What does mango soju taste like? (Unexpectedly awesome)

The creator acquired 14 mangoes for 54,800 KRW and began processing them by removing the skin and seeds. He mentioned that it's his first time making alcohol with mangoes and he's curious if the fragrant mango scent will carry over to the alcohol. After peeling all 14 mangoes in 20 minutes, he mashed them with a blender. The mango pulp measured 17 brix, which would yield an 8% ABV alcohol. He then added yeast and let it activate for 10 minutes. After sterilizing a fermentation vessel, he poured the mango pulp in. He added a little water because the texture was too thick. After 10 minutes, the yeast had risen and was added to the mixture. The fermentation started, and after 2 hours, the mixture overflowed. He transferred it to a larger container. The next morning, the smell was bad, like rotten farts, but the fermentation was active. After 6 days, the mango pulp floated to the top, but the smell was still bad. He added a small amount of nuruk (traditional Korean fermentation starter) to add a more complex aroma. After 11 days, the fermentation was almost complete. He tasted it, and it was bland, oily, and bitter. Still, he filtered it to make what he called 'mango wine'. Then, he distilled it. The first distillation yielded about 1.5 liters of 28% ABV alcohol. He distilled it a second time for a cleaner flavor. He obtained 480ml of 52% ABV mango distilled liquor. He tasted it and found it had a fragrant, sweet fruit aroma but was a bit bland. He decided to add oak chips for more flavor, soaking them in hot water for sterilization before adding them to the alcohol. He plans to let it age for about a month.

Due to the blandness of the pure mango alcohol, the creator decided to combine glutinous rice with mango. He measured 2kg of glutinous rice, washed it, soaked it for a day and a half, and drained it for 30 minutes. Then, he steamed the rice in a steamer. While the rice was steaming, he sterilized his tools using Chemsan disinfectant. After steaming, the rice was spread out to cool. He prepared 200g of nuruk and some yeast, activating them with water. Once the rice cooled, it was transferred to a fermentation vessel, along with the nuruk and yeast, and 2.5 liters of water. The mixture was fermented in a kimchi refrigerator at a low temperature for 10 days. After 10 days, the alcohol had a fantastic aroma, like banana and melon. He then added 11 overripe mangoes. He mashed the mangoes manually instead of blending them, as the previous blending experience had caused the mixture to overflow. The crushed mangoes were added to the glutinous rice alcohol, stirred well, and fermented at 10 degrees Celsius for 18 days. After a total of 26 days since starting the rice alcohol, the fermentation was complete. He tasted the alcohol, which was a light, fragrant cheongju (Korean rice wine) with a fruity aroma, and estimated its strength to be around 10% ABV. He then began the distillation process. He siphoned the clear alcohol into the distiller and filtered the remaining solids, adding the extracted juice to the distiller.

The distillation process yielded about 2 liters of distilled liquor after 1 hour. He then distilled it a second time. He explained that the first part of the distillate, called foreshots, contains methanol. He clarified that methanol is present in small amounts in most alcoholic beverages and is not as dangerous as commonly believed. Pectin in fruits and grains, especially in the skin, converts to methanol during fermentation. Therefore, fruit brandies have a higher allowable methanol content than grain distillates. Since he used peeled mangoes and polished glutinous rice, the methanol content was low. He then collected the main body of the distillate. He obtained 600ml of 70% ABV alcohol, but only used 600ml of 70% ABV alcohol that had a good aroma. He diluted it to 53% ABV with water and stored it in an unglazed earthenware jar for aging.

He tasted the 53% ABV glutinous rice mango soju. He found the aroma to be very good, with notes of quince, earth, and straw, but no mango scent. The taste was sweet and spicy, with a burning sensation on the tongue, but he believed it would improve with aging. He described it as his preferred type of soju: savory, fruity, and full-bodied. He then tasted the 100% mango alcohol that had been aged with oak chips for a month. It had turned a dark brown color. The aroma was strange, like instant ramen seasoning and strong wood. The texture was smooth due to aging, but the taste was bland, like licking wood, with no distinct fruit flavors. He concluded that the glutinous rice mango soju was much better. He noted that the mango aroma disappears during fermentation in both types of alcohol. However, combining mango with rice resulted in a pleasant, quince-like fruit aroma, which he found very interesting. He ended the video by asking viewers to like and subscribe.