10+ Best Soju Cocktails to Sip and Savor

It’s time to get tipsy with some of the best Soju cocktails for your next party. Soju is perfect to accompany whatever mix that you can come up with. Thanks to this versatility, Soju is even popular as a bar drink to pair with various delightful dishes.

Since Soju is popular at any liquor store, it’s possible to pair the spirit with a variety of simple cocktails. Whatever your concoction is, I’m certain it will result in a refreshing cocktail to relax during the night. Typically, bartenders like to use Soju as a lighter version of vodka.

Things You Should Know About Soju

Before you jump into the kitchen to fix yourself a nice glass of Soju cocktail, allow me to guide you through some noticeable features of this iconic Korean spirit.

In Korea, Soju is the result of distilling rice, barley, or wheat. However, the commercial version of the alcohol is mainly made from starch. Depending on the producer, Soju’s alcohol content can range from 13% to 53% by volume.

A good bottle of Soju has no color with a neutral taste similar to vodka. Commercially sold Soju has a light touch of sweet aftertaste and a slight bitterness. If you ever have a chance to travel to Korea, you’ll see the drink is deeply connected with eating culture.

Simplest Soju Cocktail To Make At Home

These mixed recipes of cocktails are stupendously easy to make right in your familiar kitchen. You don’t need to have any bartender skills or specialized tools to perform these recipes. Without further ado, let’s begin incorporating Soju into your drinks.

1. Melona Soju

Total time: 5 minutes.

Starting our journey to discover Soju mixes is an interesting ice cream cocktail, a combination of Melona and the iconic Korean spirit. The Melona Soju brings you a fresh take to try on your next cocktail. Thanks to a sweet and creamy flavor, the Melona Soju is sure to be a banger.

In terms of ingredients, the beverage requires diluting the Soju using lime soda with a pinch of salt. As for decoration, simply slide in a lime wedge on the glass. There’s still one ingredient missing, which is the Melona, a Korean fruity ice cream brand.

Pick your favorite Melona flavor and stick it to your cocktail glass. Stir the concoction with your Melona to infuse the drink with the ice cream flavor. If you’re impatient like me, then you can take a small chip from the Melona once in a while.

Melona Soju is a fun concoction to make right at home. 

2. Master Bandit

Total time: Around 30 minutes.

The Master Bandit is a fascinating take on Asian cuisine as it utilizes ingredients that are unlikely to appear in a drink. Whip out this alcoholic blend to impress everyone with your fancy Asian cocktail in a Martini glass.

Commonly, you need to combine Soju with lime juice, gin, and Peychaud’s bitter (flavor additive) in a shaker. Then, people strain the mixture into a Martini glass. In addition, you may want to prepare the lemongrass liqueur to accompany the alcohol concoction.

To create a liqueur infused with lemongrass flavor, people tend to heat a combination of sugar, water, and lime juice. Of course, you also need to add the lemongrass but make sure to crush the stalk a little bit to extract all the flavor.

In some cases, I suggest dissolving an equal part of MSG and water to make an interesting additive to the Master Bandit.

3. Apple Soju Cocktail

Total time: 5 minutes.

If you’re planning for a fancy alcoholic drink for the night, try fixing a beautiful glass of apple Soju cocktail. Thanks to the sweet and slightly sour taste of the apple juice, it reminds me of various cocktails during Autumn that people make to enjoy the seasonal fruits.

To materialize this recipe, you need to lay your hands on 3 types of liquid: Soju, apple juice, and Seltzer (sparkling water). For the mix ratio, it’s best to use equal part ingredients to get the best result. I almost forgot to tell you to use a shaker to combine the concoction better.

Throw some chipped ice in the shaker and strain the mixture into a Martini glass for serving. For decoration, cut a slice of apple and stick it to the side of the glass.

4. Yakult Soju

Total time: 5 minutes.

In many Asian countries, Yakult is a children’s milk drink that possesses a similar taste to yogurt. People usually promote Yakult as a supplement to aid children with digestion and build up a healthy bacteria system in the stomach.

However, Koreans also include Yakult as an ingredient to accompany the neutral taste of Soju. Aside from those 2 ingredients, you also need to add in 7 up or sprite, depending on what you have. Shake the concoction well to combine all the liquids.

Your Yakult Soju usually ends up with a murky white color. If you have kids in the vicinity of this cocktail, be careful because it can be easily mistaken as regular Yakult.

The combination of Yakult with Soju is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before. 

5. Soju And Tonic

Total time: 5 minutes.

Are you in need of a no-shake Soju cocktail to enjoy a layback night? I have just the perfect solution by combining tonic water with this traditional Korean alcohol. To keep everything simple, you only need two ingredients to make the drink.

I have to warn you that the mix is a little bit bitter, similar to other tasty orange bitters cocktails but with a lime taste instead. Thanks to the Quinnie compound in tonic water, it’s perfect to pair with Soju. The final addition is ice to chill the beverage and a couple of lime slices for garnish.

A little interesting fact for you: the cocktail may look like a glass of regular water, but under ultraviolet light, the Quinnie will glow with a brilliant bright blue. So next time you serve anyone a drink with tonic water, try to do this trick to impress them.

6. Golden Dew

Total time: Around 10 minutes.

