Koreans and alcohol

Today we will talk about drinking, or rather – about wines (or, rather, alcoholic beverages) Korea.

Whether they drink Koreans? The question is complex. They themselves consider themselves very prone to drinking by the people, and in the evenings in the Seoul streets, indeed, you can see a lot of people, if not completely drunk, it is certainly quite a suit. At the same time, Koreans rarely get drunk before the position of RISA, most local alcohol lovers still retains until the very end ability to move not two legs, and in the evening more or less swinging, but still moves towards the house (and inevitable hard conversation with wife). No in the Korean cities of the detoxes, and Koreans, Okyunenev, usually be peacefully, drunk conflicts and fights here are relatively rare.

What drown koreans? Until recently, grapes in Korea were not grown, and grape wines were also few known. However, this does not mean that Koreans did not drink anything. They had their own, and quite a variety of alcoholic beverages.

The most popular of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages is McCori. McCori is prepared from the rearrangement boiled rice, infused on the water, in which yeast or malt add. The drink is not filtered, so the result is a white liquid, in appearance several resembling milk. However, milk is hardening, approximately 19 degrees. In the old days, the cheap McCori was the main alcohol drink of the Korean peasants, it was often called him "Nonzhu", that is, peasant wine.

No less popular and various species. Deskia is a purified rice liquor, and now in Korea there are many species of this drink, both cheap and very expensive and high-quality. Among the expensive varieties will find especially popular.N. "Andonskoye". Andon is a county in the central part of South Korea, which is known for its traditions of winemaking. According to legend, this drink was invented in the XIII century Mongolian Khan Khubilam, the rate of which was at the same time in Andon. Andonskoye depletively distinguished by a large fortress (about 45 degrees), and a wonderful taste, which, according to experts, it is obliged to local water. Like McCori, it is desicted from boiled rice and water to which yeast is added. After 20 days of tincture, the Andonsky uniform is filtered and bottled into large clay vessels, which are stored in a deep cellar at a temperature of 15 degrees for 100 days. After that, it is desiccated in bottles. There is such a bottle (of course, not empty) in the Seoul Store 40-50 dollars. Of course, an ordinary lover of hot drinks is not a pleasure to pocket, but there are many more cheaper types of weak (20-25 degrees) to its services (20-25 degrees). They are literally a penny, and often sold simply in paper bags, such as our dairy.

In addition to these, traditional drinks, from the end of the last century, Koreans began to gradually get used to Western wines. "The present" Vine wine in Korea does not use much popularity, it is usually considered "Too weak" and "too acid" Or, if we are talking about sweet wines, "Tarmery". However, it should not be thought that the wines in Korea do not drink at all. On the contrary, as Korean life is increasingly rebuilt on Western samples, wines are also in fashion, especially among the educated city intelligentsia and employees.

However, preferences among all Western alcoholic beverages Koreans are given to strong drinks, such as brandy, whiskey, brandy or vodka. Korea – – the sixth value exporter of the original, real Scottish whiskey, the very temple, the export of which is the fifth in value by the source of foreign currency income of such a considerable and non-poor country as the UK. Over the past decade, imports of whiskey increased by about 30% per year! Last year, Korea imported 12 million "Conditional bottles" different varieties of Scottish whiskey. Since B "Conditional bottle" 750 grams, it is approximately 9 million liters. However, about a third of this amount was imported in Bottles in Korea, the rest was delivered in barrels and bottled already in place.

It is curious that in the Korean imports of whiskey a very large place occupy expensive varieties, the higher the quality, the more noticeable the proportion of Korea among those countries that are imported by a scotch whiskey. Take, for example, expensive whiskey "Shivas regal" Twelve-year exposure – according to statistics Korea enters the top five largest exporters of this drink. If we talk about one of the most expensive varieties of whiskey — "Valentine" (30 years of exposure), then Korea here is in second place in the world. In Korea, approximately a quarter of everything produced by the famous Scottish beverage firm! Of course, to afford the real import whiskey or brandy can minority, but in stores there are cheap whiskey and brandy Korean production.

If Koreans want to try something weaken, then they will most likely prefer beer. However, Korean beer is a special topic to which we somehow come back to.