1 Paloma

1.1 Most basic recipe

• Tequila
• Grapefruit soda

You guess the proportions. Serve over ice.

1.2 Could be improved with

• Fresh grapefruit juice
• A touch of lime juice
• Glass rimmed with a salt/citric acid mix (or, if you have it, Tajín)

2 Spiked Yakult

2.1 Most basic recipe

• 1 part Yakult
• 1 part Soju

Best way to drink this was to serve your Yakult and use the same container to measure the Soju. Drink as a shot.

2.2 Could be improved with

• Any non-flavored Soju
• Use only 1/2 part Soju

3 Rum and Coke

3.1 Most basic recipe

• Coca-cola or your favorite cola-flavored soda
• Rum

You guess the proportions. Serve over ice.

3.2 Could be improved with

Spiced rum, actually: this is not a cocktail for fancy rum.

4 «Back to school» Melona

4.1 Most basic recipe

• 1 honeydew Melona ice cream bar
• Soju
• Sprite

A friend of mine showed me this. The idea is to dissolve the Melona in the Sprite (these, along with the ice should be about 2/3 of the glass) and then add Soju.

4.2 Could be improved with

Dissolving the Melona in the Sprite caused it to go flat from the agitation. I believe it would be way better to

1. Use not-so-cold bars so that they dissolve quickly,
2. Dissolve the bar in Soju first and top with ice and Sprite later,
3. While the taste was amazing, it’s also possible to use other, cheaper ice cream bars. I tried it with lime bars and it was also amazing.

5 Mezcal & Tonic

5.1 Most basic recipe

Prepare exactly as you would a Gin & Tonic, but substitute with Mezcal instead of Gin

5.2 Could be improved by

Little, actually. However, I didn’t went too fancy on preparing these: my local Walmart sells these tea-like satchels with premade mixes of aromatics to infuse the Gin/Mezcal. All I had to do was to let those infuse for a couple minutes before adding the ice and mezcal. I suppose that using actual fruits and aromatics would improve it.

6 Mojito

6.1 Most basic recipe

Look up any of the three mojito recipes posted online.¹

6.2 Could be improved by

Substituting the rum with Mezcal

7 «Homemade» iced «tea»

7.1 Most basic recipe

• Ginger or black tea, brewed strong, unsweetened
• Sprite

Mix about 1 part tea with 2 parts Sprite. Serve over ice

7.2 Could be improved by

Little, actually. But I couldn’t get enough of this combo and want to experiment more, with other infusions and soft drinks.

8 Somaek

8.1 Most basic recipe

• Soju
• Beer

While I love the combination, I really want to explore this drink deeper and make a proper writeup about it. For now, my ratio is about 1 part soju per 2 parts beer, but apparently the exact ratio is hotly contested and I’m not qualified to give any authoritative position.

8.2 Could be improved by

Using Korean beer, perhaps? I’ve only tried with Mexican ales, of course.

9 Stout float

9.1 Most basic recipe

• 1 scoop of the nicest vanilla ice cream you can find
• Stout beer

Float the ice cream in the beer. Enjoy.

9.2 Could be improved by

Beer snobs not commenting on the internet about how this «ruins the beer».

10 Water

10.1 Most basic recipe

• 1 mole Hydrogen
• 1 mole Oxygen
• Non-insignificant sources of heat
• Expensive equipment

Given the massive difficulties of actually synthesizing water from its constituent elements, I strongly advise against doing this. It’s much better to buy it premade.

10.2 Could be improved by

Coffee.

11 Coffee

11.1 Most basic recipe

I use James Hoffmann’s recipes for:

• Hario V60 (and similar drop methods)
• Moka pot
• Aeropress

Rule of thumb for me: 50 grams of coffee per liter of water.

11.2 Could be improved by

Having more.

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