Flavor Notes

Perilla is already on the menus of Seoul’s most serious bars. It appears alongside omija, yuja, and fermented grains in…

Sikhye is already on the menu at some of Seoul’s best bars. It appears in cocktail programs, in drink competition…

The Miso Problem Every time doenjang appears on an English-language menu, someone reaches for the same shortcut: “It’s like miso.”…

The Comparison Problem The cheongju vs sake question comes up every time cheongju lands on a menu outside Korea —…

Most bartenders working with citrus have a vocabulary built around four fruits: lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit. Yuzu arrived in that…

Omija demands careful handling. It’s a ingredient that makes it easy to start in the wrong direction. “Five flavors at…

Same fruit. Different story. Yuzu and yuja are the same citrus — Citrus junos, a cold-hardy hybrid of mandarin orange…

Soju and makgeolli get the attention. Nuruk does the work. Every serious Korean fermented drink — distilled soju, makgeolli, cheongju,…

Makgeolli is having a moment — but not in the way it deserves. Outside Korea, it tends to get filed…

Soju is the world’s best-selling spirit by volume. That fact surprises most people outside Korea — and reveals something important…