Sujeonggwa

Spiced cinnamon and ginger punch sweetened with sugar and garnished with dried persimmon and pine nuts.

Sujeonggwa is a deeply aromatic Korean traditional beverage that straddles the line between a drink and a dessert, traditionally served as the final course of a royal banquet or festive meal to aid digestion and cleanse the palate. The base is a long-simmered infusion of cinnamon sticks and ginger, strained and sweetened with sugar or honey, then chilled until the flavours meld into a warm-spiced, slightly sweet liquid with a lingering heat from the ginger. Plump dried persimmons (gotgam) are soaked directly in the punch for hours until they soften and absorb the spiced liquid, and a few pine nuts float on the surface as a garnish. The drink is particularly associated with Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok tables, where it bookends the festive meal alongside sikhye. Modern Koreans also enjoy canned or bottled sujeonggwa widely available in supermarkets, and craft beverage bars have begun using it as a cocktail mixer, pairing its cinnamon depth with soju or whisky.