Makgeolli (), sometimes anglicized to makkoli (, ), is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance. As a low proof drink of six to nine percent alcohol by volume, it is often considered a "communal beverage" rather than hard liquor.
In Korea, makgeolli is often unpasteurized, and the wine continues to mature in the bottle. Because of the short shelf life of unpasteurized "draft" makgeolli, many exported makgeolli undergo pasteurization, which deprives the beverage of complex enzymes and flavor compounds.
Names
The name makgeolli () is a compound, consisting of mak (; in this context "just now") and a deverbal noun derived from the verb stem georeu- (; "to strain, to sift, to filter") to which is added a noun-forming suffix -i ().
Because of its cloudy appearance, makgeolli is also called takju (), meaning "opaque wine", as opposed to the refined, transparent cheongju ().
English nickname
In 2010, the South Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced "drunken rice" as the winning entry in a competition to find an English nickname for makgeolli. Koju, Kori, Soolsool, McKorea, Rainydaywine, Makcohol and Makelixir were other contenders. The five-member panel reasoned that the chosen name would communicate the product's identity as a rice liquor and evoke associations with its ambassadors, the popular Korean hip-hop group Drunken Tiger. This met with a cool reception from the Korean public, with objections relating to translation of the noun makgeolli, felt to be unnecessary, and to the negative connotations of the word "drunken". In 2011, several Japanese sake companies, including Gekkeikan and Tatenokawa, launched cloudy rice wines under the name makkori, and announced plans to export the products to Asia, America, and Europe. Concerns were raised in Korea that this could lead to makgeolli being mistakenly regarded as traditionally Japanese rather than Korean, as had happened in the 1996 kimchi-kimuchi case.
There are a number of other early records mentioning rice wine in the Korean Peninsula. The Goryeo Korean book Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) mentions the brewing of yorye (, "cloudy rice wine") in the kingdom of Silla for King Suro of Gaya by his seventeenth-generation descendant in 661, in its section entitled Garakguk gi (Record of the State of Garak). In the Jin Chinese book Sānguózhì (Records of the Three Kingdoms), the section Dongyi (Eastern Foreigners) of the Wei Shu (Book of Wei) contains the observation that "the Goguryeo Koreans are skilled in making fermented foods such as wine, soybean paste, and salted and fermented fish". The Asuka Japanese book Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) makes reference in the section entitled Ōjin-tennō (Emperor Ōjin) to a man named Inbeon () from the kingdom of Baekje being taught how to brew wine. And the poem Gōngzishí (), by the Tang Chinese poet Li Shangyin, refers to Silla wine () made with non-glutinous rice.
During the Goryeo dynasty, makgeolli was called ihwa-ju (, pear blossom alcohol), as the liquor was made when the pear trees were in blossom. This was associated in many communities in Korea around that time with a tradition of all-night drinking and dancing in special ceremonies. Makgeolli was brewed at home for centuries The Park Chung Hee dictatorship also banned its making (1965) because of rice shortages. In 1990, the South Korean ban on brewing with rice was finally lifted, with home brewing again becoming legal only at the beginning of the 21st century. As makgeolli was considered cheap and old-fashioned, sellers then focused on selling quantity rather than quality,
Brewing
thumb|Brewing makgeolli
Makgeolli is made from rice using nuruk, a Korean fermentation starter. Different kinds of nuruk, made with different ingredients such as rice, wheat, barley, or mung beans, produce makgeolli of a variety of flavors. Seed mash is the process of obtaining actively growing yeasts and enzymes in the mixture of yeast and nuruk. Traditionally, makgeolli is created unpasteurized.
Commercial production
Many mass-produced makgeolli are brewed with non-traditional manufactured fermentation starter instead of the traditional nuruk, and are diluted with water and contain additives such as aspartame. This gives the liquor sweetness without adding a fermentable carbohydrate, and thus increases shelf life.
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Consumption
Makgeolli is usually served chilled, in a bottle or in a pottery bowl with a ladle.
Makgeolli may also be mixed with ice and fruits such as mango and pineapple to make fruit cocktails, or with saida (lemon-lime drink) to make a simple cocktail named maksa.