Trying Soju for the first time.

On Friday night I popped over to Lara's to try some soju. And, well, the best way to drink shots of anything is with a movie drinking game. Low on choice, we decided to watch Brave (drink on every other "Och!") and out came the soju, which she'd brought back with her after her trip.

The brand we had wasn't even anything particularly high quality - it was this stuff, a generic brand from a convenience store:

chummy booze: 참이슬.

As I was the youngest, I poured the shots, holding the bottle in my right hand with my left hand lightly supporting my wrist or elbow. If they hadn't been comfily slouched back in their deep and poofy couches, my friends would have held their classes nicely with both hands. Instead, they hurled mockery at me instead.

I handed out the shots; we lifted them aloft and shouted 건배! I turned away from the oldest male and knocked the soju back. 

I fully expected 소주 to taste like its Chinese counterpart, Baijiu (which we like to call 'Foot Juice' because it smells and tastes like toe jam):

Provided freely by restaurants in China, this will strip away the lining of your intestines before it runs off to beat up your children and set fire to the polar ice caps. 

As the cool liquid flowed smoothly down my throat, leaving a slightly sweet, and slightly vodka-like aftertaste, I was over the moon to discover that Soju is nothing at all like Baijiu. 

Thank God. 

Because I was really worried about that for a second or two. It tastes a bit like if you took some nice vodka and added slightly sweetened water to it. 

The flavour changed as the night went on (and we ate different snacks), becoming tastier and fruitier and more scrumptious as the Ochs rolled in. Our throats and souls warmed, and our vision swimming, we also started to realise how strong soju really is (even though it doesn't taste like it).