At Minhwa Spirits, every bottle tells a story — a story of heritage, innovation and a deep-rooted love for Korean culture. Founded by childhood friends James Kim and Ming Han Chung, this grain-to-glass distillery in Georgia not only preserves traditional Korean brewing methods but also adapts them to American tastes.

Kim is a second-generation Korean American and Chung is a 1.5-generation Taiwanese American. Both grew up in 바카라게임 Atlanta, witnessing the growth of the local Asian — especially Korean — population and culture in the area.

Their venture into the spirits industry was inspired by Kim’s family ties to traditional brewing as Kim’s uncle used to make makgeolli, a Korean rice wine, in a makeshift brewery at the family home on an island off the coast of Korea.

“I remember going to the childhood home that my dad was born in when I was younger. On the side of the house, they built a little shed, where my keunappa (uncle) used to make makgeolli,” Kim said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The more you look into and learn about Korean alcohols and ‘sool’ (spirit), it almost felt like it was a calling to us to go back to a more traditional route of making soju.”