Chusungju is a type of liquor that Buddhist monks at the thousand-year-old ancient temple of Yeondong on the foot of Chuwol mountain used to brew in order to stay healthy. At large-scale Buddhist temples like Haeinsa, Tongdosa and Woljeongsa, they had law liquor. On the one hand, the Buddhist temples banned drinking liquor but on the other hand, liquor was a means to practice asceticism. More than 400 years ago, when Yang Jae-soon, an ancestor of the Yang family from Namwon during the Joseon Dynasty, was a big donor to the Buddhist temple called Yeondongsa, he learned the way to brew Chusungju from the chief monk. His brewing secrets have been handed down to Master Yang Daesoo, the 30th descendant of the Yang family from Namwon, who has recovered and reinvented the method. Chusungju is essentially whiskey made of rice. It is fermented along with rice and 11 types of herbs from fields and mountains, such as eucommia bark, Chinese matrimony vine, arrowroot and others. During the first and second fermentation, Korean medicinal herbs are infused and then strained to clear light brown liquid. Once the liquid’s alcoholicity matches 40 to 45 alcohol by volume, finally Chusungju is born. Chusungju is brewed from rice and underground water from the clean and unpolluted region, as well as straight and clean soul.
Traditional premium liquor from the Goryeo Dynasty restored by National Grand Master Cook No. 22 Yang Daesu. Twice-distilled, the liquor has a soft yet deep flavor.