Unfiltered Rice Wine At Shin Chon

Makkoli and Bok Bun Ja Joo at Shin Chon

Candy is dandy, but liquor is a quicker way to learn a little foreign culture.

I posted last month my pitch about why you should try Korean barbecue with a beginner's step-by-step instructions for going to Shin Chon Garden.  But we got to enjoy dinner with folks in the know last month, and Kevin and Traci introduced us to some Korean makkoli.

Makkoli is a unfiltered rice wine.  It's very smooth, almost creamy.  It has the lower alcohol of beer.  We thought the bottle from Koodsoondang brewery went great with the table of meat and panchan.  It's a mild flavor and a slight carbonation, brighter than beer but not as much alcohol as a standard wine.  Reaching completely inappropriately across cultures, Mrs. HowChow and I both thought the makkoli tasted like an alcoholic horchata. (We also liked the fruit wine called bokbunja ju.)

One note: Makkoli is normally served in small bowls.  Kevin and I split a bottle.  We just sipped form the bowls.  I'm sure you could drink it from a glass, but let the Shin Chon people know if you're happy to get the normal bowl.