Golden Dew is a unique combination of two of the most iconic Korean beverages, Soju and Makgeolli. With honey as a sweetener, the Golden Dew has a smooth sweetness with a beautiful yellow color.

To make the best Golden Dew, I suggest utilizing Hwayo, a high-end Soju with 41-degree alcohol content. Many people are unfamiliar with Makgeolli, but it is essentially a rice drink with a milky white color. Commonly, people describe the flavor as sweet and sour.

In your shaker, besides the two types of alcohol, you want to add chamoe juice (Korean melon), lemon juice, and a small amount of honey. Stir the mixture with ice and strain it for serving. If your Makgeolli tastes flat, then you want to give it a shake to break up the rice sediment.

7. Somaek (Soju Bomb)

Total time: 5 minutes.

Somaek is a popular bomb shot that combines simple Soju with beer. It’s easy to make and interesting to watch when people drop the small Soju shot into a glass of beer. Although Somaek can cause quite a mess, the bomb shot is nice to feature at parties.

Ideally, you want to use more beer than Soju. Your beer will act as a cushion to break the fall of the shot glass, so you need to ensure that you have enough liquid in a tall glass. The best thing is that you get to pick your beer brand to accompany the Korean alcohol.

For serving, you need to take your Soju glass and stabilize it over the beer glass using chopsticks. Once you’re ready, smash your table to destabilize the cocktail structure, dropping the Soju shot into the beer.

To set up Somaek for a party with your friends, you want to build the same structure but don’t pour in the Soju yet. Now comes the fun part, you and your friends will take turns pouring Soju into the shot glass. Whoever knocks the Soju into the beer will have to drink it.

Spice up your next party by serving up Somaek. 

8. Cucumber-Soju Cooler

Total time: 30 minutes.

Whenever you’re having a spicy meal, it’s always nice to have a cool beverage to tone down the heat. That’s why I want you to give the cucumber soju cooler a try on your next meal. Although it’s quite uncommon to feature cucumbers with alcohol, I promise the flavor is fascinating.

Interestingly, if you omit the alcohol, you’ll get an alcohol-free mixed drink with a strong cucumber flavor. However, the cucumber with lime sweetener is not enough to give you that tipsy feeling for the night.

In this recipe, I recommend fixing your very own simple syrup infused with lime flavor. All you have to do is heat an equal amount of lemon juice, sugar, and water. As for the cucumber, combine it with fresh mint to make a puree using a blender.

Finally, put all of your ingredients together, including the Soju, in a large pitcher with a splash of club soda to top off the mixture. The pureed cucumbers help the beverage achieve an interesting green color.

9. Soju Caipirinha

Total time: 5 minutes.

The Caipirinha is a traditional Brazilian cocktail that involves a combination of sugarcane hard liquor (cachaça), sugar, and lime. Many people speculate that the beverage materialized in the early 20th century in Portugal.

To customize your Caipirinha, you need to pour lime with sugar into your shaker before muddling the concoction. Don’t press the lime too hard since it can result in a bitter Caipirinha. Instead of using Cachaça, you will be using Soju as a tweak to the traditional recipe.

Shake your Soju Caipirinha for a while with ice and serve the mixture cold. For decoration, you can stick a lime slice to the glass. The refreshing Caipirinha provides you with a citrusy and tangy lime flavor, making it perfect for enjoying during spring or summer.

10. Subak Soju (Watermelon Soju)

Total time: 15 minutes (excluding 1 hour of chilling in the refrigerator).

In Korea, Subak Soju is a popular watermelon cocktail to treat everybody. It takes little time to make Subak Soju, yet people love the refreshing sensation and how entertaining it is to serve it. In most cases, you want to get a decent size watermelon to get the best result.

Yes, you heard me right. Instead of serving watermelon as a fruity dessert, you will turn it into a refreshing boozy drink. In a blender, start adding the watermelon meat to turn it into a liquid state. The concoction may get slightly foamy, but straining it will help.

Once your watermelon water is ready, pour in an entire bottle of Soju with some maple syrup as a sweetener. Chill the blend in the refrigerator before serving Subak Soju in an ice glass with basil or mint leaves as garnish.

Subak Soju is great for a relaxing alcoholic drink with family and friends. 

11. Strawberry And Ginger Soju

Total time: 10 minutes.

To wrap up this Soju compilation, how about I offer you a relaxing cocktail to have for the summer by bringing strawberries to the mix? If you don’t know, strawberries are an iconic representative of summer fruit when it is usually abundant during June.

First, you need to muddle ginger and a couple of strawberries in your shaker until you can smell the ginger fragrance. Then, add basil leaves to continue with the muddling process. Pour in the Soju and some ice to initiate the shaking procedure.

For serving, I suggest decorating the inner of the glass with a few strawberry slices before filling it with ice. Remember, you have to strain your mixed concoction to prevent any chunks of ingredients from ruining the beautiful presentation.

Soju Is Now Your Favorite Spirit Choice

How do you like my suggestion to incorporate Soju in a variety of cocktail recipes? Take my words because these recipes deliver the most authentic Soju experience to your drinks. I believe it won’t take you long to fix yourself a boozy cocktail to enjoy your weekends.

Let me know your thoughts about these lovely Soju alcoholic mixed drinks in the comment below. If you have Korean friends, share this post with them so you can invite them to try a taste of their home country cocktails.