Cheongju (drink)

Korean refined rice wine

Cheongju (hangul=청주; literally "clear wine"), sometimes romanized as Chungju, is a clear, refined rice wine of Korean origin.

The word cheongju (hangul=청주) consists of two characters: cheong (hangul=청) meaning "clear" and ju (hangul=주) meaning "alcoholic drink". It contrasts with takju (hangul=탁주), as "tak" (hangul=탁) means "turbid". The word takju usually refers to makgeolli (milky, unrefined rice wine). The hanja characters 淸酒 are the same as the kanji pronounced seishu used on the labels of sake. The native Korean word for "clear wine", malgeun sul (hangul=맑은술), is also used to refer to cheongju. Another name for cheongju is yakju (hangul=약주), which literally translates into "medicinal wine".

According to Things on Korea—a 12th century book on Korea written by Song Chinese scholar Sun Mu (孫穆)—the Goryeo people used non glutinous rice to brew rice wine. Another 12th century Chinese book, Illustrated Account of Goryeo, reports that Korean rice wine that is made with nuruk is deeper in color and has a higher alcohol content; it says that when drinking this wine one gets drunk quickly and sobers up quickly. This book says that clear, refined rice wine was made in the royal court, while milky, unrefined rice wine was more popular among commoners.

Cheongju is usually brewed in winter, between the months of November and March. Steamed rice mixed with nuruk (fermentation starter) and water is left to ferment for 16 to 25 days, at a temperature not higher than The clear wine inside the yongsu is ladled out to make cheongju.

Cheongju has been widely used in a variety of traditional rituals and rites, as it is regarded as a well prepared alcohol. There also are cheongju varieties made with glutinous rice or black rice. Flavoured cheongju varieties include gukhwa ju made with chrysanthemum, dugyeon ju made with rhododendron, songsun ju made with pine sprouts, yeonyeop ju made with lotus leaves, and insam ju made with ginseng.

Cheongju is similar to other East Asian rice wine counterparts such as the Chinese mijiu and Japanese sake. A dry white vermouth can also serve as a substitute for cheongju in cooking.