Review: Yobo Soju Luxe, Yobo_Kish Bliss, and Yobo_Kish Shine (2025)

Our recent trip to Korea opened my eyes to soju culture, how a small shot of a low-alcohol spirit could become an integral part of a meal, whether formal or not, expensive or cheap. (In fairness, no meals that I had in Korea were expensive — even “fancy” ones.)

Luxury soju is hard to find both in Korea and in the U.S., where very inexpensive bottlings dominate. (Korean soju can be purchased for as little as $1 (equivalent) per 375ml bottle in a Seoul convenience store. Figure $4 to $6 in the U.S. at a liquor store.) But here we have one in the form of Yobo, which we’ve tasted before under a slightly different label and considerably different formulation, back when it was made using Finger Lakes grapes. That’s changed in recent years — as has the name of the product. (Though not the abv.) The new version, Yobo Luxe, is made from a blend of three distillates — grape, wheat, and rice, mostly from California instead of New York. It still costs considerably more than that green bottle of “Fresh” that’s ubiquitous in Korea.

Yobo also recently launched four flavored sojus (again, common in Korea) in partnership with Iron Chef star and Top Chef winner Kristen Kish, all billed as “Soju Aperitif” products. We actually tasted these pre-launch years ago at an event here in Austin, where Kish runs a restaurant called Arlo Grey. At long last, we received two of those bottlings for this review.

Let’s dive in to three of these and see what’s up.

Yobo Soju Luxe (2025) Review

As with Yobo 2021, this is crisp, almost without an aroma at all. What’s there has an indescribably Asian nose, melding elements of fresh blossoms with a slight hospital note, vaguely evoking notes of disinfectant. That’s no slight, as it makes for a clean approach to a clean spirit on the palate, layering on gentle notes of white flowers, Asian pear, chicory, and eventually some blueberry. None of that is wholly expected, but it makes for a curious departure from more traditional soju flavors, which tend to run to sugar and fruit. A hospital note — which was evident in the 2021 rendition — remains present on the finish, though it is otherwise an elegant, if unremarkable, expression. 46 proof. B / $43

Yobo_Kish Shine Soju Aperitif Review

Grain neutral spirits, infused with kumquat, rose, and ginger. Pleasant and floral, with notes of pear underlying the kumquat character, giving it more of a persimmon flavor. The rose is more evident on the nose — but it makes an intriguing return on the finish, which is quite perfumed. What I didn’t get much of at all is the ginger component; this could definitely be amped up considerably to give the soju a little bite. Fans of flavored Korean soju will find this an appropriately elevated rendition of the style, with a more authentic and complex collection of fruit flavors providing a gentle enhancement over the otherwise flat, neutral flavor of the straight stuff. Definitely worthwhile. 42 proof. A- / $42

Yobo_Kish Bliss Soju Aperitif Review

Grain neutral spirits, infused with sour cherry, pink peppercorn, and licorice. While Shine is quite mild, Bliss is a bit of a punch in the face at first, offering an aggressive nose that is huge with sour cherry, reminding me immediately of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream. The peppercorn notes are understated and take time to evolve, but eventually they become unavoidable, adding a gentle layer of raciness that pairs beautifully with the licorice notes on the soju. It’s a combination that would never have occurred to me but which turns out to be a bit magical, the cherry notes meandering from sour fruit to floral blossoms as it all settles down by the time the finish rolls around. As with Shine, this is about perfect in sipped shots, with or without food. 42 proof. A / $42

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