Ki One is the primary single malt whisky from Korea. “Ki Wan” means the start and hope. It’s produced at Three Societies distillery, based in 2020 close to Seoul. Because the title suggests, it brings collectively three nations: founder Bryan Do is a Korean-American entrepreneur. He’s working with Andrew Shand, a well known Scottish distiller who labored at Glenlivet, Nikka and Speyside distillery. Then there’s additionally the Korean distillery workforce after all.
Technical specs? Two Forsyths copper pot stills and a minimal 100-hour fermentation. We will’t make sure how outdated the releases are, as a result of it’s authorized to name your spirit whisky in Korea even under 3 years of age. The area during which the distillery is positioned is understood for its sizzling summers and chilly winters, accellerating the maturation (2.5x sooner than in Scotland). There have been restricted Eagle and Tiger editions, a distillery solely single cask and a few small batch releases from completely different cask sorts prior to now few months.
We’re making an attempt the first ongoing Ki One launch to land within the UK. It makes use of virgin oak casks solely and is unique to The Whisky Alternate for now.
Ki One – Virgin Oak (46%, OB 2024)
Nostril: a heat oakiness seems first, together with a brown sugar sweetness and loads of barley notes. Beneath there’s a trace of spiced oranges, vanilla cream and a pleasant creamy character. Then some blackberries and butterscotch, in addition to a tangy bitter edge.
Mouth: relatively outlined by the oak once more. A citrusy spiciness comes out (reminding me of younger bourbon whiskey), with some minty eucalyptus, tart bitter plums and plain wooden tannins. Baked apple and Then some spiced honey and buttery vanilla, in addition to caramel and toffee sweetness beneath.
End: medium lengthy, with extra brown sugar, cinnamon and aromatic, warming oak.
Ki One reveals a nice butterscotch sweetness, with a pleasant texture and a dose of wooden spice. I’ve positively had worse start-up single malts, however the wooden is a bit loud for my style, making the whisky really feel somewhat generic at this level. I’m positive good issues can occur with this workforce, however endurance is required (and fewer lively casks). Accessible from The Whisky Alternate.
