Ki One is the first single malt whisky from Korea. “Ki Wan” means the beginning and hope. It is produced at Three Societies distillery, founded in 2020 near Seoul. As the name suggests, it brings together three nations: founder Bryan Do is a Korean-American entrepreneur. He is working with Andrew Shand, a well-known Scottish distiller who worked at Glenlivet, Nikka and Speyside distillery. Then there’s also the Korean distillery team of course.
Technical specs? Two Forsyths copper pot stills and a minimum 100-hour fermentation. We can’t be sure how old the releases are, because it’s legal to call your spirit whisky in Korea even below 3 years of age. The region in which the distillery is located is known for its hot summers and cold winters, accellerating the maturation (2.5x faster than in Scotland). There have been limited Eagle and Tiger editions, a distillery only single cask and a couple of small batch releases from different cask types in the past few months.
We’re trying the first ongoing Ki One release to land in the UK. It uses virgin oak casks only and is exclusive to The Whisky Exchange for now.
Ki One – Virgin Oak (46%, OB 2024)
Nose: a warm oakiness appears first, along with a brown sugar sweetness and plenty of barley notes. Underneath there is a hint of spiced oranges, vanilla cream and a nice creamy character. Then some blackberries and butterscotch, as well as a tangy sour edge.
Mouth: rather defined by the oak again. A citrusy spiciness comes out (reminding me of young bourbon whiskey), with some minty eucalyptus, tart sour plums and plain wood tannins. Baked apple and Then some spiced honey and buttery vanilla, as well as caramel and toffee sweetness underneath.
Finish: medium long, with more brown sugar, cinnamon and fragrant, warming oak.
Ki One shows a pleasant butterscotch sweetness, with a nice texture and a dose of wood spice. I’ve definitely had worse start-up single malts, but the wood is a bit loud for my taste, making the whisky feel a little generic at this point. I’m sure good things can happen with this team, but patience is required (and less active casks). Available from The Whisky Exchange.