Soju

"소주" redirects here. It is not to be confused with 燒酒.

Soju
Bottle of Chamisul soju with a branded glass.
Korean name
Hangul	소주
Hanja	燒酒
Revised Romanization	Soju
McCune–Reischauer	Soju

Soju (Hangul: 소주; hanja: 燒酒) is a distilled beverage containing ethanol and water. It is usually consumed neat.

Considered "Korea's most popular alcoholic beverage" in 2014 Jinro soju was the largest selling alcohol in the world with sales of 71 million cases world wide. Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. While it is traditionally made from rice, wheat, or barley, modern producers often replace rice with other starches such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.

Soju is clear and colorless. Its alcohol content varies from about 16.7% to 45% alcohol by volume (ABV) for traditional Andong soju, with 20% ABV being most common. However, by using freeze distillation, ABV can be increased to the desired percentage. There are two different ways to produce soju: the classic way of distilling soju that uses the single distillation method, and the modern way of diluted soju that uses the chain distillation method. Distilled soju usually has a higher ABV of 30–35% than diluted soju with ABV of 21–30%, and therefore a stronger smell. Its popularity is in part due to its relatively low price in Korea: A typical 375 mL bottle of soju costs the consumer 1,000 to 3,000 South Korean won. Soju is exported to 80 countries and is in the top market share of diluted alcohol market. Statistically, soju ranked number one in world sale records of the diluted alcohol market in 2002.

Etymology

Soju (燒酒) literally means "burn liquor". In 2008, the word "soju" was included in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster dated the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1978.

History

Soju's origin is Arak, Levantine distilled alcoholic spirit. Mongolian forces that invaded Koryo in the 1300s conveyed the recipe of Arak, and it developed into soju in Koryo. Soju was first created in Andong, where Mongolian troops were stationed. This is the root of Andong soju.

Etiquette

Soju is Korea's most well-known alcoholic beverage.

Korea has a very strict culture of respect and etiquette. When receiving a glass from an elder, one must hold the glass with two hands (left palm at the bottom and hold the glass with the right hand) and bow the head slightly. When it is time to drink, the drinker must turn away from the elder, and cover the mouth and glass with their hands. The first drink must be finished in one shot. When the glass is empty, the drinker hands it back to the person who poured the drink for them and the drinker then pours them a shot. This starts a series of glass and bottle passes around the table.

Soju by country

Korea

Cookeries (Soju gori, 소줏고리) in the center, and different shaped hangari, 항아리) for making traditional soju

Soju was first distilled around the 13th century, during the Mongol invasions of Korea. The Mongols had acquired the technique of distilling Arak from the Persians during their invasion of Central Asia and the Middle East around 1256. It was subsequently introduced to the Koreans, and distilleries were set up around the city of Kaesong. In the surrounding areas of Kaesong, soju is known as arak-ju (hangul: 아락주).

South Korea

From 1965 until 1999, in order to alleviate rice shortages, the South Korean government prohibited the traditional distillation of soju from rice. Instead, highly distilled ethanol from sweet potatoes and tapioca was mixed with water, flavoring, and sweetener to create soju. Although the prohibition has been lifted, cheap soju continues to be made this way. The South Korean government regulates the alcohol content of diluted soju to less than 35%, but alcohol levels have continued to fall in order to reduce production costs. The lower alcohol concentration also makes the drink milder to consume, which may broaden its appeal.

Several regions have resumed distilling soju from grain. Soju from Andong, South Korea is a traditional hand-crafted soju that has about 45% ABV. Hwayo (화요) is another brand with five different mixes constituting an ABV range from 17% to 53%.

China

There are a number of soju brands directly outside the Korean Peninsula for the ethnic Korean population, and most use rice as the foundation since the price is significantly cheaper than in South Korea. Soju from North and South Korea, from firms like Jinro, is also imported.

Canada

Liquors in Canada are controlled by the government. In Ontario, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) sells soju but not all stores have it. Only big stores have foreign liquor like soju. They sell three different kinds of soju: Chamisul Fresh Soju by Jinro, Charm Soju by Kum Bok Ju Co, and Chum Churum Cool Soju by Lotte. Not all LCBO establishments have soju, but almost all Korean LLBO (licensed) restaurants sell it.

