Soju

So-Ju

The most popular traditional Korean liquor.
Someone said, taste is comparable to vodka, but I do not agree.

Soju goes well with all Korean food.
If you like drinking, I hope you can try it with Korean food.

Soju was originally brewed from rice, but today even replace the rice with other starches such as potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca. it is depend on a manufacturing company.

In ancient times, people drank unrefined rice wine and clear rice wine. People have enjoyed drinking unrefined rice wine ever since the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) when people started brewing liquor using yeast. Mongolia invaded the Korean Peninsula during Goryeo times (918-1392), and they brought with them the tradition of making soju. The Mongolian army was stationed in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province (North Gyeongsang Province), at the time and the tradition spread across the area. This is how the famous Andong Soju originated.

Andong Soju is a distilled liquor. However, the most common type of soju people drink these days is a diluted spirit. Molasses is created from rice, barley and sweet potatoes. Then, the molasses is put into a distiller that then produces pure alcohol. Various additives are put in to the mixture and water is added to the pure alcohol to adjust the alcohol percentage.

Soju became a mainstream liquor in Korea in the mid-1970s. With the emergence of such diluted sojus, regional soju brands started taking root in their respective areas: Jinro in Seoul, Charm in Daegu and Bohae in Gwangju. Unrefined rice wine, including makgeolli, accounted for 80 percent of the country’s total alcohol consumption in the 1970s, but the consumption of unrefined wine dropped sharply and soju became the most popular liquor in the 1980s.

From Korea.net

• Alcohol by volume : below 20%
• Price : 1,450~1,900 KRW (grocery store) / 5.000 KRW ~ (restaurant,bar..)
• Most Brands
  • Chamisul (meaning “real dew”) Fresh : 16.9%
  • Chamisul Original : 20.1%
  • Chumchurum (meaning “like the first time”) : 16.5%
  • Jinro : 16.9%
  • Cool Cheongpung : 17.2%

Refer : Korea.net