Skip to main content

Makgeolli: Fun to Pronounce and Even More Fun to Drink

Makgeolli, pronounced “mahk-oh-lee” or “mahk-ah-lee,” should be added to the rice-based beverage category in your mind’s archives. Finally, the likes of horchata, sake, and shochu will have some company.  Like soju, this traditional Korean beverage dates back millennia, but millennials in South Korea are making it increasingly relevant and sought after. If you want to party like an ancient rice farmer, you’ve come to the right place.

Makgeolli is a grain spirit that uses rice in its fermentation process. The unfiltered result? A milky rice wine with approximately 7 percent ABV. The light carbonation enhances the sweet-tart flavor profile, adding nuance to each sip.

makgeolli rice wine pots
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The magic starts with nuruk, a carb-laden dry cake made out of rice, wheat, barley, and a host of yeasts, bacteria, even mold. Still with us? Traditionally made in porous clay pots, makgeolli doesn’t take much more than a week to make once the nuruk sets its sights on some cooked sweet rice. That cocktail of wild activating agents create the playful flavors of makgeolli, coaxing new life out of the carbs through the fermentation process. Unpasteurized, you get all the tasting notes you want from a Korean wine influenced by a culinary scene instead of the alcohol industry.

Recommended Videos
makgeolli rice wine bottle
Image courtesy of Cytryna/Flickr Image courtesy of Cytryna/Flickr
If you’re lucky enough to find a bottle of makgeolli, it’s probably a pasteurized version. Trade regulations require pasteurization in order for the wine to survive the trip to the U.S. As a result, the product errs on the sweet side and has a fixed level of carbonation. If you find yourself wanting to try imported makgeolli, at least make sure it’s from Korea; Japanese versions are inauthentic, but increasingly more available than Korean competitors due to makgeolli’s popularity within Japan.

The real deal needs to be sourced  locally because, ideally, makgeolli keeps fermenting until it’s no longer palatable. In this way, it earns its wine categorization by rapidly accelerating from fresh to “vintage.” Each stage dramatically changes the tasting experience and elevates the effervescence, but most makgeolli makers aren’t pushing the envelope too much. Since preservatives ruin the taste and even fermentation-friendly bottles (read: no exploding on the truck) are difficult to move, you should look to predominantly Korean neighborhoods near you for local brands and bars that serve makgeolli.

makgeolli rice wine
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you manage to find makgeolli on a menu, here’s how you know it’s the real deal. It will likely be presented as a batch in a wooden bowl (sometimes carafes or kettles make an appearance) and poured into small bowls via a large ladle. The carbonation makes it an ideal palate cleanser while its kombucha-esque qualities will help you digest just about anything. If you snag a bottle to enjoy at home, enjoy it quickly. After a month or two, your makgeolli will become rice vinegar which, while useful, is not the best liquid to drink straight.

You’ll want to ease into your makgeolli habit. Everything about it will confuse your senses. It looks like milk, but tastes like tangy citrus and fizzes like a beer. Once your taste buds figure out what’s happening, then — maybe — you can try out a cocktail or two.

The Rose of Sharon

(Created by Jung-Sik Yim, JUNGSIK, New York City)

  • 2 oz makgeolli
  • 1.5 oz soju
  • .025 oz sour mix
  • 0.75 oz bokbunja (Korean fruit wine made from raspberries)

Method: Combine all ingredients except bokbunja and stir with ice. Strain into a Buy Now . Pour in  bokbunja last and stir after it’s all settled to the bottom.

Ok Sun Fizz

(Created by Maria Carlin, Big Star, Chicago)

  • 2 oz makgeolli
  • 1 oz mezcal
  • 1 oz ginger syrup
  • 0.5 oz lime juice
  • 0.5 oz lemon juice
  • 1 egg white
  • Orange flower water
  • Soda water
  • Cucumber soda

Method: Add the first six ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and a couple dashes of orange flower water. Shake for two to three minutes. Pour a little soda water into a Buy Now , add the cocktail mixture, and top with cucumber soda and a couple more drops of orange flower water.

J. Fergus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
J. loves writing about the vices of life — decadent food, strong drinks, potent cannabis, and increasingly invasive…
The easiest ways to make hazelnut coffee that actually taste great
3 methods to enjoy hazelnut flavor in your coffee
Cup of coffee

When I think of classic flavored coffee, hazelnut is one of the first flavors that comes to mind. Hazelnut coffee is almost like my version of comfort food, except in coffee form. The slightly nutty, sweet taste of hazelnut works perfectly, whether it's a regular hot coffee or an iced coffee. You can find hazelnut coffee at almost any coffee shop, but it's also super easy to make at home. Here's how to make hazelnut coffee in three ways.

How to make hazelnut coffee using flavored beans

Read more
Why everything you think you know about IPAs might be wrong
Not all IPAs are bitter, pine-bombs
IPA

Take a moment to imagine an IPA. What do you see? What does the beer that you envision taste like? If you immediately think about a golden or yellow, reasonably clear beer with citrus, pine, and a potentially aggressive level of bitterness, you’re painting this complex beer style into a tiny corner.

The IPA you’re describing fits into the India Pale Ale box. But, in my career of writing about beer, I’ve learned that the style is much more than this simplified definition. That description is the iconic and popular West Coast IPA. And I can understand why they are many drinkers go to IPA styles. It’s what many non-IPA drinkers think of the beer style. But this isn’t the only IPA style. And the others vary greatly in appearance, aroma, and overall flavor.
Different types of IPAs

Read more
Tequila is the spirit of the summer—these cocktails prove it
Learn about the best tequila-based cocktails for the warmer months
Paloma cocktail

In the pantheon of warm-weather spirits, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of tequila. Sure, gin adds a floral flourish to mixed drinks on hot, humid days, and vodka is a nice, neutral backbone for sunny day cocktails, but nothing beats the agave sweetness of a well-made tequila when it’s mixed into a balanced, flavorful summer cocktail.

In my decades of writing about alcohol, I’ve imbibed my fair share of blanco, reposado, and añejo tequila. I’ve enjoyed it in shots with lime and salt, neat and on the rocks, and mixed into a variety of cocktails. Over the years, I’ve learned that no hot summer day is complete without a layered, complex tequila-based mixed drink.
The best tequila-based cocktails to drink this summer

Read more