1. Ingredients for watering down Soju
-Primary ingredients: Ethanol made by fermenting rice, barley, sweet potato, etc. distilling→refining
-Secondary ingredients: Ethanol mixed with water according to its
alcoholicity
2. Taste evaluation
-Spicy:☆☆☆☆☆
-Salty:☆☆☆☆☆
-Sweet:★☆☆☆☆
-Sour:☆☆☆☆☆
3.
Introduction to Soju
Soju
is very popular among Koreans that it comes into their minds when
they think of alcohol. It’s been popular for a long time for good
taste, high alcoholicity and cheap price.
Although
it is one kind of alcohol that represents Korea, it was originated in
Arrack, Arabia.
It
dates back to the time when Chingiz Khan went on an expedition to
Western part of China, took the Arabian alcohol called Arrack to
Mongol, and renamed it as Arak.
And
Arak was introduced to Korea when Khubilai Khan from Mongol Empire
sent the troops to Korea to go on a conquest of Japanese and was
renamed as Soju.
At
the time, Khubilai Khan’s camps were located in Gaeseong, Andong
and Jeju-do. Which remain as famous Soju producing cities.
At
the time, Soju used to be hard liquor made by boiling grains. From
Goryeo to Joseon era, Soju used to be served for the rich or nobles
because the grains were very valuable.
From
the late Goryeo through Joseon to the beginning of Japanese colonial
period, it was produced as distilled grain wine but ethanol made of
sweet potatoes and syrup was watered-down instead of grain wine since
1960. So
today’s Soju is made by dilution of spirit, not the traditional
formal spirits.
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Soju
is pure and transparent that has high proportion of alcohol
(approximately 21 degrees) with sweet first taste and clean after
taste.
Although
alcoholicity is high, it is cheap and the fact that it makes you
drunk real quickly is the reason it’s so popular.
Koreans
enjoy eating greasy pork meat and it’s enjoyed more often with neat
Soju that goes well with the greasy meat.
There
is an interesting survey about Soju. People drink alcohol to
celebrate for something to be happy about or to cheer them up when
they feel down.
And
Soju is especially enjoyed while they have something serious to talk
about or consult on something with others.
When
the alcoholicity is high, we can assume that they want to get drunk
quickly to forget something and talk about what they have in mind
easily.
I
bet you’ve seen protagonists in Korean drama or movie who were Soju
drama when they go through a hard time.
Soju
has been comforting Korean people when they suffer from hard and
tiring lives for nearly 800 years since Goryeo Dynasty era.
Probably
that’s why people remind of Soju when they need some drinks.
If
you had a fight with a friend during your trip or if you are missing
your family who are far away, you should have a drink or two.
Search on Wikipedia
4. Kinds of Soju
Soju
used to be very strong for having 21 degrees of alcohol. But as the
people started to care about their health and healthy foods, you can
easily find ones with 16 degrees.
The
amount of alcohol has been reduced for women and new kinds of Soju
with lemon, citron or pomegranate have been introduced as well.
And
each region has different Soju so you can enjoy various kinds of Soju
in Korea.
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5. How to enjoy Soju even more
Soju
goes well with greasy foods due to sweet first taste and clean after
taste.
It’s
so nice to eat it with greasy pork meat including Samgyupsal,
Makchang or Jokbal. But keep in mind that Soju tastes better when
it’s cold. So some bars serve slightly frozen Soju.
Soju
has 21% of alcohol that would make you drunk very soon. So if you’re
not a hard drinker, you could order ones with lower amount of
alcohol, 16% or the ones with fruits inside.
Sometimes
people mix Soju with beer to make it smooth. And it’s called
Somaek. While Soju is too strong and Maekju(beer) makes you too full,
Somaek makes you drunk with less amount of drink. It’s famous
particularly in Japan.
You
should try Soju that represents Korea according to your appetite,
main dish or your mood of the day.
