The whisky idol Kim Changsoo of CS-Distillery from Korea will soon be celebrating the arrival of his brand-new SCHULZ Pot Still. But before it’s packed up and shipped to the 39-year-old’s homeland, he made the long journey to Germany together with KASPAR SCHULZ representative Jason Lee and his technical director Lee Hyunjae to admire the production site in Bamberg – and, of course, his already completed showpiece.

Also joining them was Bernhard Schäfer, the renowned editor-in-chief of Germany’s leading whisky magazine Der Whiskybotschafter, who took the opportunity to marvel at the impressive SCHULZ Pot Still and connect with the Korean whisky producer.

Changsoo, already dubbed the “__Taketsuru of Korea__” (Taketsuru = father of Japanese whisky), has a clear vision: to one day produce enough whisky to export his creations abroad. By upgrading and professionalizing his micro-distillery into a full-fledged SCHULZ Pot Still, he is paving the way for his success. His goal is for every Korean to know and appreciate his fine, high-quality whisky.

Kim is far more than just a whisky lover – he describes himself as someone who could never fully grasp the complexity of whisky through tasting alone. This desire for deeper understanding led him to start making whisky himself, ultimately resulting in the founding of his own distillery. Before taking that leap, however, he traveled to Scotland in hopes of landing an apprenticeship at a distillery. He visited all 102 Scottish distilleries by bicycle, but none would give him a chance – citing language barriers, visa issues, or simply being too industrialized or owned by large corporations.

It wasn’t until he met an employee from Japan’s Chichibu Distillery that he was encouraged to pursue his own project in Korea. Inspired, Kim founded his micro-distillery in 2020, and has been producing his own whisky since 2021.

Kim’s first bottling caused such a frenzy among whisky fans that on the day of its release, enthusiasts queued for__ 16 hours__ to get their hands on one of the coveted bottles. All 336 bottles sold out within just 10 days.

He has since opened his own bar alongside the distillery, where he serves his whisky and receives direct feedback from customers.

Together with SCHULZ Head of Technology Christian Grasser, Kim Changsoo, Lee Hyunjae, and Jason Lee also visited long-time SCHULZ customer Uile-bheist Distillery in Inverness, Scotland – gathering even more valuable insights and inspiration for their Korean venture.