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It is the successful Spirit brand of the world, but you would not be alone if you have not heard Jinro – Because sales of this Korean Soju were, until very recently, almost entirely national. But with the boom in everything that is Korean – K -Pop, Kimchi, Korean care, Calmar game – Its signature green glass bottles appear in cocktail bars and supermarkets worldwide.
Soju is a white spirit that comes in a range of styles, but it is traditionally distilled from the grain (the recipe for Jinro is a mixture of rice, barley, sweet potato and tapioca; Jinro Soju Chamisul Classic, £ 8.50 for 350 ml, Souschef.co.uk). Large trade brands are distilled at very high resistance and diluted at around 12 to 25% ABV; They are also often sweet, resulting in a spirit that has the taste of an easy version of drinking vodka.
A bottle of a half-tie of Soju in Korea can cost as little as $ 1; It is generally appreciated by food and beer. Sharing a bottle with friends is a secular ritual. “If you want to make friends in Korea, you must have a Soju with them,” explains Lee Seong-Ha, a bar consultant based in Seoul. “The green bottle is part of our culture and our life. And the rituals are really important – we say “applause” every time. ”
Soju has a rich tradition of drinking games. And there are also a lot of rascals when it comes to serving it, with the best fins and bottle spinners that have great follow -ups on social networks. The owner of the New York bar and “Master Soju Swirler” Irene Yoo (@yooeating) Sharing tutorials on the creation of “splashes” of Soju and “Tornados” with more than 80,000 subscribers. “A large part of the objective with the consumption of Soju is to allow Koreans to detach themselves,” she says, “to put their concerns aside, to have fun with their friends and to loosen the rigid structures of the Korean society.”
At his bar in Brooklyn OronYoo serves Soju by the bottle with snacks, as well as cocktails, blows and Soju flights. Customers can also try the Korean response to the depth, Somaek – who sees a photo of Soju fell into a glass of beer – and house infusions, such as the Samgyetang Soju “infused with herbs and medicinal roots, which give it a wooded and earthy flavor that feels really healed and shows how dynamic is,” says Yoo. His guide Soju Party: how to drink (and eat!) Like a Korean will be published by Knopf in September.
Haera Shin, MomofukuThe director of American Korean drinks, believes that it will be the revolutionary year of Soju. “It has gained momentum (…) K-pop stars bring their ambassador with them.” The drinkers, on the other hand, “take on the bugginess of Soju”. In Manhattan, at the Noodle East Village of Momofoku, Shin mixes the Slychué Sléchué spicy with a cheap and joyful jinro soju (£ 12.40 for 70cl, Masterofmalt.com). In the Uptown branch, it serves the higher -end tokki, a soja artisanal rice born in Brooklyn and so popular that it is now made in Korea to meet demand. They include the white label ABV tokki at 23% ABV (£ 54 for 70cl, Caskcartel.com) and Tokki Black Label ($ 44.99 for 75cl, Unionsquarewines.com), an ABV of 40% with a complex flavor closer to non -knocked whiskey designed to sip the rocks.
At the Momofuku Majordōmo restaurant, meanwhile, fruit complaints like a good day of watermelon (£ 9 for 36cl, THEUMBRELLAPROJECT.CO.UK) Enter in themselves in Sunshine-Y cocktails like H-Mart melons, a highball inspired by the taste of Korean melons. Shin Soju manual, Korean cocktailsReleased next year.
The modern Soju was forged as a drink with a workers' collar – but it has an artisanal side. At the Star Korean restaurant in London in London SollipThe guests can sip Jinmaek Soju (40% ABV, £ 49.99 for 50cl, atokorea.co.uk), a organic wheat soju based on a 16th century recipe, or Lee Gang Ju (£ 33.64 for 50cl, Masterofmalt.com), a slowly spicy soju appreciated by the kings of the Joseon dynasty. Soju is also sitting alongside Raon's good wine, a new high -end Korean restaurant in Manhattan. “Particularly with daring and spicy flavors, the higher alcohol content and the more complete texture of Soju” by Soju (create) a more harmonious pairing, “explains the sommelier Hak Soo Kim.
A classic ballast for Soju is barbecue pork. For some of the best in Korea, go to Golden pig In Seoul, said Lee Seong-ha. He also recommends the Joyful drinking table – whose owner played in the Culinary Class Wars of Netflix – and At Seseng JEONA small restaurant on the Gwangjang market for its “good selection of Korean minds”. So far, Soju.
