whisky felt almost absurd. South Korea's alcohol culture was — and still is — dominated by soju, beer, and Scotch-style blends meant more for high-volume consumption than connoisseurship. But Do, a Korean-American with a background in craft brewing, saw an opportunity to challenge that. He didn't want to create a novelty bottle; he wanted to build something meaningful — something that would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world's best single malts while remaining deeply rooted in South Korean soil and sensibility. The location he chose was Namyangju, a region historically associated with clean air, pure water, and agricultural abundance. For Do and his team, one of the deciding factors was water. 'Our master distiller insisted on a clean source,' Do explained. 'We pump water from two private wells on-site, and it's used at every stage of production — from mashing and fermentation to dilution.' The master distiller is Andrew Shand, a veteran of the Scotch whisky world, who brings expertise from Glenlivet and Speyside. At KI One, he oversees a pair of gleaming Forsyth stills imported from Scotland. But even as the equipment mirrors that of a classic Scotch distillery, nearly everything else has been adapted to South Korea's unique climate and cultural context. 'We utilise a mixture of Korean yeast for our fermentation process and also some Korean malt and Korean oak,' Do explained. Take the fermentation, for instance. While many whisky producers opt for a 48-hour to 60-hour ferment, KI One stretches theirs to 120 hours — doubling the standard and coaxing out a delicate, fruity character. 'We use Crisp maltings from the UK, but we also work with Korean yeast strains,' Do said. 'That combination, plus the long ferment, creates a floral and almost juicy new make spirit.' That spirit is then distilled, cut with precision, and transferred into a variety of barrels for ageing. The barrel programme is diverse: First-fill bourbon casks, Oloroso sherry butts, virgin American oak, wine casks, and increasingly, Korean oak — Quercus dentata, a native species known for its bold, spicy character. 'Korean oak behaves differently,' Do noted. 'It adds this earthy, almost herbal-like note that gives the whisky depth and distinction.' And then there's the climate. 'We get minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter, and up to 38 in the summer,' said Do. 'That's a huge swing — way more than in Scotland or Japan. It accelerates the maturation process dramatically. You get more interaction between the wood and the spirit in a shorter period of time.' This means that while a three-year-old whisky might still taste green in cooler climates, KI One's expressions come out round, layered, and ready sooner than expected. Do originally estimated that their first commercial release would debut in late 2025. Instead, KI One launched at the beginning of 2023, three years ahead of schedule. That first release revealed a bold but balanced character: Floral on the nose, spicy on the finish, with a clean structure and generous fruit notes in between.' It was, in short, not Scotch, not Japanese, but something new. 'If Japanese whisky is like miso — elegant and precise — then Korean whisky is more like doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste),' Do said. 'Bold, intense, and deeply layered.' This philosophy has resonated especially well with South Korea's younger generation. 'Most of our local drinkers are under 32,' Do noted. 'And we've seen a surprising number of women engaging with the brand. That's huge for whisky.' In a country where whisky was once synonymous with old men in smoky bars, KI One is making it feel fresh — something to share, savour, and take pride in. Beyond the liquid, the packaging and presentation also reflect Korean craft values. One all-Korean edition — distilled with domestic water, yeast, and malt, then aged in Korean oak — was bottled in ceramics handmade by artisans from a historic pottery region. That release sold out in three minutes via lottery. Another upcoming expression is being aged in barrels that previously held bokbunja, South Korea's black raspberry wine. 'The bokbunja edition is now maturing and should be released at the end of this year or next, the whisky will tell us when it is ready. This is an exciting release for us as we are collaborating with a famous Korean traditional spirits maker and will make a uniquely Korean whisky, we think a Korean Sherry whisky!' The branding has also evolved alongside the spirit. While early bottles featured 'KI One' prominently in English, recent releases now lead with the name in Hangul, placing the Korean identity front and centre. The bottles themselves are taller and more sculptural, standing out with quiet confidence on the shelf. It's a subtle but powerful shift: Not whisky from Korea, but Korean whisky — on its own terms. Across Asia, the whisky map is shifting. Taiwan's Kavalan disrupted the industry in the 2010s with its award-winning single malts. India's Amrut and Paul John are earning global praise. Japan, once considered under-the-radar outside Asia until the 2000s, is now a whisky heavyweight. It's only a matter of time, Do believes, before South Korea joins those ranks. 