“Our goal is to make soju an internationally respected spirits category by staying true to Korean tradition while incorporating global distilling standards.
We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with other spirits around the globe.”
-Tokki Founders, Doug & Bran
BRANDON HILL MASTER DISTILLER & FOUNDER
After living in Korea in 2011, master distiller Brandon Hill moved to New York where he was distilling whiskey and rum in Brooklyn. At that time, New York was becoming a hot spot for high-end Korean restaurants, many of which were earning Michelin stars for their efforts. Unfortunately, only green-bottle soju was really available at the time in the US and was unable to be paired with the modern high-end Korean cuisine. These restaurants relied on wine menus to pair with their Korean food instead. When a Korean restaurant in Brooklyn asked Bran to create a traditional quality soju for their restaurant, the market presented itself and Tokki Soju was created.
TOKKI SOJU BRAND NAME & DESIGN
The name of the brand was created because Hill was living in Korea in 2011 where he learned how to make soju. 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. Tokki means rabbit in Korean. The design was created by Hill who previously worked as a graphic artist.
SONBI BRAND NAME & DESIGN
Sonbi is Tokki Soju’s Western spirits line. The label has a drawing of a sonbi, virtuous scholars in the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity.
The label is meant to mimic Korean currency, as we believe knowledge and integrity is true wealth. The artwork was designed in collaboration with Korean print artist Jisun Shin. The background drawings are different for each type of alcohol produced.
Sonbi Gin
Sonbi Gin has a drawing of a turtle ship because gin typically has an affiliation with the Navy in the Western world. We wanted to draw parallels to by using a Korean turtle ship. Additionally, turtle ships are known to be an exemplary piece of Korean engineering. Sonbi Gin is strategically developed as a defense to our lineup like the turtle ship defended Korea.
