Fruit soju ( ko, 과일소주, gwail-soju) is a flavored form of

soju (; Hangul: ; Hanja: ) is a clear and colorless Korean distilled alcoholic beverage. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.9% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% h ...

, an alcoholic drink originally from Korea. In 2015, ''Sunhari'', the first fruit-flavored

brand was released by beverage manufacturer

Lotte Chilsung Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., Ltd. is one of the largest drink manufacturers in South Korea and is part of the Lotte Corporation. The name ''Chilsung'' (''chilseong'', , ) means "Big Dipper" (literally seven stars), and the company's logo is an e ...

History

Before the first fruit soju was released, standard

was popular in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

as an alcoholic drink for adults. However, some people found soju difficult to drink due to its high alcohol content and strong flavor. Its popularity declined because of Korean societal changes regarding work, which resulted in people not having enough time to drink. In 2015, the first fruit soju, ''Sunhari'', was released. It was flavored with

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed throu ...

and had a lower alcohol content compared to traditional soju, making it popular with younger consumers. After ''Sunhari'' had become popular in the soju market, other companies released their own versions. ''Joenday'' released three types; ''Chamisle'' released ''Jamongisle'', a

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

flavored soju that became as popular as ''Sunhari''. ''Sunhari'' retained the strong taste of traditional soju, whereas ''Jamongisle'' offered a sweeter, milder taste. The popularity of fruit soju continued for a year after the release of ''Sunhari'', however in March 2016, sales decreased as the hype that first surrounded fruit soju disappeared. Today, fruit soju is not consumed often, and consequently, it is no longer widely available. Currently, sparkling

is preferred over all other types of this beverage. Some of Korea's fruit soju brands were released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, including ''Dew on Jamong (자몽에 이슬)'' and ''Sunhari''.

released ''Sunhari (순하리)'' in LA and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, USA, exporting 9,600 boxes (20 bottles per box) in February 2016 and 150,000 boxes in March 2016. A Korean company located in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

produced three flavours of fruit soju.

Characteristics

Fruit soju has a distinct fruit flavor and lower alcohol content compared to standard

. The beverage comes in a variety of flavors, such as

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

and

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

. Special limited editions of fruit soju have been produced, such as a 9,000 bottle limited release batch of ''C1 Lime'' soju from the

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

company ''Daesun Jujo (대선주조)''. Fruit soju contains large amounts of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, with each bottle containing . The

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

content of each bottle of fruit soju totals 400

kcal The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

; more calories than one bowl of rice and more sugar than a serving of Coke, contributors to

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

and an increase of visceral fat. A 2016 article identified the most popular fruit soju for university students as ''Dew on

Grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

(자몽에 이슬)'', with students indicating they preferred this less-sweet version of the beverage. The second-most popular fruit soju in this demographic was ''Bokbadeun Brother (복받은 부라더)''.

Brands

These are the main brands of fruit soju:

References

{{Reflist Fruit drinks Soju

History

Characteristics

Brands

See also

References