Chum Churum Apple Mango

Chum Churum Apple Mango is a fruit-flavored soju, a clear, lightly sweet spirit in the Korean tradition rather than a rum or a grape wine. It is listed under Esplanda in Massachusetts. Flavored sojus like this usually sit well below the strength of whiskey or vodka and taste much softer. Expect a bright green-apple crispness up front, followed by a rounder, tropical mango sweetness on the finish, with only a faint grain-spirit edge underneath. Check the label for the exact alcohol content, since it varies between flavored sojus. This is a drink for chilling and pouring, not for aging or slow contemplation. Serve it cold, straight from the refrigerator or after about an hour in the freezer, when the texture turns slightly silky and the sweetness tightens up. Pour it neat into a small shot glass or a stemless tumbler, and sip it over a meal. In Korean drinking custom, it is poured for others and shared around the table. The apple-and-mango profile also works as a cocktail base with little effort. Pour two parts soju over ice and top with three parts sparkling water and a squeeze of lime for a light highball that keeps the fruit and cuts the sweetness. For a spritz, use a wine glass and add chilled prosecco or a dry sparkling wine. Mixed with lemonade or yuzu soda, it makes an easy pitcher drink. It is less suited to spirit-forward stirred drinks, because the built-in sweetness doesn't leave room for bitters or vermouth. At the table, the fruit-forward sweetness handles salt, fat and heat well. Try it with Korean fried chicken, pork belly, spicy tteokbokki, kimchi pancakes, or salty snacks and grilled skewers. Its sweetness takes the edge off chili heat, and the chill refreshes the palate between bites.