“No need to sip and savour, soju brands are all just mass produced anyway.”

We’re sitting in a Korean barbeque joint, and my friend takes a healthy swig of his soju, poured from one of those generic green bottles. You know the one.

To be fair, I can understand where his perception comes from. For a long time now, the soju market has been dominated by brands from larger spirts conglomerates. Many of these companies tend to adopt a more industrialised conveyer belt approach to production, and often rely on the addition of artificial additives and sweeteners to manufacture flavours. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these classic green bottles tend to go for cheap, and because of that accessibility, have becomes mainstays at after-work dinner with friends.

My friend is wrong, though. They aren’t all the same.

Soju making is, after all, a centuries old craft dating back to the Joseon era. Back then, industrial equipment and artificial flavourings weren’t the norm yet people still found a way to make high-quality liquors fit for kings. While some artisanal techniques may have been eschewed in modern times, there are a small but growing number of craft soju brands that have sort to elevate the history and bring back the process, techniques and principles that go into artisanal soju making.

We know those green bottled sojus will always have a place at the table. But if, once in a while, you’re looking for differentiated, high-quality soju expressions that boasts a new level of complexity and craftsmanship, these are our recommendations for craft sojus to sip and savour.

But if, once in a while, you’re looking for differentiated, high-quality soju expressions that boasts a new level of complexity and craftsmanship, these are our recommendations for craft sojus to sip and savour.

1. Samhae Soju

The brewery behind Samhae Soju actually received a designation as “intangible cultural heritage #8 of Seoul”, so you can bet it produces truly authentic expressions of soju. Brew master Kim Taek-song and his team specialize in a respected type of luxury soju called “samhaeju”, which was historically served exclusively to the ruling classes during the Joseon dynasty. The reason samhaeju is seen as a high-end alcohol is because its made with only rice, malt, nuruk and water – rice was a hot commodity during the olden days, so only the noble families could afford to make soju this way.

To make smahae soju, kIm and his team uses a 300-year-old technique passed down from Kim’s ancesters. The rice goes through three diference process of fermenting and filtering at a low temperature for 108 days, which gives the resultant soju a depth of flavours. The painstaking process does pay off in the end though, yielding a softer, velvety aroma that Kim believes you’re unlike to get with mass-produced sojus.

If you’re ever in Seoul, you can even visit the Samhaesoju-ga Brewery to participate in a tasting session.  

2. Hwayo Soju

Hwayo is a premium soju made from 100% Korean rice and pure underground water. Crucially, the soju is matured in traditional onggis – which is a type of highly breathable Korean clay pots commonly used for fermenting foods like kimchi. This process enriches the flavour of the soju. Interestingly, Hwayo was established by the Kwangjuyo Group, which was actually a ceramic tableware company. Nautrally, Kwangjuyo’s gonggi is what is used to mature Hwayo’s soju. 

Hwayo is made at the Hwayo Distillery, helmed by Master Distillers Chanyoung Park and Hoyoung Kim. The brand currently has five different expression: the Hwayo 17, 25, 41, 53 and X.P. Each spans the range of different ABVS, while the X.P. is a special edition of Hwayo soju spirit aged in American and ex-bourbon barrels.

3. Tokki Soju 

Tokki Soju is a craft soju brand known for high-quality ingredients and zero additives, sweeteners or preservatives. The distillery produces soju made from only glutinous rice, water and nuruk. After distillation, they sell only about 35% of each distillate, maintaining strict cuts to ensure only the purest alcohol contained in the “hearts” are bottled for consumption. This compares with other distilleries, that tend to use about 60%-80% of their run in their final bottles.

The brand’s first soju expression was the Tokki Soju White at 23% ABV. It later released the higher-ABV Tokki Soju Black and another barrel-aged version, the Tokki Soju Gold. The brand also produces Sonbi Gin and Sonbi Vodka.

Tokki Soju was born in Brooklyn, but grew up in Korea. The brand was first founded by master distiller Brandon Hill while he was working in New York, before the company later moved their distillery to Korea so they could better work with local, authentic Korean ingredients. Hill was later joined by Douglas Park.

Tokki is slated to make a global expansion push in 2023, so you’ll be sure to find a bottle near you very soon.

4. Hwayang

Hwayang makes four types of alcoholic beverages in Korea, depending on the time of the season. In winter, that’s when the brewery produces its handcrafted artisanal soju, called the Pungjeong Sagye Winter Soju. This soju is made from domestic Korean rice, and is aged for over 100 days, with no artificial additives added. 

What’s also unique about Hwayang is that it produces its own nuruk, or fermentation starter, on site. The nuruk is called Hyang On Gok, and incorporates the addition of mung beans. As a result, Hwayong soju is known to contain slightly savoury grain notes.

5. Wihayo

The name Wihayo is derived from the phrase “wihayeo”, which means “for you!”. Wihayo is a bit of a unconventional brand on this list, as this soju is technically not made in South Korea. Rather, Wihayo is a unique mix of Korean and Dutch distilling techniques, and the product itself is produced in the Netherlands.

Founded by Korean-born, Amsterdam-based author Nathalie Kranenburg, the soju is made from rice and malted barley. These grains are grounded up using a traditional Dutch windmill, whose use dates back to the 18^th century. The addition of the enzymatic malted barley – which is later fermented - was chosen because the team found that it imparted a fresh, fruity note to the final alcohol product. The spirit is then distilled by master jenever distillers at Herman Jansen, before a small amount of liquorice distillate is added to it for a hint of sweetness, before it’s bottled at 19% ABV.

건배!

@lotusroot518