Welcome to a new series for my page, the “Introductions” series! This gives me a chance to introduce my readers to spirit categories they may be less familiar with, giving them a quick background on the spirit in question and recommending a brand to start with! As most of my readers hail from the west, many of the spirits I show will likely be from the central or eastern continents, but there may be some hidden gems in the west that make it on here too!
But to today’s topic, Soju! For those not in the know, Soju is easily one of the highest selling spirits in the world, especially within its home country of Korea. The spirit I would most compare this to is Vodka, as Soju is also a neutral spirit, though it has two key differences; it is usually made from rice, not potatoes or grains like wheat/barley, and it tends to be on the weaker side (usually >20%). Soju can go higher than 20%. Up to the strength of vodka and beyond, though nowadays this is uncommon.
Traditionally, Soju is always drunk neat, and often during a meal. Soju’s flavour is a little too gentle to be drank with a mixer I find, but there are some cocktails that still make use of the spirit, such as 소맥 (Somaek), which is a form of beer cocktail. You can certainly drink Soju casually without a meal, and for that I recommend trying some of the flavoured bottles! Common flavours include: Grape, Plum, Peach, Grapefruit and Strawberry.
The brand I own is Jinro, easily the largest producer of Soju. If you’re buying Soju in the west for the first time, Jinro is likely to be the one you find first, as for us it’s the one that is the most readily available in larger stores. This doesn’t mean you can’t find other brands, such as Chum Churum or Kumbokju. You’ll just likely need to look in more specialised asian markets for these, preferably Korean ones of course.
If you’re going to start in Soju, I recommend picking up a chamisul flavour (the equivalent of an original flavour) and a flavoured soju you particularly like the sound of, I personally love the grape ones! I hope you give Soju a try, if presented with the opportunity in future!
This post’s recommended song is: “낭만고양이” – 체리필터 (Cherry Filter)
