A Summer of Omija Makgeolli
If you’ve been following our product releases this year, you may have picked up on one bottle that’s a bit visually different than the rest. This is Omija Makgeolli, our botanical sool that comes in a stunning shade of pastel pink not unlike that of cherry blossoms and roses. Against the backdrop of our cream-colored brews and clarified bottles, this blushing bottle is a sight to behold. But focus too hard on the adorable colors and you’ll miss the complexity of this drink. Our Omija Makgeolli incorporates this layered berry to create a subtle, salty, peppery, and tangy profile. It’s truly unlike any other sool.
Surprisingly, the origins of Omija Makgeolli, our first-ever botanical makgeolli and crowd favorite, were spontaneous. In fact, the signature brew only came about in an effort to minimize product waste back in 2020. Read on to learn about the origin story of our popular drink and more about the versatile berry.
Origin Story
It’s late 2020 and the team is wrapping up the first few months in their new Greenpoint brewery. The year’s end coincides with an exciting development — Hana has successfully brewed their first batch of YAKJU 14, a 5-stage brew that involves clarification. But as the 750 mL bottles begin to fill and the celebration winds down, reality sets in. While all the YAKJU 14 has been bottled, a dozen barrels of dry and tart sediment have been left in its wake, and there’s no plan for what to do with them.
Initially, the production team sets aside the remains in the walk-in fridge. But after 3-months, and what seems like forever, the barrels still haven’t found a home or their way down the drain. That’s when Alice realizes the solution has been right under their noses: they’ll make makgeolli!
By definition, makgeolli is a rice alcohol that’s been diluted with water or tea until it’s under 10 ABV. So when it came to the dozens of barrels of leftover sediment, diluting it with a botanical tea seemed like the best way to create a plentiful, delicious product.
Out of all the botanicals, omija emerged as the natural choice for three reasons: 1) it helped balance the dry and tart Yakju sediment 2) it gave the brew a beautiful color 3) it’s a traditional Korean botanical often used in jeontongju. Fortunately, experiments went as planned and the whole team celebrated their first batch of botanical makgeolli with a party. What’s more, this realization to make makgeolli out of leftover Yakju sediment later resulted in our Ssuk Makgeolli, Elderflower Makgeolli, and the many other seasonal blends seen on Hana’s shelves.
And what exactly is Omija?
In Korean, omija means five-flavor fruit
Spherical, maroon, and no bigger than a quarter-inch marble, this petite berry grows all across Asia. In Korea, omija berry thrives at high elevations and is known to grow on vines in the mountains of Korea around 1,500 feet of elevation. Outside of Korea, it’s difficult to find fresh omija, but traditionally it’s only used in its dry form anyways.
Omija goes by many names. Some know it as Schisandra Chinensis or Schisandra for short, others know it by the fruit’s name magnolia berry. Translated directly from Korean, omija means five-flavor fruit, a nickname that’s meant to capture the berry’s complex flavors — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and pungent.
This fruit is foundational to Korean culture and medicine too. For the longest time, omija has been primarily used in a medicinal context as a soothing herbal tea. Chinese records as early as 1596 have documented the fruit’s ability to relieve health issues such as gastrointestinal problems and fatigue. Recently, health experts have called attention to its neurological benefits. (Each of the five flavors, in fact, is connected to a different organ in the body.) Nowadays in Korea, it’s often consumed as an herbal tea or chilled punch and used as a popular infusion for makgeolli home brews. Though it has yet to show up on the shelves of Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, it’s readily used in Korean and Chinese cuisine and can be procured from select herbal stores and online shops.
A Brew for the Summer and Beyond
Since we started making Omija Makgeolli back in 2020, this botanical sool has been a crowd favorite that typically sells out before the summer ends. It’s the ideal companion for a summer picnic or a long day stretched out on the lawn. Others bring it for breezy beach days or special dinners to pair with food. And because it’s so popular, we’ve been making this pink brew every summer since 2020 with the goal of getting it into as many hands as possible. Whether shipping out pink bottles to West Coast or serving glasses in the Tasting Room, we’ve made sure there’s enough Omija Makgeolli to go around.
Find the Omija Mezcalita in the Tasting Room
This year, we made two batches of our Omija Makgeolli. So when it came time to revise our cocktail menu, it only made sense to make an omija cocktail to welcome the summer season. Our Head Bartender Molly McClintock whipped up an amazing recipe for Omija Mezcalita, a smoky and citrus cousin to the Margarita. Our take includes our Omija Makgeolli, Ilegal Mezcal, C. Cassis, Lime, Agave, Pet Pet Flower Power, and of course, the signature spiced rim. So far, it’s been doing well in the Tasting Room and finding new use cases in bars and homes too.
If you haven’t already, we hope you have a chance to sip on this summer brew and learn about what makes Omija Makgeolli so incredibly special.
Originally Published July 9, 2023