South Korea is going through nothing short of a whisky renaissance - if you're a whisky lover, this is the country you need to have on your bingo card for the next decade.

As the country continues to open up the market for whisky to be made locally, several brave souls have already stepped up to the plate, putting their best work forth - one of whom you will most certainly hear more of is Craftbros.

Who Is Craftbros?

Now, craft beer lovers will already be familiar with Craftbros - it's a brewery that has taken the country by storm with its eyecatching labels featuring the likes of LIFE Magazine's portrait of Marilyn Monroe, but of course you can't go far on aesthetics alone, and for that the hoppy beers made by the brewery are themselves the proof in the pudding. 

Craftbros has always had a real penchant those two traits - sublime designs and a serious love for pale ales - which can be traced to its founder Kang Ki-Moon (강기문). Before a life of pale ales (and now whiskies), Kang had spent the better part of his career in the advertising business, having done great work at one of the world's most well-known global ad agencies - the man even won an award at the New York Advertising Festival for a diaper ad he made. Yet, Kang had instead yearned to start something of his own. He would try his hand at everything from designing shoes to producing licensed t-shirts that featured scenes from cult favourite movies like The Godfather, Top Gun and The Italian Job. Before long, Kang would find himself as the Editor of a popular Korean craft beer magazine, The Beer Post, which appealed to Kang over local drinks such as Makgeolli and Soju as he had found beers to be more systematic in how they were made.

Craftbros founder Kang Ki-Moon.

As the craft beer scene became increasingly deregulated (something Kang and others hopes will manifest with whiskies as well), Kang eventually decided to get into the craft beer game himself. He would play a formative role in the budding craft beer scene through his craft beer bar Can Maker, which would allow drinkers to have their craft beers canned to-go, so that they could enjoy their beers anywhere. This might seem rather straightforward, yet at the time only brewpubs could serve up locally brewed craft beer as part of the country's legal restrictions. In Seorae Village, where Kang was from, he would start the first craft beer shop by the name "Craftbros" in June 2014.

Eventually Craftbros would become a fully-fledged brewery of its own. They'd been chugging away for almost 5 years until perhaps their biggest break came in 2020 when the brewery began collaborating with LIFE Magazine. Empowered with the iconic shot of Marilyn Monroe, Craftbros would populate its craft IPA across the country's major convenience stores and also gain international attention.

That was just the start for Kang.

A Craft Beer Brewer Turns To Whisky Distilling

Around mid-2023, Craftbros began teasing fans with hints of a new whisky distillery being put together - photos and reels captured snapshots of the process - and perhaps what was particularly impressive was a signal that Craftbros was going to focus heavily on the use of local ingredients to make a truly Korean whisky. By September of the same year, casks with new make were already being filled. As I had penned in my feature article pondering the future of Korea's whisky scene, I had expressed hope that some work-in-progress to-be whiskies would be made available, which would give us a sense of what to expect from the new Craftbros Distillery (based in Gimpo, northwest of Seoul) - after all, Korea's intense weather swings are said to accelerate the whisky's ageing - and sure enough, by early November 2024, two Newborns were released!

Interestingly, for the big debut, two 1 year old Newborns were made available to fans, the first being a single malt and the second being a distilled IPA! The first is probably more par for the course, and the second one really is a bonus that pays homage to Craftbros having first made its name producing great pale ales. Both of them have been double matured, having spent some time first in Oloroso Sherry casks, before being further aged in new American oak casks.

And as Craftbros goes into its second year as a full fledged distillery, it's been pretty thoughtful about the process, detailing its observations and insights as both a leading craft brewer and pioneering whisky distiller. The team regularly shares the similarities between beer making and whisky making, and how some lessons its learnt from producing cask aged beers have come in handy in managing its casks of whiskies as well.

The Start Of A South Korean Whisky Revolution

Now, bear in mind that this really is just the start, South Korea only first saw its first legally aged 3 year old whiskies (that is, by international standards) in 2023, and the country counts less than the fingers of one hand the number of whisky distilleries currently active, and so the future remains both bright and yet to be determined - one thing is nevertheless for certain, South Korea is now firmly on the map as a bonafide whisky producing nation.

Given our coverage of Craftbros' whiskymaking efforts, it was then opportune that we were asked if keen on having a taste of the brewery/distillery's Newborns - to which we obviously said yes! And so we bring to you what is probably the first reviews of Craftbros' (soon to be) whiskies!

Let's go!

Whisky Review: Craftbros 2024 Single Malt Newborn | 크래프트브로스 싱글몰트 뉴본2024

First up! We've got the earliest taste of what will become proper Craftbros single malt whisky in the very near future! This is Craftbros' Single Malt Newborn. This was distilled in November 2023 and bottled in November 2024, making it 1 year old. It was double matured, first in a First-Fill Oloroso Hogshead, and then new American Oak. This comes in at 53% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber

Aroma: Heady aromas of caramel, honey, and then also a confectionary tone of peanut brittle and peanut cream with butterscotch and vanilla cream. There’s a mustiness of wooden rackhouses, along with brighter touches of peanut shells. It continues to open up to candied tangerines, fresh red apples and apple pie filling, with also floral bouquets of orange blossoms, this is all whilst it keeps that rich and warm layer of honey. With time more apricots and pink guavas begin to surface as it takes a more lifted quality, still keeping that honey, peanut cream and butterscotch of course.

