[Report] Seoul International Liquor Expo, Came to See Wine but Fell for Whiskey... Heaven for Alcohol Lovers

'2022 Seoul International Liquor & Wine Expo'
Exploring and Swaying Like a Standing Party
From Recently Popular Whiskey & Premium Soju
To Rarely Accessible Multinational Wines
Many Competitive Domestic Companies Also Participate

Visitors are participating in a whiskey tasting event held at the booth of the American whiskey brand 'Fireball'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] "This place is heaven! It's my first time in my life tasting such a variety of alcohol all in one place."

On the 30th of last month, the ‘2022 Seoul International Liquor & Wine Expo’ kicked off at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It was a large-scale standing party where visitors could experience all kinds of liquors distributed domestically and internationally in one place. With social distancing lifted and on-site tastings allowed, the venue was bustling with visitors holding tasting glasses as they explored the booths.

A visitor in her 20s, A, who came for the first time led by a friend, said, "I recently developed an interest in wine and came here, but after looking around, I think traditional soju and whiskey suit me better," adding, "I am 100% planning to revisit next year." Hosted by Korea International Exhibition and supported by the Korea Beverage Master Association among others, the expo runs for three days until the 2nd.

Visitors are participating in a whiskey tasting event at the booth of the American Texas whiskey brand 'Yellow Rose'.

At this expo, the tasting lines at the distilled spirits booths were notably long. B, in his 30s, who tasted rye whiskey at the ‘Yellow Rose’ booth, a Texas whiskey brand styled as a Western bar, said, "I came here swept up by the recent whiskey boom," and evaluated, "This is my first time trying Yellow Rose Rye today, and I think the balance of grassy notes and spiciness is good." Manager Tae-hyun Noh of D&P Spirits explained, "Rye whiskey is being introduced domestically for the first time today," adding, "Texas has a large temperature difference between day and night, which causes active barrel contraction and expansion, making the oak characteristics stand out more."

Reflecting the recent popularity of premium soju, the booth set up by Gwangjuyo Group’s distilled spirit brand ‘Hwayo’ was also continuously busy. Hwayo showcased grapefruit and ginger ale highballs made with ‘Hwayo 41’, which disappeared quickly as visitors flocked. Additionally, booths from BEX Spirits featuring ‘Fireball’, ‘Southern Comfort’, and ‘Benchmark’, and from Juryo Sanghoe BE presenting ‘Label 5’ and ‘Courage & Conviction’ were also bustling with visitors.

Visitors are participating in a wine tasting event held at the booth of Greek wine importer 'Hellenic Wine'.

Various hard-to-find liquors from different nationalities were also easily spotted. Jean Pavlos, CEO of Hellenic Wine, who has been participating with Greek wines for 10 years, said, "Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions with thousands of years of history and diverse character," adding, "We visit local wineries every year and mainly import indigenous varietals like Xinomavro." Additionally, relatively unfamiliar wine-producing countries such as Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia welcomed visitors with support from their respective embassies.

Many competitive domestic companies also participated. ‘Dameun’ Makgeolli from Pocheon is made by fermenting raw rice directly without the cooked rice process, characterized by less carbonation and a smoother, thicker texture than typical Makgeolli. ‘Sarak’ from McKiss Company also attracted much attention. Sarak is a product blended from oak barrel-aged raw liquor and regular barley distilled spirits.