The Spirited Traveller: Seoul in your glass

The cocktail-creating WooBar at the W Seoul-Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, S. Korea is shown in this undated image.

By Kara Newman (Reuters.com) - The growing influence of global culture on Korea's ancient Seoul is evident in what you'll find in the upscale tippler's glass.

And no, it's not soju, the nation's native spirit. Here, "The most popular cocktail by far is the mojito," says Joe McPherson, Seoul-based writer and co-founder of Seoul International Cocktail Expo, a convention launching in late 2012.

"I think it became popular because it absolutely requires fresh mint. Mint is generally not used in Korea, and fresh ingredients had been unknown in cocktails. So to have these fresh, ‘exotic' herbs in a cocktail gets people excited. It has also opened the door a bit for more fresh ingredients in cocktails."

However, before the mojito, mixed drinks featuring soju were often the beverage of choice, McPherson notes, combining soju - a vodka-like spirit distilled from rice, sweet potatoes or other starches - with juice or yogurt and lemon-lime soda.

McPherson recommends the futuristic WooBar (<bit.ly/oX8dxo>) at the W Seoul-Walkerhill Hotel as "the place to see and be seen" for dealmakers. Billed as Korea's longest bar (18 metres), with a vodka-heavy drink list and skyline views, "they take their cocktail program seriously - travelling to conventions and smuggling in ingredients and making their own bitters."

As in many other Asian countries, Scotch whisky also has an important place in Seoul's drinking culture. "Ordering a high-end Scotch service is almost as elaborate as a tea ceremony."

For whiskey devotees, Coffee Bar K (205 River Valley Road) has the buzz as "the cocktail bar to beat," McPherson advises. Shorthanded as "K Bar," this Japanese-owned franchise is known for its staggering selection of 400-plus whiskies and access to Cuban cigars. (Despite the name, coffee takes a backseat to boozier libations.)

Mojitos are available here too, but be sure to bring your corporate credit card; prepared by award-winning mixologists these cocktails don't come cheap.

Recipe: Mojito

2 teaspoons sugar

4-6 mint leaves

1 lime, halved

2 ounces white rum

Soda water

In a tall glass, gently muddle the mint and sugar. Squeeze the limejuice into the glass, and drop in one of the hulls. Add rum and cracked ice, top with soda water and stir. Garnish with mint sprig.

(Kara Newman is the author of "Spice & Ice: 60 tongue-tingling cocktails", available <here>. The opinions expressed are her own.) (Editing by Peter Myers)