Soju is a clear, lightly sweet distilled spirit from Korea. If you have eaten at a Korean restaurant, you have seen it: a small green bottle on the table, poured into shot-sized glasses and drunk slowly across a meal.
The short version
- Strength: most commercial soju is 16–20% ABV — roughly half of vodka, closer to a strong wine.
- Taste: clean and neutral with a faint sweetness. It is not smoky, not oaky, not botanical.
- Price: a 375 ml bottle of Jinro typically runs $5–$8 at retail in the U.S.
- How it is drunk: neat, chilled, in small glasses, alongside food and company.
What it is made from
Traditional soju is distilled from rice. Most mass-market soju today is made from a base of rice, wheat, barley, sweet potato or tapioca, then diluted and lightly sweetened. Craft distillers have brought rice-based and barrel-aged soju back, and those bottles taste noticeably different — rounder, with more grain character.
Why it is spreading in the United States
Two things are happening at once. American drinkers are moving toward lower-alcohol options, and Korean food and culture have gone mainstream. Soju sits exactly at that intersection: it is sessionable, it is cheap, and it belongs on a dinner table rather than in a cocktail shaker.
The numbers back it up. The U.S. now takes about 36% of the world’s soju shipments — more than any other country. Soju appears on 0.9% of American restaurant menus, up 31% over four years. It is stocked at Costco, Target and Albertsons, poured at cocktail bars in New York and Los Angeles, and sold at stadiums including BMO Stadium and Dodger Stadium.
One practical note for restaurants
Because soju is comparatively low in alcohol, many venues holding only a beer-and-wine license can serve it, where a full liquor license would otherwise be required. That is a large part of why it is showing up on menus that carry no other spirits.