I don’t know about you, but ever since the ‘circuit breaker’, I’ve taken a liking to staying at home more. Maybe because I finally found the time to embark on passion projects and binge on the latest K-dramas on Netflix. One thing that I do miss though, is hanging out with friends over drinks. And since we can now gather in small groups, I decided to host a soju party with a couple of close friends to enjoy over K-dramas. But instead of regular sojus, we concocted soju cocktails and to our surprise, they are really easy to make and super yummy! We made quite a few of our own variations, but I have picked five of our favourites to share with you here. If you’re planning to host your own soju party, these recipes will come in handy for sure (remember to keep the party small, with a maximum of five guests and drink responsibly!).
Pro tip: Instead of heading out to find the nearest Korean mart, head over to iShopChangi instead and get your sojus at tax-absorbed prices (yay!). If you're new to iShopChangi, use the promo code 'FIRST10' to get 10% off your purchase (discount capped at S$10). For existing users, use promo code 'CHEERS7' for 7% off wines and spirits with no minimum spend (discount capped at S$15). And if you love Korean BBQ (who doesn't?!), stand a chance to win S$100 Go! K Korean BBQ vouchers with every purchase of Soju from iShopChangi. Super good deal okay!
1. Yoghurt Soju
We used blueberry soju for this recipe, but it actually goes well with any fruit-based soju!
Sweet and milky, it’s no wonder it’s such a popular recipe!
As we scour through the internet to find soju cocktail recipes, Yoghurt Soju seems to come up a lot and so we decided to give it a shot (pun intended hoho). For this recipe, you can use any type of Yoghurt drink you fancy such as Yakult or Vitagen which is sweeter. If you want the soju to pop more, you can use Calpis (Japanese yoghurt drink)! For this recipe, we also recommend blueberry-flavoured soju for that fruity finish.
1. 50ml blueberry-flavoured soju
2. 200ml yoghurt drink of your choice
1. Pour the soju into a tall glass
2. Pour in the yoghurt drink and mix well
Note: If you have a cocktail shaker at home, pour the soju and yoghurt drink into the shaker and give it a good shake. This will give it a light, frothy finish!
2. Cojinganmek (Coke Soju Bomb)
Original soju works best for this as you don’t need any other distractions!
A sweet cocktail that’s easy to down. So be careful!
Soju Bombs are usually made from mixing soju and beer. And adding Coke to the classic Soju Bomb brings the cocktail to a whole new level! For this recipe, we used the original soju. We must warn you though, this is one of those ‘Oh, this is nice, can’t really taste the alcohol!’ kind of drink that makes you pick up glass after glass and before you realise, the alcohol hits you like bricks. So, we suggest taking it slow. This cocktail is also great for drinking games, if K-dramas are too sappy for you.
1. 30ml original-flavoured soju
2. 50ml coke
3. 230ml beer
1. Pour the coke into a chilled beer mug or glass
2. Add in the soju
3. Top it up with beer
3. Mocha Soju
And as always, there’s one for the coffee lovers.
This might be a little funky for some, but we like that hint of chocolate that comes with it!
Most of the recipes we found online uses milk coffee, but we decided to switch things up a bit and used Mocha instead. Who doesn’t like chocolate anyway? We love that it’s creamy and has that chocolaty after taste (but it could be a little bitter for some!). For this recipe, you can use any canned coffee conveniently found in supermarkets and convenience stores, and we feel that the grape-flavoured soju goes best with this.
1. 50ml grape-flavoured soju
2. 150ml canned mocha
Note: You can adjust the amount of soju depending on how strong you want your cocktail to be. But we find that this ratio has the best balance in flavours.
1. Pour the soju into a glass
2. Pour in the mocha and mix well
4. Ujjujju Melony
We can’t stop raving about how delicious this is!
Doesn’t this remind you of a great summer holiday?
This is also another popular recipe and for the uninitiated, the core ingredient (apart from Soju) for this is the Melona ice cream. It’s more like a melon-flavoured ice pop in my opinion. If you don’t like melons, the ice cream also comes in other flavours such as mango, banana, and strawberry so take your pick! We went with the original soju so we can fully enjoy the Melona ice cream. To kick it up a notch, the Chilsung cider (Korean lemon soda) is added – overall a very refreshing and satisfying drink, perfect for this humid weather!
1. 230ml original soju
2. 1 Melona ice cream
3. 200ml Chilsung cider
1. Combine soju and cider in a glass
2. Put in the Melona ice cream and stir until it dissolves. You’ll end up with a nice, slushy cocktail!
5. Watermelon Lime Soju
A little more effort for this one but it’s worth it!
A unique twist to the usual watermelon soju!
This is another thirst-quencher and I would make this again anytime during the day to beat the heat. Of all the recipes, this is the only one that needs a bit more effort as the cocktail is blended instead of mixed. You’ll also need to cut a watermelon and some limes – but the effort is worth it! You can use either strawberry or blueberry-flavoured soju for this. We tried both, and we like the strawberry more as we find its subtle sweetness goes better with the watermelon and lime.
1. 100ml strawberry-flavoured soju
2. Half a watermelon
3. Juice from 3 limes
1. Scoop out the watermelon flesh into a blender and blend until smooth
2. Strain the mixture to remove the pulp, and return the juice to the blender
3. Add in lime juice and soju
4. Pulse the blender three to four times to combine
5. Pour the cocktail into individual glasses and chill before serving
While your favourite bars or pubs may not be opened yet, you can still catch up and have fun with close friends over some DIY drinks. If you’re intending to get wines and spirits ahead of your party, head over to iShopChangi. With Lotte onboard, there are some unique and interesting options and the best thing of course, is the tax- and duty-absorbed prices even if you’re not flying! If you have any other drinks recipes, feel free to share with us in the comments below!
The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Jasmine Lee.
About Jasmine: Being at one with nature, Jasmine has done several road trips along oceans coasts, through mountain valleys and across wide plains. Her best trips are made down under, where she explores from one national park to another, camping under skies full of stars while occasionally being frightened by wild kangaroos and possums appearing by the tent. The only travelling she is doing now is from her room to the refrigerator, probably to get some Soju.
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