'I think in 10 years, South Korean whisky will be its own category,' he says. 'We'll see more local distilleries, better infrastructure, and our own style — defined by clarity, complexity, and boldness.' Still, Do remains grounded in the day-to-day. One of his favourite personal details about the distillery? 'How good our new make spirit (the spirit before it is aged in barrels) is,' he said. 'In some distilleries, the new make spirit does not have a pleasant taste, but we've made something that tastes great before it even hits the barrel.' On what his favourite expression is, he lamented that it's like choosing which baby to spend time with. 'Lately, it's The Eagle. That's our tribute to the classic single malts I drank when I first got into whisky. But in winter? I reach for our Peated Unicorn edition.' The former was awarded the Silver Medal, while the latter won the Double Gold Medal at the recent 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ki One Single Malt Whisky 기원 싱글몰트 위스키 (@kionedistillery) KI One has already collaborated with ceramicists, winemakers, and traditional soju producers to expand what South Korean whisky can be. 'We're not just creating products,' Do said. 'We're creating a culture around whisky — one rooted in care, community, and Korean identity.' That ethos is perhaps best captured in the Korean concept of jeong, a hard-to-translate word that blends warmth, connection, and emotional generosity. 'It's how we approach everything,' Do explained. 'Not just the whisky, but the way we work, collaborate, and share.' When asked who he'd most want to share a dram of KI One with, Do didn't hesitate. 'My grandparents. They were so influential in my life. I pour whisky at their burial site during holidays, but I wish I could sit with them, pour them a glass, and say, 'This is from Korea. This is from us.''
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Now Might Be The Perfect Time To Grab This Rare Islay Whisky
As original stocks dwindle, is now the last great chance to own a true piece of Islay history? The Port Ellen distillery is an icon of scotch whisky. Despite closing in 1983 its whisky went on to become so popular as a single malt that brand owners Diageo spent $246 million (£185 million) completely rebuilding it and the Brora distillery—that had also met the same fate in 1983. In 2024 Port Ellen officially began producing spirits once more and this year they celebrate 200 years of Port Ellen whisky. The 2024 relaunch was announced with the $60,000 Gemini; a pair of bottles of 44 year old single malt distilled before the old distillery closed. This year they have bought us more information on their ten part spirit safe and their experimental still where they are working on unlocking 'new and mysterious dimensions of smoke.' Whisky fans are now waiting patiently for the first spirit from the new Port Ellen. But if you want to taste—or collect—the iconic whisky from the original stills, you'd best act quickly. Or be willing to pay a handsome price. Port Ellen closed in 1983. It was one of 21 distilleries closed by its parent company DCL (now Diageo) during the 80s, and 12 in that year alone. It is important to understand that these distilleries weren't closed because they were bad, or boring. DCL closed them because at the time they thought of themselves solely as a blending company. The 1980s wasn't a great time to be making whisky thanks to a slow market and a lot of surplus stock. So as a company DCL looked at its distilleries and decided to close those that were surplus to requirements to them as blenders—as a business they simply assessed whether they could make something that would do the same thing, cheaper and easier elsewhere? Port Ellen's Gemini bottles offer a rare glimpse into the distillery's past—just 274 sets were released as part of its long-awaited relaunch. Port Ellen, Brora and Rosebank were amongst some of the (now) most prominent names that got the chop. Their complex styles were difficult to work with and/or the facilities themselves needed significant investment to bring them up to modern standards. These distilleries were seemingly confined to the history books, forever to be forgotten. Only, Diageo actually had warehouses full of whiskies that were no longer needed for their blending projects. In came the independent bottlers. 