Yash Lakhan
May 03, 2025
Korean-style fried chicken presents a controlled contrast of textures and seasoning – reliant on double frying, starch-based coatings and saucy finishes that range from soy-based glazes to fermented options. Whether in modern bars throughout Seoul or casual gatherings at home, whisky cocktails now serve less as exotic imports and more as extensions or companions for this popular delicacy.
While the chicken relies on spices such as a gochujang-glaze or yangnyeom blends — a whisky cocktail like the maple old fashioned, with muted sweetness can temper heat without dulling the flavour curve.
Tall and fizzy whisky highballs with mixers like soda or sparkling teas mellow the richness of double-fried chicken, evening out the fat and providing reset between bites.
Classic fried or soy-garlic fried chicken is improved by the peaty depth of a smoky whisky cocktail, which prolongs savouriness and enables umami to linger.
Whisky sours with a zesty profile or citrus-flavoured highballs function as natural palate neutralisers between bites of sweet or sticky glazed wings, bringing lighter herbal or ginger undertones into the mix.
Rich-textures of Korean fried chicken requires cocktails with depth – so blends like a New York sour replicate layers and provide contrast.
A cocktail which is ginger infused has a complementary profile to the fried chicken, especially if the glaze is fermented or spicy, bringing coherence without disrupting the original flavours. *Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.