Andong Soju

Andong soju is a world apart from the industrially produced green-bottled soju sold in supermarkets and bars across Korea. The traditional version is distilled from rice through a labour-intensive process and bottled at 45 degrees — more than twice the strength of commercial soju. The taste is clean, complex, slightly sweet, and warming without the chemical edge of the industrial product.

The main producer is the Andong Soju company near the folk museum, which has been in the same family for generations. You can visit the distillery for a tour and tasting, and buy bottles to take home. Several traditional restaurants in the city serve Andong soju in small pottery cups alongside meals. It's considerably more expensive than commercial soju, which is fine — you drink less of it.

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A story
Traditional Andong soju is distilled from rice and uses a specific yeast culture that gives it a distinctive flavour profile. When the Korean government regulated alcohol production in the 1960s, most regional soju producers were forced to switch to cheaper industrial methods. Andong's traditional distillers managed to maintain their craft, partly because the local Confucian establishment considered it a point of cultural pride. The result is now celebrated as a living culinary tradition.

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