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Ki One unveils red pepper-infused Korean whisky
Ki One founder and CEO Bryan Do, right, poses with chef Edward Lee, center, and Ki One master distiller and blender Andrew Shand to promote the company’s new Ki One Red Pepper Cask during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ki One
By Ko Dong-hwan
Celebrity chef Edward Lee creates tteokbokki pairing
Ki One, a Korean single malt whisky maker with more than 50 international awards, unveiled a new Korean red pepper-infused offering on Tuesday.
Ki One Red Pepper Cask was released in a limited run of 1,500 bottles, including 200 for export to the United States. The batch, a variation of the company’s original whisky, underwent double maturation in seven virgin oak casks that had previously held bourbon.
The casks were first seasoned by filling them with chopped red peppers and hot water and left to rest for two weeks. Ki One Signature whisky was then poured into the emptied, seasoned casks and stored for six weeks, during which it absorbed the flavors of the pepper. The company said the method is unprecedented worldwide.
Andrew Shand, Ki One’s master distiller and blender from Scotland, who first proposed the idea, said he sourced the peppers from Jayang Traditional Market in Seoul’s Gwangjin District. In search of the hottest red peppers in the country, he visited four traditional markets before making his selection.
Ki One first supplied its Red Pepper Cask batch to GS Retail, operator of the GS25 convenience store chain. The retailer released the whisky through Wine25+, its online liquor sales platform.
Ki One Red Pepper Cask received promotional support from Edward Lee, a Korean American celebrity chef based in Kentucky. Lee developed pairing dishes for the whisky, including tteokbokki, a dish of chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce.
Edward Lee’s pairing dishes for Ki One Red Pepper Cask include tteokbokki, abalone and oysters. Courtesy of Ki One
Lee, the author of "Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whisky," a guidebook featuring 50 recipes for whisky pairings, said the new Ki One whisky “added a flavor to whisky without changing the definition of whisky ”
“Whisky is very limited as to what ingredients you can use. Whether it’s bourbon or single malt, you cannot just put any ingredient in there,” Lee said during a press conference in Seoul.
He added, “Korean foods are so popular now in America and to be able to enjoy them with this whisky makes perfect sense. If you eat spicy foods with normal whisky, the foods will overpower the whisky and it's hard to enjoy the whisky. But now that you have a spicy whisky, you can enjoy the whisky with Korean foods, many of which are spicy.”
Lee said he first contacted Ki One founder and CEO Bryan Do earlier this year to discuss a possible collaboration. Do, who grew up in California, said he and Lee plan to introduce new collaborative whisky and food projects next year.
Founded in 2020, Ki One has earned a global reputation for producing distinctive batches of whisky at its mountaintop site in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, where temperatures can fluctuate by as much as 50 degrees Celsius between summer and winter. The company currently exports to 14 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and several Asian nations.
Among the company’s most recent accolades is a Best of Class award for Ki One Signature at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition last month.