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Korean · VI The Beverage Tradition

Jindo hongju (진도 홍주)

Jindo island, South Jeolla

‹ The Beverage Tradition

I

Origin

Jindo hongju is the red distilled spirit of Jindo, an island off the south-western tip of the Korean peninsula in South Jeolla province. It belongs to the tradition of Korean distilled liquor, which rests on the Goryeo-period adoption of the still and was carried on in households and regional distilleries through the Joseon centuries. The spirit is made by families and licensed distillers on the island, and the red colour that gives it its name comes from gromwell root, jicho (Lithospermum erythrorhizon), which is passed through the spirit as it runs.

II

Description

Jindo hongju is a distilled grain spirit, fermented from rice with nuruk, the dry fermentation starter of wheat, and distilled in a pot still. As the spirit runs from the still it filters through gromwell root, which stains it a deep ruby to amber red; the colour comes from the root and not from any fruit. It is a strong spirit, commonly bottled at about 40 per cent alcohol by volume, clear in the glass despite its colour, with a grain sweetness and a faint herbal note from the root. It is the spirit of Jindo and is the Jeolla counterpart to the distilled spirits of Andong.

III

The Thread

—Both are grain spirits fermented with a dry saccharifying starter and distilled in pot stills, so that the mould in the starter converts the starch without added malt. Baijiu is fermented in solid state, often from sorghum, and is aged in vessels, while hongju is made from rice and takes its character and colour from the gromwell root. Chinese
—Both are single-distilled spirits made from rice or other starch with a mould-based starter, and both are drunk neat or lightly diluted at the table. Shochu is coloured only by what it is aged in, whereas hongju is deliberately reddened by passing through a dye root. Japanese
—Both are pot-still spirits whose final character is set by what the spirit meets after distillation, wood in the one case and gromwell root in the other. Cognac is distilled from wine and matured for years in oak, while hongju is distilled from fermented rice and is coloured at the moment of running. French
IV

Flavour Context

Jindo hongju is drunk neat in small cups with the rich, salted and fermented foods of the Jeolla table: raw and fermented fish, skate, pork, and the heavily seasoned banchan of the region. The spirit's strength cuts through fat and salt, and its grain sweetness steadies the sharpness of fermented seafood and chilli. It is also served at celebrations and given as a gift, and it is sometimes used in cooking and in drink mixed with other ingredients.

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