I've been nagging and yelling at Shane all morning about his wreckless drinking the night before. He was very embarrassed about the silly things he did, including bending my glasses (ahem, NEW glasses that cost a fortune nearly!). I know what a good amount of soju can do to a person. It's a powerful drink. Always drink responsibly!

I used to make soju cocktails as a living. I know some very good recipes. Although the recipes are out there, I know very few who can make them as tasty as I do. Actually, they taste good only to me -- some people think I tend to make them too sweet, drowning the bittery crisp taste of soju.

The most simplest and the most common soju cocktail drinks are the lemon soju and yogurt soju. For both of these recipes, you will need a bottle, one bottle of soju, a can of sprite, and some syrup.

And one part soju, and two parts sprite or 7up. Add lemonade powder (country time lemonade, etc). Add enough to fit your taste. Finish with a teaspoon of syrup, and mix well. It should taste like a lemonade with a bite. Soju is very high in alcohol content, so even a little bit can do damage. Cocktail soju, like soju, is consumed in shot glasses. Cocktail soju itself is served in a carafe.

For yogurt soju, which is one of my favorites, go to your local Korean market. They have yogurt that is in liquid form (I have yet to find a U.S. substitute). They are delicious by itself! The ones made by a company called "epoca" comes in little milk carton like containers. Add one part soju, one part yogurt, and one part sprite or 7up. Add a touch of syrup, and mix well. Epoca yogurt (I don't know if they are a Korean company or not) comes in may different flavors: original, peach, pineapple, etc. Try a variety to find your favorite! I like the original, peach and pineapple. Yum, Yum!

There's many other recipes available. Lemon and yogurt, along with strawberry, are the most popular flavors of cocktail soju. There's also cucumber (not my favorite to make or to drink, but some find it refreshing), Peach (this tastes like a peach soju smoothie!), Apple (this one is like a less sour version of the sour apple Puckers!) and more.

Soju is big in Korea. Men boast of their abilities to drink a number of bottles. For me, I can handle about a bottle and half before I start to lose composure. Some say they can drink more than 10 bottles, but that is definitely not good for the liver! Soju is made by several different companies, and although they are very similar in taste, each has their unique interpretation of soju (supposedly). If you would like to try a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage that won't knock you out, try ¸·°É¸®(mak-gur-li). It is an opaque, creamy white drink that has less alcohol. It is drank out of bowls, and is equivalent to the beer in the U.S. (as in a drink for the working class, traditionally speaking -- these days it's sold in traditionally themed bars.)

If you seek something with a zing, but not quite so bitter, try ûÇÏ(chung-ha) which is like a wine derived from fine rice. It is clear and colorless like soju, but a bit sweeter, and comes in a smaller bottle. For women, I'd encourage »ê»çÃá(san-sa-choon), ¹é¼¼ÁÖ(baek-seh-joo), or ¸ÅÃë¼ø(mae-chwee-soon), which are smoother and softer. ¹é¼¼ÁÖ and »ê»çÃá are the same thing, only manufactured by different companies. ¸ÅÃë¼ø is not as popular, but is a little bit more expensive than soju, but is delicious. It is made of a plum-like fruit called ¸Å½Ç. It is similar to the traditional ¸Å½ÇÁÖ.

As you may have noticed, many of the alcoholic beverages end with a suffix -ÁÖ, which in Chinese, means alcohol.

This one's for the kiddies -- no alcohol! Koreans are big on rice. ½ÄÇý(shik-heh) is a drink made from rice. It is sweet, yet has a certain taste that can't quite be described. It's indescribably delicious! Often times it will come with rice (that have been bloated with liquid) floating -- they taste good too. In some restaurants, they serve it like a light dessert. Now this is available in cans! ¼öÁ¤°ú (soo-jung-gwa) is a drink that is very cinnamon-ee. It has a bite to it. I don't like cinnamon personally, so this drink is something that I tend to avoid.