Mixology has come to represent the intricate and artisanal labour of bartenders-turned-mixologists who have dedicated themselves to the creation of new drinks.

In a classic watering hole called Coffee Bar K, mixologist Lim Jae-jin incorporates the flavours of Korean bokbunja into a signature drink. He tosses the dark, lush berries—fresh off his family farm in North Jeolla Province’s Gochang County—into a tall glass with brown sugar and mint. Lim crushes the ingredients with a pestle, mingling the sweet juices of bokbunja with the fragrance of the mint. Elegant and controlled, he tops his ‘Bokbunja Mojito’ off with mojito syrup, blackberry syrup, lemon juice and his own homemade bokbunja rum infusion.

One sip unearths the round ripeness of the berry, balanced by tart lemon, refreshing mint notes and a wash of rum laced with the scent of Lim’s bokbunja.

Inventive? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely.

The 27-year old bartender and his innovative drink represent a growing set of Korean mixologists who are tinkering with infusions, syrups and indigenous ingredients in the quest for a better drink.

For some, better means healthier, for others it means creating a beverage that transcends all pre-existing beverages, and for yet another set, it means riffing off the classics.

Though by no means on par with the wild and wacky experimentations of molecular mixologists like Tony Conigliaro or Eben Klemm, the concoctions of Korean bar chefs are taking Seoul’s sipping culture to new heights.

“These days people’s tastes have grown fickle,” said mixologist Kim Bong-ha. “They want it fresher, tastier and aesthetically pleasing. As a result, mixology is on the rise.”

Mixology, a term that once referred to the art of mixing drinks, has come to represent the intricate and artisanal labour of bartenders-turned-mixologists who have dedicated themselves to the creation of new drinks.

This new breed of bartender makes syrups, liquors and infusions (the process of steeping herbs, fruits, etc in vodka and other liquors to extract each element’s flavours) from scratch and draws from a diverse array of ingredients to concoct their own unique beverages.

“The difference between a bartender and a mixologist, in my opinion, lies in the issue of creativity,” said Korea All Bartenders Association PR Director Jeon Jae-gu. “If a bartender focuses on making existing cocktails good, then a mixologist takes it a step further and invents new cocktails, or researches existing cocktails to find ways to improve them.”

Mixologist Kim Bong-ha, director at the newly-minted bar Lound, ventured into the world of mixology five to six years ago. Finding inspiration from Frances Case’s 1,001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die and a text on Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, this maverick bartender draws from a limitless stock of ingredients to create his fantastical potions.

He invents a drink on the spot, combining black garlic extract, vodka, grapefruit juice and serves it in a martini glass with a skewer of garlic cloves.

His elixir hovers somewhere between prune juice and licorice, not bad for a spur-of-the-moment cocktail.

Don’t like it? The 29-year-old mixologist whips out another drink, a blend of mango puree, spicy curry powder, lime juice, mandarin vodka and syrup. The turmeric interplays with the mango. An alcoholic lassi with a kick? “Indians put mango in curry and eat it like kimchi,” Kim explains.

Fellow mixologist Kwon Hyuck-min exercises more restraint with his inventions, combining fresh grapefruit juice, citrus vodka, syrup, Angostura bitters and rosemary to create a fragrant yet tempered martini.

Behind the bar at Seventy Four, he stands ramrod straight, decked out in a crisp white suit jacket. Off-duty Kwon presents an entirely different persona. A cross between a liquid chef and home brewer, Kwon creates his own syrups, infusions and makes his own liquor, Korean liquor.

“I use Korean acacia liquor often,” said the 29-year-old Seventy Four chief, who also uses Hallabong (a Jeju Island citrus fruit) and Cheon Hae Hyang for his liquors.

Kwon showcases a cinnamon syrup he made, pouring a little dab into a shot glass. Sweet, warm and spiced, his syrup could enhance a number of fruit-based drinks: a persimmon martini, an apple cinnamon martini, or perhaps, even, a pumpkin martini.

“I started making infusions and syrups because when I saw cocktails from abroad, I thought they were good, but we could not make them in Korea. We did not have the ingredients,” said Kwon, who concocted a port wine syrup as a substitute to Chambord, which according to him, only started entering Korea recently.

“There is a limit to the ingredients that are imported in Korea,” said Korea All Bartenders Association PR Director Jeon. “So there are no opportunities for bartenders to work with them.”

Without a doubt, the lack of diversity and variety in liqueurs, liquors and key cocktail making ingredients will make it difficult in the long run for Korean bartenders to hone their skills.

Yet, the lack of cocktail making materials has also served as the impetus for the rise of mixology in Korea, fueling the creativity of a small group of bar chefs, encouraging them to turn to indigenous ingredients.

Both Kwon and fellow Seventy Four mixologist Kim Min-hyoung have been toying with Korean materials, while Lound’s Kim Bong-ha plans on developing health-conscious Korean cocktails, citing Sanghwang and Youngji mushrooms as potential ingredients for his drinks.

Coffee Bar K mixologist Lim tried his hand at an Andong soju cocktail and is currently working with ginseng liquor. While both Korean-style drinks received a warm response from foreign clientele, they did not go over well with domestic customers.

“It does not suit Korean tastes, because Koreans are into sweet and fruity drinks,” explained Lim, who wants to create Korean alcohol-based cocktails for Korean palates.

KABA’s Jeon, who is starting a new association tentatively named the Korean Beverage Culture Research Institute, wants to hold a traditional Korean liquor-based cocktail competition this year.

If grassroots cocktails are stirring things up on the home-front, the creations of mixologist Kim Hyun-jin, captain at Grand InterContinental Seoul’s Blush, are garnering international recognition.

The 34-year-old mixologist placed second at the International Bartenders Association’s Asia Pacific Bartender of the Year cocktail competition in 2007.

The winning drink, his Blushed Cafe, a velvety brown creamsicle of a cocktail capped with foam and intricate latte art executed with Spanish chocolate and orange syrup, layers muddled anise, vanilla vodka and espresso.

In the pursuit of a new drink, Kim Hyun-jin will be jetting off to France, Great Britain and the Netherlands to study molecular cocktails in May. And he promises to showcase a new and exciting cocktail a month from now.

“It will surpass expectations,” he says with a sly smile, leaving behind a solitary hint: seafood.

Seafood? “Incorporating salmon into a drink, does not make it unpalatable,” said Mix Lounge manager Yoo Jun-sung.

The 27-year-old mixologist derives inspiration from Italian cuisine and sports a collection of cinnamon, ginger and chili vodka infusions.

“If you get into cooking, then it opens a whole new arena of potential cocktail making ingredients,” says Yoo.

For mixologist Mark Kim, cuisine plays an important role in the art of mixology.

“A mixologist works with all beverages,” said the 29-year-old beverage culture group Mix It Up Director. A firm believer in melding cuisine with beverages, Mark eventually wants to open a dining bar: “I want to pair drinks with courses.”

Yet, the efforts of mixologists like Mark will go unnoticed without an audience. KABA’s Jeon believes that Koreans are ready.

“There are a lot of people who want to go to bars that serve good drinks and possess a pleasant ambiance,” said Jeon. “The atmosphere is slowly ripening.”

Seventy Four chief Kwon, also believes that a cocktail renaissance is underway, and attributes it, in part, to the burgeoning spirit market.

“(Spirit brands) educated people on what a mojito is and what a martini series is,” said Kwon. “These brands became aware of the great potential of this market.” (By JEAN OH In Seoul/ The Korea Herald/ AsiaNews)