A New Flavor (2)
The looks of disbelief were absolute.
"Look, I know how macho America is, but women are going to love this, right? What do you think?"
Chloe, finding all eyes on her, just shrugged.
"Well... I think it's fine."
"It’ll probably only sell a little bit to women," Jacob said, as if he were certain it wouldn't get a good reaction. "If people want something sweet, they buy juice. Why would they drink fruit-flavored alcohol? Look at wine—if it’s too sweet, it’s treated like cheap swill."
"But sweet alcohol sells well, too."
"That’s... well, I guess that’s true..."
Jacob hesitated, seemingly realizing the point had merit. I leaned forward and explained carefully.
"Listen. Women don't want strong liquor; they want something that tastes good, something they can sip on and get tipsy without even realizing it. Don't ask me why. It’s just how it is."
"Is... is that so?"
"It is. But do you really think men will hate it?"
"You mean they won't?"
"People drink for two main reasons. One is to enjoy the flavor of the alcohol itself—whether it's for food pairing or the inherent profile of the drink. The other is simply to get drunk."
"...True."
"Right. Now, people who enjoy the nuances of alcohol might not like fruit soju. But if that were the only market, why would tasteless, odorless vodka sell so well?"
"......"
Jacob was drawn into my explanation as if spellbound.
"Okay. Let's assume a significant number of people drink as a means to get drunk. Between a harsh, high-proof liquor that smells like rubbing alcohol and something that goes down as easily as juice, which one do you think they'll choose?"
"...But wouldn't men still avoid fruit soju?"
American culture is more macho than people think; if men show even a hint of weakness, they’re often labeled as soft. From their clothes to using umbrellas, or even the music they listen to, American men are constantly worried about what others think. For Jacob, the idea of such men drinking fruit soju was unimaginable.
"If they're drinking alone, maybe. But what if it's a drink to help them get lucky?"
"Oh? In that case..."
Jacob finally nodded, perhaps not fully convinced, but at least understanding the logic.
"Right? What’s the go-to drink for young people in America right now?"
Chloe answered for me.
"Cocktails."
"Exactly. But to drink cocktails, you have to go to a cocktail bar. You’ve finally set the mood, and you’re going to drive to a bar? It’s expensive, too. But what if you could just buy fruit soju at the grocery store?"
"Ooh~ you only think about things like that, don't you?"
"Why does the topic always veer in that direction?"
Armando, who had been listening with annoyance, snorted.
"Hmph! Hey, it's because you won't buy her a cocktail. Buy her one already. Or just make this fruit soju and feed it to her."
"That’s not it at all!"
Armando didn't even bother responding to Chloe’s sharp retort.
"Whatever. Anyway, I’m in. I’ve got someone I want to try this fruit soju on."
Seeing Armando puffing out his chest, I felt a sudden wave of dread. I asked cautiously, terrified that I might have to witness that cringeworthy scene at school again.
"Is it someone I know?"
"Whoa, why are you trying to butt in? You’re already taken."
"You crazy bastard, it was real, wasn't it? Can't you tell just by looking? She’s got a hell of a temper. If you make a wrong move, you’re getting slapped."
"Well, I can take one slap."
For the first time, Armando looked cool to me, simply because he was willing to take a slap for his crush.
"Whoa~ that’s smooth."
"You just realizing that now? So let’s make it. How do we do it?"
"It’s late today, so let’s meet at Jacob’s Golden Grain Soju House. I need to prepare a few things."
If this were Korea, we could just head to a friend’s house after school, but this is America. It usually takes an hour just to get home from school, so stopping somewhere and then heading home in the middle of the night was a bit much. It’s not exactly a place where you can roam around safely at night like in Korea.
"Prepare?"
"I need distillates. I can whip them up in the school lab. Let’s make a few things there and meet up this weekend."
"Alright..."
We left the conference room and headed home in our respective cars.
The next day, I distilled a few fruit essences at the school’s Pilot Winery, and by the weekend, I headed to Jacob’s farm.
"Is everyone here?"
"You're late. Come on in."
Armando and Chloe, who had arrived early, were eating corn that Jacob’s mother had prepared as a snack. The golden, perfectly ripened kernels looked delicious.
"Want some?"
Chloe held out a piece of corn, cut in half. I chuckled and shook my head.
"I'm good. I ate breakfast, so I'm not hungry."
The distillery was filled with the sweet scent of grain and the warmth of distillation. Stainless steel tanks lined up next to the small still, and I laid out clear glass bottles on the workbench.
"What’s this?"
When Chloe asked, I opened the lids.
"Peach, yuzu, and raspberry. I distilled only the fruit aromas."
"Mmm~ but couldn't you make this with cherries, too?"
"Of course. If I just needed syrup, I would have asked you to bring cherries, but I needed the distillation process, so I handled it myself this time. Syrup loses its aroma in alcohol, so there was no other way."
"Ah... so that’s how you keep the aroma from dying in the alcohol."
"Exactly."
I poured the soju base into a beaker and added a few drops of the peach distillate with a dropper. Instantly, the scent of peaches exploded into the air.
"Wow... that smell is insane."
"Not bad, right? And it’s not just the smell that’s insane."
They didn't know, but having lived through the era where fruit soju took America by storm, I was far more confident in this than in American-style Andong soju.
Jacob took a sip of the peach-scented drink and his eyes widened.
