Three Societies Distillery is launching Ki One (기완 in Korean*, which translates to ‘beginning and hope’), South Korea’s first flagship single-malt, into the global whisky market. Ki One is a one-of-a-kind and authentic spirit that is produced entirely in South Korea, including mash, fermentation, distillation, and ageing.
If you were wondering, Three Societies Distillery was founded in Namyangju, South Korea by Bryan Do and Andrew Shand back in 2020. The Korean, American, and Scottish heritage of the team inspired the name of the distillery. While Three Societies initially released a pair of 200mL limited-edition preview bottles dubbed ‘Tiger‘ and ‘Unicorn‘ (in 2021 and 2022, respectively), they both had age statements under two years, and thus couldn’t be classified as whisky under EU and UK standards.
Ki One’s inaugural batch of 700ml bottles (40% ABV) and 100 limited edition bottles of cask strength Ki One (57.7% ABV) were released on 25 February 2023, exclusively at the Three Societies Distillery in South Korea. The distinctly Korean spirit is aged in virgin American Oak and has notes of vanilla, caramel, peach, and banana, with a long, spice-filled finish. A wider release will be available soon enough, according to Bryan Do.
‘We set about to create a world-class single malt whiskey with local characteristics that Koreans can be proud of,’ the Three Societies CEO said in a release. ‘We are not only introducing it to whisky fans in Korea but will release it in established whisky markets such as the United States of America, Japan, Canada, and Europe including Scotland from March onwards.’
You can keep up with Three Societies on Instagram at @three_societies.
*If we fucked up the Korean on this, by all means, let us know.
