Ki One Red Pepper Cask x Chef Edward Lee Korean Single Malt Whisky 700ml

There are only 200 bottles of this whisky in the United States. There are only 1,500 in the world. And there is no other whisky like it anywhere on earth.

Chef Edward Lee has spent his career at the intersection of two culinary traditions that were not supposed to meet — Korean and Southern American, kimchi and bourbon, gochujang and fried chicken. Born in Brooklyn to Korean parents, trained in kitchens across America, settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where he became one of the most celebrated chefs in the South and the author of "Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whisky." When Ki One approached Lee about a collaboration, he understood immediately what the opportunity was — not to make a novelty product, not to simply add heat to a whisky, but to build something that solved a real pairing problem. "When you pair spicy foods with traditional whisky, the spice can overpower the whisky, making it hard to truly enjoy," Lee said at the Seoul press conference where this whisky was unveiled in December 2025. "However, with a spicy whisky, you can appreciate both the drink and Korean dishes, many of which are spicy."

Andrew Shand went to the Jayang Traditional Market in the Gwangjin district of Seoul and bought the red peppers himself. Not gochujang from a jar, not dried chili extract, not flavoring — actual hong-gochu, the fresh Korean red peppers that are the foundation of Korea's most essential culinary flavors, chopped and combined with hot water, then packed into seven first-fill ex-bourbon virgin oak casks. The casks rested for two weeks, the hot water and pepper slowly seasoning the wood from the inside. Then they were emptied, and Ki One's Signature single malt — already three years old from its primary maturation — was poured in and stored for six weeks, during which it absorbed everything the pepper-seasoned wood had absorbed and everything it still retained of its own bourbon history.

The result: an explosion of chilli spice on the palate, carried on a foundation of honeyed malt, toasted grain, stone fruit, and vanilla. A whisky that is simultaneously fruit-forward and specifically and unmistakably Korean. The Spirits Business called the palate "an explosive bang of chilli spice." The distillery calls it "akin to the pairing of sweet ripe mango with chili powder." Ki One calls it the world's first red pepper cask whisky. No one has disputed the claim.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Ki One Distillery — South Korea's first craft single malt whisky producer, founded in 2020 in Namyangju by Korean-American Bryan Do and Scottish Master Distiller Andrew Shand — has built its international reputation on a series of increasingly ambitious and increasingly specific releases. After winning the Worldwide Whisky Trophy at the 2025 IWSC, Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Gold at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for the Tiger Edition, Ki One chose its most provocative and most specifically Korean direction yet: a collaboration with Chef Edward Lee and a production technique that had never been attempted in the history of whisky.

The production process is methodical and specific. Seven first-fill ex-bourbon virgin oak casks were sourced for the project. Andrew Shand personally traveled to the Jayang Traditional Market in Seoul's Gwangjin district to source the hong-gochu red peppers — a deliberate choice to use authentic, market-fresh Korean peppers rather than commercial extract or seasoning. The chopped peppers were combined with hot water and used to fill the empty casks, which were then left to rest for two weeks while the pepper compounds infused the wood from the inside. The casks were emptied, and Ki One's Signature single malt — already matured for three years in its primary casks — was introduced to the seven seasoned casks for a six-week secondary finishing period, during which the spirit absorbed both the residual bourbon character of the original cooperage and the specific pepper compounds that two weeks of hot-water seasoning had embedded in the wood.

The whisky is then bottled at cask strength — 57.5% ABV — without dilution, without chill filtration, and without added coloring. The entire run is 1,500 bottles. Two hundred of those bottles were set aside for export to the United States. Every bottle outside that initial allocation is unavailable. Chef Edward Lee developed specific pairing dishes for the release: tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in spicy sauce), abalone, and oysters — the intersection of Korean culinary tradition and the seafood pairings that the whisky's maritime freshness and explosive spice most naturally support.