"Hmm! Oh... this... it’s delicious?"
It had to be. Fruit juice and fruit soju are very different experiences. It’s not just the one-dimensional sweetness of juice; the aroma and texture of the alcohol blend with the fruit’s natural scent, creating a unique beverage in its own right.
"See? I told you it was good."
When I said that, Jacob frowned and took another sip. After a few more sips, he downed the rest of the glass in one go and stared at the empty cup with wide eyes.
"This... is dangerous. I just want to keep drinking it."
"Now do you understand why I called it a 'get-lucky' drink?"
"Yeah, absolutely..."
Armando, impatient, urged me on.
"Make another one, quick."
I mixed the peach distillate into the soju base again, and Armando gulped it down, his eyes widening.
"Hey, this is incredible!"
"Why are you so anxious?"
"Don't be anxious. From what I’ve seen, you have genius-level talent."
"That’s not what I meant by anxious..."
"Hmph! You’re just saying that so I won't be jealous of your talent."
"You call that talent? That’s actually kind of scary..."
I humored Armando’s banter and made a glass for Chloe. She took one sip and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What is this! Hahaha!"
"It’s good, right?"
"It’s hilarious! This is guaranteed to sell. Why don't we do a tasting with this? I think we should sell this primarily around college campuses. We need to do a tasting at the university."
Jacob nodded at her suggestion.
"That doesn't sound bad. But we’d need a lot of it, right? One bottle wouldn't be enough to make enough for a tasting."
He gestured toward the small glass bottles I had brought. I pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I only made these simply as samples to show you guys. To be precise, the aroma from this essence doesn't last long, so it’s hard to make it a commercial product."
"Then?"
"I just wanted to show you the feel of it. To make it properly, it needs to go through beverage-grade blending and stabilization processes."
"Ah... so it’s not that easy?"
"It’s not. You can’t just adjust the distillation ratio and bottle it like we did with 'The One.' You need the flavorings I made, plus actual fruit juice, sweeteners, acidity regulators, and antioxidants."
Jacob’s jaw dropped at the complexity.
"Wow... that’s factory-level stuff, isn't it?"
"It is. But don't worry too much. We just need to build a beverage-blending system. Haven't you had some extra capital since selling 'The One'?"
"Oh, right. I’ve got plenty of capital."
Jacob had sold a staggering 7,000 cases of 'The One' this time. His net profit was over $700,000—a level that already exceeded expectations, as he had recouped his initial investment in the first year of brewing. I had received a bit over $200,000 for my 30% share, and Jacob had used more than half of his $500,000 profit to pay off his loans. With that breathing room, he had been thinking he could take or leave the premium soju project this year.
"Roughly... it shouldn't even cost $100,000. For blending tanks, chillers, and large refrigerators? We’ll need filtration filters and various tools... Oh! We’ll need to renovate the warehouse to allow for cold storage. Let’s say $100,000 to be safe, but if we do it cheaply, it could be done for $50,000."
"Really? If it’s that much, it’s not a burden at all."
"Producing the fruit juice concentrate and essence ourselves would be a headache, so let’s just buy those."
"Ah...! If we can do that, there’s nothing to worry about!"
"Then... I’ll aim to hold a tasting event around next Tuesday, and we can buy the flavorings for that. Since we need a fair amount, it’s better to order them than for me to make them. If the reaction is good, why don't we install the equipment right away?"
"Great! Let’s do that!"
With that decided, we spent the rest of the day hanging out at Jacob’s house, even eating lunch there to sober up, before heading home.
The following week, after obtaining peach, apple, and pineapple flavorings from a company called Givaudan, we got permission from the school and started the tasting event.
"Come try a sample!"
"Would you like to try some fruit-flavored alcohol?"
Perhaps because it was a school with a strong interest in alcohol—they even had a wine department—students approached out of curiosity when they heard about fruit-flavored alcohol. And the reaction was completely different from when they drank the grain-based premium soju.
"Whoa! Wow!"
"This is totally delicious!"
"If they sold this, I’d definitely buy it."
Unlike with the premium soju, the students’ eyes widened in amazement as they tasted the fruit-flavored soju. Conversely, the middle-aged faculty and staff made strange faces.
"What is this..."
"It’s not for me."
The reaction was so dramatic that I didn't even need to check the evaluation forms in the box.
"We did it!"
Jacob clenched his fist in the middle of the busy tasting event. Having already gained confidence from selling 'The One,' he was now certain that if they produced it, it would sell out immediately.
"Do you think it’ll work?"
I asked casually, and Jacob grabbed my shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"This is a guaranteed hit. We’ll distribute it mainly to bars and clubs around college campuses. And I think it’ll do well in retail stores, too. It’s just so easy to drink."
"That’s true. It’s certainly easy to drink. I wonder how far this will go...?"
I was sure that once people got a taste, they’d keep looking for it, but I couldn't predict how fast it would spread.
"This is going to be a huge success. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Let’s file for a patent before we launch."
"A patent?"
"Yeah. Wine has so many different production methods and so much know-how that you don't really need a patent, but this is different. One drink can dominate the market, so we need a patent."
"Ah... I see."
"Let’s bundle the concept of a soju base—which you could call rice vodka—blended with light fruit flavorings and juice, and patent that. That way, we can prepare for any situation."
Jacob nodded frantically at my words. A vague but strong sense of anticipation was radiating from his eyes.