A google blog search for soju recenty turned up a blog that adamantly stated that one of the most popular distilled beverages in the world just happens to be, and I quote, "NASTY". WTF? Surely the author of said post has not considered the gustatorial possibilities of this drink. As someone that spends a lot (and I mean a lot) of time thinking about how to add flavor to the flavorless, and how to make everyday foods more exciting, I look at soju as a challenge. Here you have a beverage that is yearning to be flavored; flavored with just about anything you can get your hands on.

Rewind one week. I had a pineapple, it was ripe. It needed to be eaten lest it go to waste. Any self-respecting chef garde manger will tell you that your average pineapple, be it Costa Rican, Puerto Rican, or Hawiian, has a yield of edible pulp somewhere in the neighborhood of 60%. What to do with the remaining 40% that consists mainly of rind, core, and crown? Stick it in a jar with some Green Soju, of course!

That's just what I did. Five days later I had a soju infusion that not only tasted great straight, it was almost a different drink altogether. Now I didn't invent the concept of putting fruit in clear liquor, I'm sure it's been around for at least as long as mankind has been making vodka, rum, cachaça, soju and shochu. The Japanese call the process kajitshu-shu and there's even a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that specializes in it. At any given moment, Bozu offers more than 20 kajitshu-shu to be enjoyed straight or in cocktails. But that's a whole other subject, back to the matter at hand.

My choice of inusion vessels was a very un-Asian quart Mason jar and lid. The size is perfect since an entire 750ml bottle of soju will fit nicely with room to spare for the other ingredients. I'm not sure if this even warrants a recipe, but here goes.

Pineapple Soju

1 bottle soju
Entire core and 1/2 rind from a ripe pineapple
a few black peppercorns, lightly crushed (optional)

Pour soju into glass jar. Add pineapple and optional pepper. Put in refrigerator for at least five days (a week, if you can wait that long). Serve over one large ice cube, garnish with a lime wedge. Put feet up. Share with friends.

Tags: soju - infusion - shochu - pineapple