Hello everyone and welcome back to The Ombibulous, a show where we discuss a variety of topics about alcohol. From beer styles, the brewing process, distillation in spirits and even liquor laws, there's a fascinating world to discover. Joining me today is Marty Lee of Noodlezip in downtown Bismarck, North Dakota. On today's show, we talked about soju. I'm your host, Connor Brekke. Let's all raise a glass to, The Ombibulous.

Connor Brekke 00:45

Alright everybody, welcome back to the show. And it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Marty Lee, owner of Noodlezip in Bismarck, North Dakota, thank you so much for joining the show with me appreciate it.

Marty Lee 00:57

I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you very much for having me here, Connor.

Connor Brekke 01:01

And we're gonna have a great time today because we have a new drink to talk about. It's, it's Korean drink called "soju."

Marty Lee 01:09

That's right.

Connor Brekke 01:09

It's very delicious. It's got a very good characteristic, good flavor. It's something that I'd like to kind of bring to the area.. more knowledge of because.... I don't really know where else you get it. To be honest with you, everybody knows sake but right, this is something a little more special to us. So I guess let's kick off with what is soju in short?

Marty Lee 01:31

Okay, so the short version of short soju just basically a distilled liquor. A pure, you know, tasteless, scentless, with a little bit of flavoring. So off sweet. But Yep, it is a traditional affordable drinks that you can get in Korea.

Connor Brekke 01:53

Soju the name actually refers to like, how it's made kind of as far as...

Marty Lee 01:59

Oight traditionally. "So" in Chinese character, or, or in old Korean means "burning."

Connor Brekke 02:05

And that has to do with basically the heat of distillation if I'm not...

Marty Lee 02:09

Right. It's a process.. it's the process of distilled grains, usually rice, that's what we have most abundance from the history of Korea, rice, barley. You put it all together, let it ferment. You make it first, you know, the base liquor which is Makgeolli or, or sake, or clear liquor, and then you put that into a big pot of... boiling clay pot... and then you just distill it, distill iy until you have it and you have this dew. Alcohol has a little less boiling point than the water itself. So, it's just you know, all the vapors collected altogether, and then you put it into one little jar. And there you go. It's.. you have your traditional soju.

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