A Korean-American craft distillery with scientific roots is coming soon to the border of Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain.
After nearly two years of searching for the perfect space, husbands Josh Moss and Will Blessing are preparing to open their new distillery, NAMU Distilling Co., in a 5,000-square-foot building at 89 Heath St. The name “NAMU”—Korean for tree—nods to the couple’s shared love of nature and growth, both in a literal and creative sense.
Josh, a chemical engineer who studied distilling in undergrad, earned his PhD in atmospheric chemistry from MIT, while Will holds a PhD in biochemistry from BU. The pair met while in grad school, originally charting a path toward academia. But the pandemic prompted a professional pivot.
“We’d always brewed a lot of beer together, but breweries are not doing generally so hot these days, so we wanted to diversify our interests a little bit and explore something else,” Josh explained in an interview with What Now Boston. “And so distilling kind of came about as a natural course.”
As a Korean American, Will felt especially eager to spotlight traditional Korean spirits. At the heart of NAMU’s offerings is soju, a clear rice-based liquor often compared to vodka. “It’s a very unique fermentation process that creates a unique flavor that really hardly anybody in the U.S. has had a chance to experience,” said Josh.
NAMU will offer a rotating cocktail menu, featuring crafty concoctions like the Hotteok (soju fat-washed with fried hotteok dough, walnut orgeat, and cinnamon cordia to replicate the warm, nutty flavors of the classic Korean street snack) and the Appa-rol, a Korean twist on the Aperol spritz made with soju, rhubarb, citrus peels, and secret botanicals. A handful of staples will stay on the menu, along with seasonal and limited-time libations to “keep things exciting.”
A small but thoughtful food menu will combine Korean flavors with New England ingredients, offering shareable options like kimbap, jeon (crispy, savory pancake fritters), and house-fermented kimchi. “Really, what we’re trying to achieve is not just promoting Korean culture and Korean food, but trying to connect it in everything we do across our products and to New England as well, really focusing on local ingredients as much as we can.”
The space itself will be split between a roughly 2,000-square-foot production facility and a 100-seat cocktail bar and lounge. While the production area will be off-limits to the general public, guests can book occasional tours.
The design draws inspiration from a hanok, or traditional Korean house known for its natural materials like wood, clay, and stone. Expect an industrial-chic interior softened by lots of lush greenery—many of the plants, like perilla leaf and genji, will double as fresh cocktail ingredients.
“We want to make the interior feel almost like you could be walking through a Korean night market or street,” said Josh. “Lots of lanterns placed at various heights throughout the space, creating a little bit of a magical ambiance.”
NAMU Distilling Co. is currently navigating permits, with a tentative opening planned for November or December 2025. To follow along as the space takes shape, find them on Instagram @namu_distilling.
