The first single malt whisky distillery in Korea has released its second bottle of single malt. This release is called the Ki One “Unicorn” edition. 

Three Societies’ Ki One collection consists of 3 single malts intended to showcase the effects of maturation through the four seasons of South Korea. The collection consists of the Tiger edition, Unicorn edition and the Eagle. Tiger edition was released in 2021.

This Unicorn follows the Tiger and has been aged for about 21 months in virgin oak, having been matured for a longer period through the beautiful fall and harsh winter of South Korea. 

The distillery’s idea is to showcase the evolution of their spirit at different stages of maturation. The mythical Unicorn was selected to represent Scottish influence on the distillery. Their master distiller, Andrew Shand, also happens to be a Scotsman  

With the scramble that we’ve seen for the Tiger edition, this one is bound to be sold out like hotcakes too. It’s supposed to be a hit with whisky critics too – even before its launch, the Unicorn edition has already snapped up the Gold award from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2022 (SFWSC). 

Release date and details

The Ki One Unicorn edition would be bottled at 56.6% ABV and in 200ml bottles. Exactly 2020 bottles would be available worldwide this year.

However, this bottling would first be launched in Namyangju City, South Korea. 400 bottles would be sold right at Three Societies Distillery on 30 April 2022, each at the price of 98,000 KRW (around US$80). Anticipating overwhelming demand, the distillery has imposed a purchase limit of 2 bottles per person. 

Stay tuned to this space for more details on the international release!

Our Take

You may recall our earlier review of Three Societies Distillery’s Ki One “Tiger” edition, which we found to be a very enjoyable combination of fruits, toffee and oak that is very well-aged for a 13-month old whisky (let’s put aside Scotch Whisky Regulations for now). The use of highly active new oak is a likely reason for its well-aged profile despite its short maturation period.

So, we can imagine that the new Unicorn release would also showcase a rich flavour profile due to a similar maturation regime. Referring to its skimpy official tasting notes though, the intricacies of flavour are really anyone’s guess.

One is certainly tempted to scoff at the price and small bottling - US$80 for a 200ml bottle. But considering the distillery’s very strong first release and the fact that South Korea still has a rather outdated legal regime which makes the distillation of “foreign liquors” like whisky very expensive, I’m inclined to go for this as both a drinker and small-time collector.

Cop or not verdict: Cop!

@charsiucharlie