The liquor having legends where scholars failed to take the state exam after drinking one or two glasses or where daughters-in-law became drunk unconsciously after dipping chopsticks to taste the liquor to crawl around. The liquor which made a thief to be attracted by its taste and crouch to sip becoming drunken and crippled without realizing the numbing of legs so that he could not stand up later.
The famous liquor in Hansan area, which is Hansan Sogokju(to be referred to as ‘Sogokju’ hereafter)

The liquor containing 1500 year-old Baekje
Tasty liquor cannot be discussed apart from the time

Sogokju that idle people of Baekje era are said to have brewed and drunken to forget the sadness after losing their country originally used to be drunken only by the royal family which was also subsequently made by generation after generation with the history being remembered after Baekje’s defeat.

Sogokju which is brewed as the regional specialty by more than 40 breweries with license is diversified in types and traditional recipes of the brewery alone making difficult the specified recommendation of a certain type. However, it is the liquor put forward by masters with their names at stake through initiators having the tremendous pride.

Manufacture of a liquor starts with production of yeast. Collect the solid bits produced by grinding wheat with a millstone mix them with water for kneading followed by putting it in wrapping cloth for tight stepping on. Thus-prepared Sogokju is made with sticky rice, ripened for 100 days, and is also called a liquor of time.

Sweet and yet not easy

For Sogokju, palatable taste generated from heavy body sense and gulping is the attraction. While there are little by little differences in sweet taste depending on the brewery masters, you can hardly fathom how much drunken you are after rolling your tongue to savor the sweet taste whirling inside the mouth due to the salty perception peculiar to the rice wine filling up inside of the mouth. It is not an exaggeration to call it as the liquor equipped with everything for the liquor including the unique thick fragrance, clear colors, and even the sweet taste wound mellowly around the tongue.

Even though it has a proof, Sogokju with the peerless taste to the extent of being unable to perceive the proof at all is a liquor of 18% in proof higher than thought. For sure, the sweet taste may not be considered easy at all.

            ⓒ Photo : Hansan Sogokju, Wuheeyeol

Foods in harmony with Hansan Sogokju

Although rice wine does not need special snacks, it is also a liquor in good harmony with any delicacy all around. Since the liquor itself has sweet taste as charm, any sweet snacks call for a bitter taste, making it incompatible rather.

The match with Sogokju is in excellent harmony with jukkumibokkeum(stir-fried webfoot octopus) thanks to the unique palatable taste. In particular, the jukkumi(webfoot octopus) of March with the spawning period being in season has a match made in heaven. In addition, it has a good match with dubujeon(pan-fried battered bean curd) or baekhaptang(hard clam stew) thanks to the subtly spreading palatable taste together with the sweet taste.

Trip departing for Hansan in search of Sogokju

Sogokju is a traditional liquor used as a liquor for ancestral rites in Chungnam area. Since the Sogokju especially and personally produced and sold by clubhouses has varying fragrance and tastes, liquor lovers may well leave for the trip to Hansan in search of Sogokju. At Hansan-myeon in Seocheon-gun, Sogokju festivals are being held every year.

Coupling of thick sweet taste and palatable taste
A treatment agent forgetting and overcoming sadness of losing the country as if you are drunken or nor drunken
Having the weary heart comforted begins with a glass of tasty liquor.

Editorial Dept.