On the afternoon of the 7th, in front of the booth of “Beompyo Brewery” at the “2025 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards EXPO” held at Hangnyeoul station’s SETEC, more than 30 visitors were lined up, waiting for their turn to taste. Singer Ahn Seong-hoon, the winner of “Mr. Trot 2,” visited the booth and personally poured “Beompyo Makgeolli” for the spectators.
Staff from the YouTube channel “Rental Ahn Seong-hoon” and the visitors inquired about purchases, but a representative from Beompyo Brewery noted, “Only tasting samples remain for now.” About 80 bottles of “Beompyo Makgeolli” that Beompyo Brewery had prepared for sale sold out within three hours of the event starting.
On that day, singers Lee Gi-chan, comedian Yeon Ye-lim, and racing model Yu Da-yeon attended and visited the booths. Yeon Ye-lim and Yu Da-yeon sampled “Ieoju Basic 12″ at the “Bomnaeyangjo” booth, saying, “It’s sweet but clean.”
The 2025 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards EXPO marks the 12th iteration of the country’s leading liquor evaluation event. Hosted annually by ChosunBiz, the event aims to “discover and promote good domestic liquor, supporting the formation of a healthy liquor culture.” This year’s event featured 236 companies showcasing 1,008 brands. Among them, 25 brands were awarded the top honor in their respective institutional sectors, the Best of Best 2025. Additionally, 431 brands received awards across all categories.
“Beompyo Makgeolli” was awarded the Best of Best in the domestic liquor Korean rice wine category, while “Ieoju Basic 12″ won the grand in the same category. On that day, Songdohyang Brewery’s “Oh My Gat Sparkling Spring Flower” was selected as the Best of Best in the Korean unrefined rice wine category. For the awards presentation, Chief Kang Hak-mo and chef Joseph Lidgerwood, the representative of the Michelin 2-star restaurant “Evett,” which featured in the “Culinary Class Wars,” were present. Chef Lidgerwood noted that the “Gat” in “Oh My Gat” refers not to God but to the traditional hat worn by the Joseon Dynasty’s noble class, and he even wore one.
He said, “I feel really proud and honored that the liquor produced in collaboration with Songdohyang Brewery won the top award at the Korea Wine & Spirits Awards.” He added, “Korean traditional liquor goes down easier than wine and is great for casual drinking. While fine dining often pairs only with wine, I’ve been interested in pairing traditional liquor at Evett for quite some time.”
Nerd Brewery, which set up a booth at the expo, did not win an award that day. However, considering its reputation for “Basil Makgeolli” among the MZ generation, the booth was bustling with visitors. One visitor at the booth said, “I run a restaurant where I sell Basil Makgeolli, and it’s the second-best-selling liquor we have.” Kim Jin-woo (30) and Joo Ye-jin (30), who met at the booth, said, “We have always known and loved Basil Makgeolli, so we came straight to the Nerd Brewery booth as soon as we arrived at the expo.”
Lee Seong-ho, representative of Nerd Brewery, noted, “It seems like a good opportunity to promote our brand since many celebrities and influencers attended this expo.” He added, “We plan to launch a new soju brand in the second half of the year and are considering global expansion, including in the United States. I hope the expo grows further and becomes a platform for industry professionals to share insights on global expansion.”
Visitors Yoo Joo-yeon (30) and Huh Ja-won (31), met at the expo, said, “We usually have a lot of interest in liquor expos, so we took a day off to attend.” They noted, “We love traditional liquor, and there are many unique liquors that are hard to find, so we bought several bottles.”
The event is being held at Hangnyeoul station’s SETEC venue until the 9th. Over 200 booths participated across three exhibition halls. More than 10,000 participants, including general attendees and industry representatives, applied to attend.