United States

The liquor licensing laws in the states of California and New York specifically exempt the sale of soju from regulation relating to the sale of other distilled spirits, allowing businesses with a beer/wine license to sell it without requiring the more expensive license required for other distilled spirits. The only stipulation is that the soju must be clearly labeled as such and contain less than 25% alcohol. This has led to the appearance in the United States of many soju-based equivalents of traditional Western mixed drinks normally based on vodka or similar spirits, such as the soju martini and the soju cosmopolitan. Another consequence is that the manufacturers of similar distilled spirits from other parts of Asia, such as Japanese shōchū, have begun to re-label their products as soju for sale in those regions. Jinro's American division has partnered with Korean pop star PSY to promote Soju in the U.S., and in 2013 partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers to sell Soju at its games.

Brands

A bottle of Chamisul soju.

Jinro is the largest manufacturer of soju accounting for half of all white spirits sold in South Korea. Soju accounts for 97% of the category. Global sales in 2013 were 750 million bottles; the second-largest spirits brand, Smirnoff, sold less than half that number. The most popular variety of soju is currently Jinro (참 이슬 - literally meaning "real dew"), a quadruple-filtered soju produced by Jinro, but recently Chum-Churum (처음처럼 - "like the first time") of Lotte BG (롯데) and JoeunDay (좋은데이 - means "GoodDay") of Muhak (무학) are increasing their market share. However, the popularity of brands varies by region. In Busan, C1 Soju (시원 소주) is the local and most popular brand. Ipsaeju (잎새주 - "leaf alcohol") is popular in the Jeollanam-do region. The Daegu Metropolitan Area has its own soju manufacturer, Kumbokju, with the popular brand Cham (참). Further north in the same province, Andong Soju is one of Korea's few remaining traditionally distilled brands of soju. On the Special Self-Governing Province of Jeju-do, Hallasan Soju is the most common brand, being named after the island's main mountain Mt. Halla. In Gyeongsangnam-do and Ulsan, the most popular is Joeunday Soju (Hangul: 좋은데이), produced by Muhak in Changwon. However, as soon as one crosses the border from Ulsan north to Gyeongju in Gyeongsangbuk-do, it is almost impossible to buy White Soju, and the most popular brands are Chamisul and Cham.

Consumption

Although beer, whiskey and wine have been gaining popularity in recent years, soju remains one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in Korea because of its ready availability and relatively low price. More than 3 billion bottles were consumed in South Korea in 2004. In 2006, it was estimated that the average adult Korean (older than 20) had consumed 90 bottles of soju during that year. In 2014, it was reported that South Koreans of drinking age consumed an average of 13.7 shots of spirit per week; the figure for Russia, in second place, was 6.3. By contrast consumption in the U.S. was 3.3 shots, Canada was 2.5, and the U.K. 2.3 shots.

Cocktails

While soju is traditionally consumed straight, a few cocktails and mixed drinks use soju as a base spirit. Beer and soju can be mixed to create somaek (소맥), a portmanteau of the words soju and maekju (맥주 beer). Flavored soju is also available. It is also popular to blend fruits with soju and to drink it in "slushy" form. Another very popular flavored soju is yogurt soju (요구르트 소주), which is a combination of soju, yogurt, and lemon lime soda.

A poktanju (폭탄주) ("bomb drink") consists of a shot glass of soju dropped into a pint of beer (similar to a boilermaker); it is drunk quickly. This is similar to the Japanese sake bomb.

Soju is sometimes mistakenly referred to as cheongju (청주), a Korean rice wine. Mass-produced soju is also mistaken for Chinese baijiu, a grain liquor, and shōchū, a Japanese beverage.

See also

• Andong soju
• Korean alcoholic beverages
• Rice wine
• Korean cuisine
• Korean beer
• Oghi (distilled beverage)
• Shōchū
• Awamori
• Vodka
• Arak

External links

• Popular alcohols from Korea