Chamoe-Makgeolli Old Fashioned

Name: Chamoe-Makgeolli Old Fashioned
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 2 oz bourbon; 2 oz makgeolli (unfiltered Korean rice wine), well shaken before measuring; 1 oz chamoe (Korean melon) purée or juice; 1/4 oz simple syrup; 2 dashes Angostura bitters; Large ice cube, for serving; Thin slice of chamoe or orange peel, for garnish

Serve when

Pour the moment the tteokbokki semifreddo hits the table, so the melon and rice-wine notes land alongside the first bite.

In the series

Season 1

S1E12 · ~00:56:00 White Spoon Edward Lee serves this makgeolli-and-melon cocktail alongside his tteokbokki semifreddo as part of his final-round dessert course

In the series

Pairing an American whiskey classic with Korean rice wine and melon mirrors exactly what Edward Lee's dessert course is doing on the plate — treating Korean and American ingredients as equally native to the same glass, rather than one flavoring the other.

Ingredients

2 oz bourbon
2 oz makgeolli (unfiltered Korean rice wine), well shaken before measuring
1 oz chamoe (Korean melon) purée or juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Large ice cube, for serving
Thin slice of chamoe or orange peel, for garnish

Method

Combine the bourbon, makgeolli, chamoe purée, simple syrup, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice.
Stir gently — makgeolli is lightly carbonated and clouds easily, so stir rather than shake — until well chilled.
Strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
Garnish with a thin slice of chamoe or a twist of orange peel.

Substitutions

Chamoe: Korean melon isn't always easy to find outside Korean grocers; a ripe honeydew or cantaloupe purée is a close, sweet-melon substitute.
Makgeolli: look for it at a Korean grocer or well-stocked liquor store; give the bottle a good shake before pouring, since the rice sediment settles and carries most of the flavor.