If you’ve recently discovered the drink soju and would like to learn recipes for soju cocktails, we have put a list of 13 of our favorites together here.
What exactly is soju, and what makes these drinks a hit among Koreans and westerners alike?
Within the past decade, we have seen a steep increase in general awareness and interest of westerners in South Korea’s booming popular culture.
This has been evident in the mainstream appreciation of Korean boy and girl groups that spearheaded the phenomenon known as K-Pop and the subsequent popularity of Korean dramas.
Apart from the West’s sudden fascination with Korean cuisine, including their drinking culture.
In this case, soju has been one of the more, if not the most popular, alcoholic beverages nowadays.
The main driving force behind this drink’s popularity is the usual cameo of their light green to green soju bottles in many Korean dramas.
Soju is a classic Korean alcoholic drink traditionally made from rice but has since been produced with wheat and potato starch.
These drinks are typically colorless, primarily sold in clear, green bottles, and bear a milder sweet yet aggressive flavor than vodka.
Yet, behind these attributes is their alcohol content, which can be as low as 13% or as high as 42%, depending on the variant and brand.
This is why soju appeals to nearly every legal age drinker out there, from the beginners to the heavy drinkers and people in between!
While soju is often served neat, mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts have mixed soju with various beverages, such as soda beverages, fruit juices, and other widespread thirst quenchers!
The Yogurt Soju Cocktail, Sesame Soju Mojito, and the Subak Soju are our favorite drinks to have when out at Korean restaurants or to make at home ourselves.
#9 is particularly remarkable as customers are also involved in creating this excellent cocktail drink!
If you want to create your cocktail drink made with soju but don’t know where to start, do not worry because we are here to help you!
Here are 13 soju cocktails that you could try for your next late-night at-home hangout!
A unique spin to the popular Gin and Tonic, this Celery & Tonic cocktail drink substitutes gin for soju for a more aggressive yet oriental flavor!
Tonic water can be lightly sweet to bitter, but with soju added to the mix, it could bring a much-needed kick to this already enticing cocktail drink.
Given the name, this recipe will not be complete without the celery shrub that brings a light green appearance to the liquid mix of soju and tonic water.
Nokcha is Korea’s very own green tea and is famous as a hot or cold herbal beverage.
Yet, did you know that you could also pair this tea with soju?
This tea-cocktail hybrid is best served using a part of green tea with two parts of soju for a blend of earthy and mildly aggressive alcoholic taste.
You could also add zesty lemon slices to your cocktail drink for an additional tangy flavor!
3. Melona Soju
Melona is a fruity ice cream popsicle bar widely popular in South Korea.
Given its popularity as a Korean iced snack, you could expect that this ice cream bar could also be used as the main cocktail ingredient mixed with soju.
Yet, patience is required in crafting this recipe as you’ll need to submerge the Melona bar in a mixture of soju and lemon and lime soda.
Nonetheless, this cocktail drink blends the sweet fruity taste of the ice cream bar with the tangy and biting taste of alcohol and soda!
You might be familiar with this famed soju cocktail mix.
Indeed, mixing soju and yogurt is one of the more famed cocktails mixes out there, with the most known ingredient in mind being probiotic cultured milk.
You can sense the reason for the popularity of this particular cocktail drink.
For one, yogurt milk and similar products are affordable and can be bought even in small stores.
This cocktail recipe also combines the creamy, tangy taste of yogurt milk with the mildly biting taste of soju, making it a delightful and tasty drink.
This cocktail mix is best for those consuming soju for the first time!
Raspberries are known for having a sharp taste, which perfectly blends well with the flavors of soju.
Indeed, this Raspberry Soju cocktail is tangy, fizzy, and biting, making this perfect for those who prefer their cocktail mix not too aggressive in its taste.
This Korean-inspired cocktail drink swaps clear white rum with soju based on the classic Cuban Mojito.
Aside from this, what makes this Mojito drink distinctively Korean is the use of the Yuja citrus fruit and Perilla (sesame) leaves.
Given the herbal nature of this cocktail mix, you could taste some earthy and minty flavors in this drink.
However, you’ll be satisfied by its aesthetically pleasing appearance, enticing smell, and unique taste!
Like the Raspberry soju mix, this recipe uses another tangy fruit as its main ingredient – strawberries!
Best served cold, this cocktail mix requires a strawberry-flavored soju variant and combining it with the fizziness of sparkling water or carbonated soda.