'I was the first to sell casks of Ardbeg, Caol Ila and Port Ellen in Italy around 1982, ' said Silvano Samarol in an Interview in Collecting Scotch Whisky, Emmanuel Dron, 2018. This was the heyday for these single malt whisky connoisseurs, who had almost free range into the forgotten depth of warehouses full of surplus stock. Some of you may remember 1983 in a more positive light as the launch of Macallan's Anniversary Malt series. In that light it seems strange that in the decade Macallan began its famous marketing push that is iconified with the Folio series, DCL closed almost half its distilleries. But while DCL was happy as a blender, managing its orchestra of whiskies to create harmonies, individual distilleries like Macallan were starting working to build themselves into soloists, carrying the reputation of single malt scotch with it. At the same time, independent bottlers like Samaroli, Cadenhead, Signatory Vintage were championing the 'pure' single cask style of single malt. Eventually Diageo realised that it didn't have to be all or nothing. In the 1990s we began to see some special single malt releases and in 1995 Diageo launched the Rare Cask Series. This specifically showcased exceptional single cask releases, from its open and closed distilleries. This became the precursor to its Annual and Special releases that would be key to the eventual reopening of Port Ellen. The Port Ellen Annual Release range was issued from 2001 to 2017 and compises 17 bottles aged from 22 to 37 years old. "When the first official Port Ellen was included in the Diageo Special Releases in 2001, it established a blueprint for reintroducing closed distilleries to whisky collectors. Until then, Port Ellen was only accessible through extremely limited independent bottlings. These new releases offered enthusiasts a chance to experience Port Ellen's distinctive smoky maritime character with the assurance of official provenance,' said David Mellor of London's wine and spirits mecca, Hedonism, in an email to me discussing the inherent collectability of Port Ellen 'More than two decades since that inaugural bottling, with Port Ellen's original stocks dwindling and new production still years from reaching maturity, these Special Releases remain among the most significant and collectible series for the distillery—both as historical artefacts and as exceptional examples of Islay whisky." 'Throughout this journey, our primary goal has always been to ensure that our releases live up to the legendary reputations of these historic distilleries, providing whisky enthusiasts with products of unparalleled quality and depth,' said Julie Bramham, Managing Director of Global Luxury and Marketing Transformation Director at Diageo, in an email exchange with me to discuss the opening of new and old distilleries across Scotland in 2024. Port Ellen reopened in 2024 and celebrated with Gemini, a $60,000 (£45,000) release of a pair of exceptional 44 year old single malts that showcase both the past and future of the distillery. This year they have introduced more information about the experimental work going on in the new Port Ellen still and one of a kind spirit safe. They have also announced a handful of exclusive distillery tours and tasting events at Fèis Ìle 2025 that range in price from £40 up to £600. If Brora is anything to go by we can expect another big release when Port Ellen's first distillate turns three. But I won't be expecting any kind of new core range Port Ellen release until the new spirit is at least five—if not considerably older. The Port Ellen distillery may be opperational again but when will we see the first official bottling of the new spirit? That means we have a minimum of five years of releases of increasingly scarce original stock. Realistically it'll be longer, as they will not want to exhaust that stock until they absolutely have to! All the while they are going to be pushing the Port Ellen brand—and if it doesn't go straight into super premium, I will be extremely surprised. That means that any new releases of Port Ellen from the original distillery are going to get more and more expensive and more and more scarce. Equally as the marketing for the new releases rolls out I'll be expecting the prices for the vintage releases to start climbing again too. Prices for Port Ellen have come down with the rest of the market, but not as steeply. If you're a fan of drinking Port Ellen it's unlikely to get any better value than right now. If you are a whisky collector, the profile of the Port Ellen value over the last few years makes it a sound purchase and the current prices make it a great time to buy. So what are you waiting for—get it before it's gone!
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Fettercairn Scotch Now Available For The First Time In The U.S.
