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| Julia Mellor / Courtesy of The Sool Company |
By Hallie Bradley
"Sool," meaning all alcohol, including beer, wine and soju in modern Korean language, has made devotees out of Koreans and non-Koreans alike.
Back in 2012, there wasn't much reliable information in English on sool, so Julia Mellor and Daniel McLaughlin teamed up to change that. They started Makgeolli Mamas and Papas Korea (MMPK). With a group of fellow "like-minded sool explorers," as Mellor described them, they'd meet every three weeks at a different serving establishment to try, taste and describe a variety of traditional alcoholic beverages hoping to create a directory of information. They realized quickly it would take them down an Alice-like rabbit hole with how much knowledge and stories were yet untold.
Mellor and McLaughlin spent hours culling information, drinking and meeting craft brewers around Korea which led to founding The Sool Company, an educational and tourism business.
Mellor, an Australian, explained that rebranding was essential for them for a number of reasons. "Firstly, we were in need of a name that effectively communicated what we do, as our original name had the image of exclusivity to makgeolli, but we had grown into a deeper world of all kinds of sool," she said. "But perhaps more importantly, our rebranding is part of a larger effort to help globalize Korean alcohol in terms of terminology.
For anyone in the traditional alcohol industry, there is a deep connection with the word sool to mean Korean traditional alcohol, and we wanted to communicate that in the identity of our company. It is also much easier to spell in English than makgeolli!"
According to her, "sool" is comprised of two characters, "soo" meaning water and "bool" meaning fire, and was coined originally to describe the bubbling state of rice undergoing fermentation. Soo-bul gradually became soo-ool and finally sool.
They hope to spread education in Korea and abroad through various programs including tasting tours and brewing classes to improve awareness of the craft, history and culture around brewing here. In 2017, they won the Award For Excellence in Agriculture, Food and Beverage at the Australian Chamber of Commerce Business Awards and this year they won the Award For Excellence in Service from the International Travel and Hospitality Awards.
Rather than building an impression around a mass-produced cheap makgeolli, Mellor recommends starting with Haechang Makgeolli, which she says "has an impressive balance of sweetness and acidity while still retaining a moderate body." She also recommends Poongjeong Sagye's Chun for its excellent "balance and crispness that lends itself to match with so many cuisines."
The Sool Company offers "The Insadong Taster" tour several times a week to provide an overview of the different kinds of makgeollis that can be enjoyed, as well as "The Master Brewer's Tour" on Mondays. They also offer regular makgeolli brewing classes, in which participants learn how to make their own makgeolli and take it home to finish the fermenting process later.
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