Nicholas Coldicott in This year's hottest drink: Korean hillbilly booze (Metropolis, March 4) tells us how Makgeolli which until recently had as much status as moonshine gets in the southern US became 2010's hit drink in Tokyo.
This rice based alcohol has a long history we learn from Makgeolli, Rediscovered (Korea Times, August 2008):
wine, may well be the oldest liquor in Korea. The pale white drink saw
its heyday back in the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) and again in the
1970s and `80s for its rich taste, cheap cost and the food that went
with it, but sales and popularity dwindled as wine, sake and soju
reigned."
Is price a big factor in our recessionary times.
Going back to the Metropolis piece, Nicholas visited a bar named after Makgeolli or rather its other name, Makkoli.
The young crowd has taken to Makgeolli it seems because the liquor is used as a base for a multitude of cocktails.
The new until it's old Cosmopolitans?
The illustration of traditional way to serve Makgeolli (above) comes from One Fork, One Spoon , food and travel musings by Grace Meng.
Drinks the milky way for Tokyo Thursdays # 133
Previously: Doggy Bag Committee Celebrates Its First Anniversary in Japan
Recent Comments