Fettercairn distillery in the Scottish highlands. Fettercairn is a Highlands single malt with 200 years of history, but for the first time, the Scotch is coming to the United States. The brand is starting with five highly-allocated prestige expressions, aged between 24 and 50 years this year, and will begin to launch more age statements over the coming years, said Anice Kim-Saunders, Vice President of Marketing for Fettercairn. While it may seem like an unusual choice to introduce high-end Scotches before the core range, Scotch has benefited from drinkers' desire to 'trade up' from premium to high-end and super-premium products, according to a 2024 report from the Distilled Spirits Council, which said that since 2003, super-premium single-malt Scotch volumes have grown more than 102%. 'We've been planning this one for a long time,' said Benjamin Boice, the U.S. Single Malt Specialist for Whyte & MacKay, the company which owns Fettercairn as well as other brands like The Dalmore. 'Over the last four years, we've pulled out of 70 different markets across the world to be able to hold on to and to build stock up enough where we felt confident to bring it to the United States.' It's been possible, but hard to find Fettercairn from independent bottlers in the United States, and those who seek it out are passionate about it, Boice said. Those whisky geeks are one of the reasons they started with the older age statements. 'We wanted to kind of bring out something that really, I think, showcases the DNA to a level that you think is just absolutely, just divine,' Boice said. A cooling ring on a still at Fettercairn. One distinguishing feature of the Scotch is that the stills have cooling rings. Distillery manager Stewart Walker, a village local who joined Fettercairn in 1990, explained that in the 1950s, then distillery manager Allistair Menzies wanted to create a lighter, more floral style of spirit. He did this by at first hosing down the stills, and then eventually installing copper rings, which drench the outside of the stills with water, creating a lot of steam — and a more delicate spirit. The lighter fruiter notes pass on to the distilled spirit, while the heavier, oilier notes condense and fall back in the still. There's even a nod to the ring on the neck of the Fettercairn bottle, which depending on the expression is clear or copper colored, with ridges symbolizing water dripping down the bottle. Cooling rings aren't the only way to create a lighter spirit. The effect could have been achieved through new stills with longer necks or a different shape, but this sort of ingenious tweak is key to the legacy of Fettercairn thinking outside of the box. 'It's such a cheap piece of engineering that's made such a huge fundamental change to the spirit we made,' Walker said. 'But the beauty is if it didn't work, he could have gone back to the way it was.' The brand is looking to evolve for the future, Walker said, hinting at other projects in the pipeline, like a Scottish oak program. 'Innovation comes naturally at Fettercairn,' Walker said. 'We're always asking ourselves should we try this? Can we try this? A bit part of that was the cooling ring.' The first round of Fettercairn whisky coming to the United States, aged 24 to 50 years old. Tasters can see the effect the ring has in the older expressions. The 24 year old has lots of mango and tropical fruit ($650 a bottle; 500 allocated for the U.S.) and an American Oak ex-bourbon cask lends a lot of vanilla. The 28 still has tropical fruit, but it's more cooked and caramelized, like a banana foster ($650 a bottle; 500 allocated for the U.S.). The 50 year old is a different beast. It was aged for 45 years in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, then finished for around five years in a 1987 tawny port pipe cask, and has notes of chocolate-covered raisins, molasses and leather.
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Ten things you should know about whiskey
What is whiskey? Whiskey is a gold-coloured spirit made from three ingredients: cereal grain, water and yeast. Malted barley is the most common cereal used but some Irish whiskeys, such as Single Pot Still, use a mix of malted and unmalted barley. Scotch and Japanese whisky both use malted barley. Rye whisky uses rye, and bourbon is made from at least 51 per cent corn. In the past, oats and other wheat were also used. What is malt? Malting is a process by which barley is soaked in water and then dried and ground. The flour, which contains sugar, is then fermented into a wort, which is then distilled. What is a single malt? A single malt is a whiskey made exclusively in one distillery. What is single pot still whiskey? A single pot still whiskey is made from a mix of malt and unmalted barley, all distilled in one distillery. READ MORE What is blended whiskey? A blended whiskey can mean one made using whiskey from a variety of distilleries. It can also mean a blend of different kinds of whiskey, or different ages of whiskey. They are usually the least expensive, but not always. It depends on the quality of whiskey used in the blend. What is the difference between Scotch and Irish? The two are spelled slightly