CJ Foods’ K-Spirits Brand jari to Participate in the 2026 Seoul Bar & Spirits Show
- The jari booth, designed to reflect the brand’s identity, offers tastings of jari Moonbaesool 24 and jari Gamuchi 24
- A variety of cocktails featuring jari products will also be served at The Infinity Bar, a special exhibition zone
CJ Foods has introduced its premium distilled spirits brand jari in Korea, marking its first step toward global expansion. Rather than positioning jari as simply a product brand, CJ plans to grow it into a K-Spirits platform that shares the cultural value and identity of traditional Korean liquor with the world.
At the recent jari launch event held at the Korea Furniture Museum in Seoul, attendees included Lee Sun-ho, Head of Future Planning at CJ Group, along with CJ Foods officials and representatives from Korea’s food, beverage, and cultural industries. The event featured a brand presentation, a product unveiling, and a K-Food pairing dinner program.
The two products unveiled at the event were jari Moonbaesool 24 and jari Gamuchi 24. Developed in collaboration with Moonbaesool Brewery and Danong Bio, both spirits were aged at a dedicated maturation facility built in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do, in January of last year, before being finished as premium offerings.
jari Moonbaesool 24 balances a sweet, elegant pear aroma with a smooth mouthfeel and a long, lingering finish. It is made by aging Moonbaesool—a nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage spirit crafted using a traditional method passed down through five generations—in onggi earthenware vessels across all four seasons.
jari Gamuchi 24 offers a clean finish with subtle sweetness from rice and notes of tropical fruit. It is made by aging Gamuchi Soju, a Korean spirit that reinterprets traditional rice soju through modern distillation, in onggi vessels.
Both products have an alcohol content of 24%, making them approachable even for global consumers trying traditional Korean liquor for the first time.
The event also featured cocktails crafted with jari, alongside a Korean course menu created through a collaboration between Hong Doo-ui, mixologist and bartender at Pine&Co—jari’s brand ambassador—and Chef Kim Hee-eun of the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Soul. Together, they delivered a distinctive fine dining experience that highlighted the harmony between premium distilled spirits and K-Food, earning praise from attendees.
CJ Foods plans to first roll out jari through premium restaurants and fine dining venues in Korea, gradually expanding the touchpoints where domestic consumers can experience the brand. This fall, the company will also launch jari in the U.S. market—including New York, a global hub for liquor trends—to actively showcase the excellence and appeal of K-Spirits.
The brand name jari draws from the Korean word for a place where people gather to share drinks and food. It captures the idea of connecting people, food, and culture through spirits, reflecting the brand’s ambition to bring the unique value and spirit of K-Spirits to the global culinary scene.
“jari was developed in collaboration with small and medium-sized Korean distilleries to convey not just the taste and aroma of traditional Korean spirits, but the culture and sentiment behind them,” said a CJ Foods official. “Going forward, we’ll continue to broaden our connection with global consumers through synergy with K-Food, and showcase new possibilities for Korean food culture.”