Critics Reviews

The Spirits Business (December 2025, confirmed):
"Bottled at 57.5% ABV, the whisky displays aromas of red chilli, vanilla, and ripe fruits on the nose, followed on the palate by 'an explosive bang' of chilli spice. According to the distillery, the 'world's first' red pepper cask-aged whisky can be enjoyed with rich, savoury Korean dishes to elevate the flavours, as well as used as a base for innovative cocktails."

Ki One Distillery official tasting notes:
"The result is a smoothly fruit-forward single malt whisky that finishes with the intense kick of red peppers. Akin to the pairing of sweet ripe mango with chili powder, this cask strength collaborative whisky packs a punch and exists as an experience all its own."

Hi Proof (confirmed extended tasting notes):
"Palate: Smooth and medium-bodied, with notes of honeyed malt, toasted grain, and stone fruit giving way to a gentle building warmth from the red pepper cask. Hints of white chocolate, dried cherry, and subtle savory earthiness create a layered and genuinely singular tasting experience. Finish: Warm, lingering, and distinctly Korean in character, with a pleasant dry spice and faint sweetness that fade slowly and cleanly."

Chef Edward Lee (press conference, Seoul, December 2025):
"Whisky is very limited as to what ingredients you can use. Whether it's bourbon or single malt, you cannot just put any ingredient in there. Korean foods are so popular now in America, and to be able to enjoy them with this whisky makes perfect sense. When you pair spicy foods with traditional whisky, the spice can overpower the whisky, making it hard to truly enjoy. However, with a spicy whisky, you can appreciate both the drink and Korean dishes, many of which are spicy."

Ki One sibling expression awards context:
Worldwide Whisky Trophy 2025 IWSC (Unicorn Edition) · Double Gold 2024 SFWSC (Batch 3) · Gold 2025 SFWSC (Tiger Edition) · 50+ international awards across the portfolio

Tasting Profile

Nose
Red chilli, vanilla, and ripe fruits lead the nose in an immediately distinctive and immediately surprising aromatic combination — the pepper-seasoned wood's most directly apparent contribution alongside the first-fill ex-bourbon cask's classic vanilla character, all carried on the ki One base spirit's naturally fruit-forward foundation. The chilli is present on the nose but not aggressive — it adds a warmth and an aromatic specificity that is genuinely unusual rather than simply hot. Honeyed malt adds the most characteristically and the most specifically Korean single malt secondary note. Ripe fruits — mango, stone fruit, peach — add the most inviting and the most immediately accessible aromatic warmth before the pepper's deeper character emerges with airing.

Palate
Smooth and medium-bodied at entry — the most specifically surprising quality for a 57.5% cask-strength whisky finished in red pepper casks, the gentleness of the first sip belying what builds behind it. Honeyed malt and toasted grain carry the primary palate character, followed by stone fruit and the building warmth that the red pepper cask delivers progressively rather than all at once. Then the explosive bang of chilli spice arrives — the specific, dry, building heat of hong-gochu rather than the sharp, liquid heat of fresh pepper or the artificial burn of added capsaicin. White chocolate and dried cherry add complexity. Subtle savory earthiness — the most specifically Korean and the most memorably unusual palate quality — creates a layered and genuinely singular tasting experience that no other whisky in any category currently offers.

Finish
Long, warm, and distinctly Korean — the pleasant dry spice of the red pepper fading slowly and cleanly alongside a faint sweetness that keeps the finish from being simply hot. The mango-meets-chili-powder balance that the distillery describes is most directly apparent in the finish: the fruit's sweetness and the pepper's dry heat resolving together into something coherent and genuinely compelling rather than chaotic. A finish that invites the next sip while the warmth of the last one is still building.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Tteokbokki — Chef Edward Lee's signature pairing, chewy rice cakes in spicy sauce
• Abalone — Chef Lee's own recommended pairing
• Oysters — raw or grilled, the maritime freshness meeting the pepper's heat
• Korean BBQ — galbi and samgyeopsal, the charred meat finding natural alignment
• Spicy kimchi jjigae
• Dark chocolate with chili — the whisky's own fruit-and-spice balance mirrored