There are two honest starting points, and which one is right depends on what you already like to drink.
Start classic if you like clean spirits
Jinro (Chamisul) is the default green bottle and the world’s best-selling spirit — it has held that position for 25 consecutive years, moving over 94 million nine-litre cases a year. It is clean, faintly sweet and slightly softer than vodka. If you enjoy a good vodka or a dry sake, start here, cold, with food.
Chum Churum from Lotte is the other big green bottle in the U.S., now distributed nationally through Spirit of Gallo. It reads a touch smoother and slightly sweeter than Jinro to most first-timers.
Start fruit if you do not like the taste of liquor
Flavoured soju is not a gimmick — it is now roughly 48% of Korea’s soju export value, and for most Americans it is the actual entry point. It typically sits a little lower in alcohol and tastes like a light, not-too-sweet cooler.
Green grape and peach are the two most reliable first bottles. See the fruit soju guide for what each flavour actually tastes like.
If you want to see what soju can be
Tokki Soju is an American craft producer making rice-based and barrel-aged soju. It costs several times what a green bottle costs and tastes nothing like it — rounder, grainier, closer to a fine white spirit. Worth one bottle once you know the category.
Hello Soju makes canned ready-to-drink soju, which is the lowest-commitment way to try the category at all.
What to expect to pay
A standard 375 ml bottle runs about $5–$8 at retail, and typically $9–$15 at a restaurant. Craft bottles run considerably higher.
Next: find a place to try it