differently (whisky in Scotland and whiskey in Ireland) but are both very similar. Scotch must be made from spirit distilled and aged in Scotland, and Irish whiskey is distilled and matured exclusively in Ireland. It is often said that Irish whiskey is smoother because it is triple distilled, whereas Scotch is only double distilled. In fact some Scotch whiskey is also triple distilled. Many people think that Scotch is peaty but Irish isn't. But Irish whiskey can be peated, and a few are, while only some Scotch whisky has those peaty flavours. Are there other whiskeys? Yes, bourbon is an American whisky. The Canadians make whisky, and the Japanese produce excellent whisky. Lots of other countries try too. Can I add water or ice to my whiskey? Yes, you can. Some whiskeys, such as cask strength, can be 50% abv or more (standard whiskey is 40%) and are difficult to drink by themselves. A few drops of water can actually bring out the aromas and flavours of a whiskey. Standard strength whiskey has been watered down a little before bottling to bring it down from cask strength. Can I make cocktails with my whiskey? It's your whiskey so you can do as you please. There are lots of whiskey cocktails, an Old-Fashioned or Manhattan being the most popular. Is whiskey gluten free? Yes. The gluten is removed during the distillation process.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Dalmore Just Dropped a Rare Duo of 17-Year-Old and 52-Year-Old Whiskey
Luxury scotch brand the Dalmore just unveiled two new whiskies as part of its ongoing Luminary Series. One is an ultra-aged 52-year-old single malt, a bottle of which will only be available to purchase at auction. The good news is that the other whisky is a 17-year-old single malt that is even better than that rarity and is being released in a run of 20,000 bottles globally. The Dalmore is a Highland distillery that was founded in 1839 and is currently owned by Whyte & Mackay, a Scottish company that also owns Jura, Tamnavulin, and Fettercairn (which launches here in the U.S. later this month). The distillery, led by master distiller Richard Paterson OBE (nicknamed the Nose), is known for its portfolio of high-end single malts that are often finished in sherry, port, and other fortified wine casks. This is the third edition of the Luminary Series, which launched in 2023 as a collaboration with V&A Dundee, the well-known design museum in Scotland. Each edition has gotten progressively older—the first consisted of whiskies aged for 48 and 15 years, the second of whiskies aged 49 and 16 years, and No. 3, as mentioned before, is a pair of whiskies aged for 52 and 17 years. More from Robb Report Inside the Aviator, a $7.5 Million Flight-Inspired Home on a Rugged Mountaintop High Above Malibu Giorgio Armani Designed This New 236-Foot Megayacht, and It Just Hit the Water The Obamas' Former Martha's Vineyard Getaway Hits the Market for $39 Million The Dalmore Luminary 2025 Edition – The Rare is the name of the 52-year-old, and it was aged in a wide variety of casks before bottling. The whisky was initially matured in an ex-bourbon barrel before being transferred to a vintage 1980 calvados cask (a type of French apple brandy). This was something of a risk, because according to the distillery that was before that type of cask was approved by the Scotch Whisky Association in 2019 (they likely had a clue this change was coming). After that it went into the following casks for finishing before bottling—1940 Colheita port, tawny port, 40-year-old Pedro Ximénez sherry, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. Only two decanters designed by architect and designer Ben Dobbin were produced, and both come inside a unique bronze sculpture. One will be on display at the distillery, the other will be up for auction at Sotheby's until May 16, with all of the proceeds going to benefit V&A Dundee. We were lucky enough to sample this rare whisky, and notes of ripe tropical fruit lead the way followed by vanilla, maple, dark chocolate, and brown sugar flavors. The second whisky is called the Dalmore Luminary No.3–2025 Edition – The Collectible. It's a 17-year-old single malt that was initially aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in a slightly different assemblage of casks—calvados, vintage calvados (1989 and 1999), Matusalem sherry, Apostoles sherry, red wine from Bordeaux and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and ex-bourbon. This is a superb whisky and a peak expression of Dalmore, arguably the superior whisky of the two with notes of cotton candy, cherry, grape, butterscotch, and a variety of baking spices. This whisky, as mentioned before, is much more widely available with 20,000 bottles being released in key markets throughout the world (SRP $400). And if you're looking to sample some other Dalmore expressions, ranging from the affordable 12-year-old to the expensive 45-year-old, you can purchase them at ReserveBar now. Best of Robb Report Why a Heritage Turkey Is the Best Thanksgiving Bird—and How to Get One 9 Stellar West Coast Pinot Noirs to Drink Right Now The 10 Best Wines to Pair With Steak, From Cabernet to Malbec Click here to read the full article.