Caipirinha is a famed alcoholic drink known for being Brazil’s national cocktail.
It is often made from distilled sugar cane spirit known as cachaça, as well as lime and sugar.
This cocktail blend of sweet and sour flavors also has a high alcohol volume, given cachaça’s 38% to 48% alcoholic content.
If you find the original Caipirinha too much for you, you could craft this relatively low-alcohol Soju Caipirinha that replaces cachaça with soju.
Don’t worry because the Korean variation of Caipirinha is just the same as the original and also bearable for beginners, given the low alcohol content and mild taste of soju.
Like Japan’s Sake Bomb, the Soju Bomb (locally referred to as Somaek) only has two ingredients—a pint glass full of beer and a shot glass of soju.
However, the secret to this cocktail mix is less on its mixture and more on how it is mixed.
In this case, you need to place two chopsticks closely on top of the pint glass of beer and place the shot glass of soju on top of the chopsticks.
Then, slam your hands or fists on the table repeatedly until the shot glass of soju falls inside the beer.
Depending on your preference, you could try out some chants while slamming on the table, such as the popular “One…Two…Three…Bomb” that is typical with these kinds of cocktails.
This procedure can be pretty messy and can go wrong if the ingredients are not appropriately placed.
However, the experience of doing this, especially with friends, is something worth cherishing for many, many years!
10. Soju Makgeolli
Makgeolli is similar to soju in that they are both rice liquor.
However, Makgeolli has a much blurry and milky appearance and tends to taste sour.
It has a much lower alcoholic content and tends to taste sour.
Combining soju and Makgeolli, this drink is quite tangy but is still a delightful cocktail drink worth trying!
11. Soju Sour
Also known as Sour Seoul, this cocktail mix calls for small amounts of soju, lemon juice, simple syrup, and other liqueurs of your choice!
The Soju Sour is somewhat similar to Japan’s Lemon Chuhai in that both of these combine their traditional alcoholic beverage with lemon juice.
If you’re trying out soju for the first time but are afraid to drink it neat, Soju Sour is the best way to start!
Watermelon has always been a popular fruit juice drink and thirst-quenchers during the intense summer heat.
However, this fruit complements soju well, hence this Soju Watermelon recipe.
You’ll need to puree watermelons for this recipe before mixing it with soju and fizzy soda water.
The result is a sweet, sour, and fizzy drink that is definitely a treat for first-timers and heavy drinkers alike!
13. White Gold
“White Gold” as a name of a cocktail drink sounds sophisticated, right?
Indeed, this cocktail recipe combines soju, lemon juice, orange liqueur, and egg whites.
Yes, aside from the light gold color of the liquid, another feature of this cocktail drink is the foamy top made from egg whites.
If you want a unique cocktail mix made with soju, you’re in for a treat with White Gold!
The bottom line
Soju is an increasingly popular Korean alcoholic beverage that coincides with the general awareness of Korean pop culture.
However, as a drink, soju’s varying alcohol content and flavors make this drink very appealing to nearly every drinker out there.
Known for its light green to green bottles, soju is commonly intended to be consumed in a straightforward fashion.
Yet, you can also craft some excellent soju cocktail mixes that blend the said alcoholic beverage with a myriad of fruit juices, similar liquor, and even herbal tea.
You can even do these soju cocktail drinks in the comfort of your own home if you have the needed ingredients.
Nonetheless, consuming soju is a delight, mainly for friends, colleagues, and acquaintances during late-night bar hangouts and functions!
Looking for Korean food options to pair with your Soju Cocktails, we’ve compiled lists of 25 Korean Recipes, 10 Delectable Korean Side Dishes, and 25 Korean Desserts that you should definitely check out.
Top 13 BEST Soju Cocktails 🍸
Here are 13 easy Soju Cocktails that you could try for your next late-night hangout at home!
Ingredients
- Celery & Tonic
- Korean Iced Green Tea With Soju
- Melona Soju
- Yogurt Soju Cocktail
- Raspberry Soju
- Sesame Soju Mojito
- Strawberry Soju Cocktail
- Soju Caipirinha
- Somaek (Soju Bomb)
- Soju Makgeolli
- Soju Sour
- Subak Soju (Soju Watermelon)
- White Gold
Instructions
- Find your favorite recipe from our Soju Cocktails list.
- Gather all the ingredients needed.
- Start mixin’ and make us proud!