Instead of international whiskies, Korean liquors distilled by national masters fill the shelves. Each drink is meant to evoke a different Korean province. For the Hamyang, a Solsongju drink, Lim toasts a pine cone next to the glass to conjure the smell of pine that the area is known for. Songpyeon, a cocktail co-created by his team, is meant to capture the taste of the traditional Korean rice cake enjoyed during Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving. The drink blends rice cake paste flavors in a transparent milk-washed martini with subtle hints of sesame oil that spike a craving for something savory.

Lim says his menu has undergone five evolutionary phases. He likens the concept to an album, with each iteration building on the previous until it culminates in a unique narrative. The menu is inspired by conversations with locals and artisans and by the bar’s neighborhood, which was the stomping grounds of prominent Korean artists and intellectuals, such as the 19th century calligrapher Chusa Kim Jeong-hui and poet Yi Sang, who wrote in the 1930s. “My first goal for this place was to make the locals proud,” Lim says. He may have been too successful on this front, though. He reports that on many nights, the bar is too full for them to get in.

Lim recently opened another bar, Pomme, around the corner, focusing on fruit-forward drinks with farm-to-table sourcing. He brings in the finest apples from Chungju, Korean melon from Goseong, and kiwi from Gyeongbuk. “Korea is only the beginning,” Lim says. “I want to explore other countries to keep experimenting with all kinds of liquids and excavate their potential in style and quality.”