World Whisky Review #57: KIMCHANGSOO Whisky (2021)

Image Credit: Hankyung / Yonhap News

Distillery: Kim Chang Soo.

Region: Gimpo, Korea.

Age: Distilled in 2021. Bottled August 29th, 2022.

ABV: 48.7%. Reportedly cask strength.

Cask Type: Uses 100L and 180L Korean oak (Shin Gal oak/신갈나무) casks.

Color: 0.9, Amontillado Sherry.

This is the 22nd installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can check out previous editions as well (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

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Nose: It is very, very woody. In fact, I don’t smell anything other than wood. It’s like running your nose just centimeters away from a freshly cut piece of lumber when you’re doing woodworking.

Palate: Exactly the same as the nose. It is like sucking on a 2×4. Adding water only makes that note even more intense.

Finish: Medium-short in length. Fairly drying. This is the only part that doesn’t taste entirely of wood. There’s a little bit of a rich, luscious chocolate to go along with your wood.

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Conclusion: With a couple of malt whisky distilleries popping up in Korea, I’ve equally excited and apprehensive about trying them. I would love to have whisky from my homeland but just knowing how Koreans tend to treat their liquor, I was very apprehensive that we’d get something worth drinking. This very young release from Kim Chang Soo uses all Korean ingredients with 100% Korean malt barley, Korean oak casks, and distilled in Korea. Unfortunately, that recipe seems to have not worked. I cannot image how anyone took a sip of this and though “hey this will make people interested!”. It’s literally as if I had a plank of wood in my mouth. Great if you’re a beaver but unfortunately I am not.

Rating: 4 (100/100 for Beavers)

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World Whisky Review #57, Korean Whisky Review #1, Whisky Network Review #658

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.