Korea’s most popular alcoholic beverage, soju, has seen a sea change in recent years. Though often seen as a simple watered down spirit meant for shooting, or as an overly sweet flavoured drink meant to be mixed with beer, its reputation has since undergone a glow up of sorts.
Premium and craft labels have been making headway in the market. From sojus made using interesting base ingredients to small-batch sojus meant to be sipped and appreciated, there is now a type of soju for any level of consumer.
This isn’t surprising, given how soju as a category has been consistently outselling all other spirits in the world for many years now. It seems like it is only a matter of time before premiumisation takes another leap. And now it has, in the form of Hana Soju.
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An offshoot brand of Chuga Soju, Hana Soju is the lower ABV take on the classic spirit. While soju is typically bottled between 10-20% ABV, the Hana Soju range takes it down a notch by offering their products at a light 8% ABV.
Other than being very much aligned with the ongoing low/no alcohol trend, the producers of Hana Soju also meant for the line to be more approachable and a better fit for casual, everyday drinking. Its price range is thus also similarly accessible, and is on par with most major brands.
But Hana Soju’s uniqueness doesn’t stop at just being lower in alcohol compared to its counterparts. While soju is commonly produced using grains like rice and barley, or with starchy vegetables like tapioca and potato, Hana Soju is made using a blend of apple and sugarcane distillates.
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This elevates the craft factor of the products somewhat, especially since the apples are even sourced from orchards located in South Korea’s central county of Uiseong.
After distillation, the spirits also undergo activated charcoal and sedimentary rock filtration to further remove impurities and to enhance the clean tasting factor we have all come to expect from sojus.
The resulting spirit blend emits a naturally sweet aroma and taste, and offers a lighter mouthfeel compared to more commercially made sojus.
Hana Soju is available in four flavours: Muscat Grape, Lychee, Peach, and Watermelon. They are retailing in Singapore on RedMart, GrabMart, Shopee, Amazon Fresh, Qoo10 & Hao Mart.
[Read more: Soju: What is it and why people love it]