Taste: It’s got a great body already, it’s concentrated and candied, with tanghulu maltose coated tangerines, green grapes and orange liqueur. It’s incredibly rich and firm, plush and supple, and yet somehow also almost crystalline. It hits the palate with a sort of radiance of candied fruit. More on honey and butterscotch, and also yellow raisins and dried apricot. This candied sweetness is backed up by some savouriness of charred meats that pads the body.

Finish: That candied quality of honey and raisins persists. With here some bitterness of barrel char coming through, holding up against the candied richness. Somewhere in between there’s a bed of buttery maltiness too. Finally a vibrance of tropical fruit that emerges on the finish, of candied tangerines, pink guavas and green grape gummies.

My Thoughts

Wow! This was incredibly impressive! Already it's developed such character and complexity, with a richness and fullness of the body that is not often seen till many more years later.

On the nose, it almost opens up Bourbon-esque, with these confectionary and nutty tones of peanut creme and butterscotch. It's also got this really raw and pure mustiness of wooden rackhouses that's entirely evocative. Now that's not all - it's soon overtaken by these vibrant fruit tones of candied fruits and orchard fruits, and even more exotic ones the likes of pink guavas, the sort you find in rarefied Irish whiskies. On the palate, it's immediately concentrated, with more of those candied citruses and grapes. It's somehow so rich and supple, yet firm, but also crystalline as is maltose rock candy. It strikes with a radiant burst of those fruits, which eventually peel away to reveal some savouriness. This seamlessly progresses into the finish, with a lingering vibrance of those wonderful fruit candies.

It's remarkably expressive and fulled worked out already, I can only wonder what more years will bring. We're off to a very promising start here Craftbros!

Whisky Review: Craftbros 2024 IPA Newborn | 크래프트브로스 이파 뉴본2024

Next up, we have the IPA Newborn! This is a play on Craftbros' popular Double Dry Hopped New England IPA (that means hops are added after the boil to preserve freshness), and comes distilled from the IPA's wash - to be clear, this isn't just whisky aged in some IPA casks! As such, this can't be classified as "whisky", but we're not fussed about it anyway - this is in fact the first of its kind in South Korea! After distillation, the spirit was also double matured, first in Oloroso Sherry casks, and then in new American oak casks, for a total of 12 months. It was distilled in October 2023, and bottled in November 2024, and comes in at 58.3% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: Intense aromas of lychees and vine peaches, it’s super perfumed yet rich at the same time. It’s fresh and comes off almost just harvested, without getting daunting. Those brighter aromas are supported by buds of dried roses, with also a slight muskiness of mangosteens and longans. More on apricots too, before it begins to really come off like a hazy IPA, with those pineapples and freshly squeezed grapefruits, with the pulp and pith tossed in too! It’s starting to get really citrusy and leafy here. Super vibrant on the nose.

Taste: It starts off with a good punchiness, with a burst of those now familiar super perfumes of lychees, vine peaches and bouquets of roses. It’s body is filled in with a mix of honey and herbal cough syrup. Medium-bodied, almost crystalline. Some green grape tanghulu and maltose candy makes a quick guest star.

Finish: Into the finish, more of those IPA notes begin to emerge, freshly squeezed pulpy grapefruits, pineapple leaves, alittle bit of gasoline, with a lingering leafiness of cut grass mingling with a wave of honey.

My Thoughts

Now I must admit I've tasted an IPA spirit before (that is an IPA wash that's distilled as if it were made as a whisky), and I've always remembered how blown away I was with how intensely fruity these beer spirits can be - to my mind, these are something so incredibly unique and I've always hoped more folks would have the opportunity to try them.

And so with Craftbros' take on it, it most definitely delivered. Immediately out from the glass, it was superbly perfumed, vibrant and fresh, yet at the same time it came across completely natural and wasn't overwhelming - it was like a basket of freshly harvested lychees and vine peaches. I'm not kidding when I say how intense the aromas are, yet perhaps what impressed me most was how as those tropical fruits began to peel away, it revealed its true character with all those vibrant classically IPA notes beginning to shine through - freshly squeezed grapefruits and pineapples, citrusy and leafy. This all carries through the palate and into the finish, along the way taking the time to bring out some other juicy fruits of green grapes, and always delivered in a stream of honey. The finish then brought it all back to its IPA DNA, and aside from the honeyed quality of it, you could not tell the different from an IPA.

As I've mentioned several times now - I've always found beer spirits incredibly unique and intensely flavourful. Whether you're a whisky person or a beer person - you have got to try this, it will blow you away. Craftbros' version of it is amongst the most impressive, showcasing such vibrance whilst keeping its IPA identity.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot