K-Cocktail Innovation at OUL Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

The recognition of Four Seasons Hotel Seoul among the World’s Best Awards 2024 by Travel + Leisure is largely attributed to its bar OUL, which is inspired by Seoul’s unique drinking culture. This trendy city hotspot is set to launch a playfully refreshed cocktail menu on August 6, 2024, featuring Korean liquors, homemade cordials, and local ingredients.  Innovative creations for Seoul's summer nights, such as the Seoul Mule, Kimchi Highball, and Milsu, showcase the impressive creativity of Head Bartender Ike Ryu.

Inventive Summer Vibes

OUL Bar explores the city’s past, present and future-minded innovations of liquor crafting and fermentation through three menu sections: Traditional; Turn of the Century, and Today and Beyond. For the menu, Ike Ryu takes his inspiration from beloved flavours reminiscent of Korean childhood. Banana milk; garlic; barley tea; kimchi; gochujang and soybean paste all feature. Mindful of guests exploring Korean tastes for the first time, his concoctions come in familiar preparations such as highball, negroni and gimlet.

New creations in the Traditional section include Milsu – a creamily-textured combination of Makgeolli (traditional Korean rice wine), pine needle tea-infused rum, pine powder, honey and cream – and Yujacha, which artfully fuses Jeju mandarin-infused Sonbi gin, yuja, pineapple and honey for a tangy sweet and sour flavour sensation.

For Turn of the Century surprises, Ssal 75 is an invigorating and aromatic twist on the classic French 75 that blends mandarin peel-infused gin with sparkling rice wine, while the non-alcoholic Nok-Cha uplifts with green tea, citrus, mint and ginger seltzer.

With the Today and Beyond section’s reflection of hip international and local trends, Ike Ryu’s creativity really gets to shine. Guests will thrill to try experimental drinks with spicy and salty or umami flavours, including gochujang – Korean chili paste – and even a mugwort rice cake-inspired cocktail. Sool Bab is a decadently rich, velvety treat with a base of miso butter soju infused with nurungji syrup, and the upgraded Kimchi Highball is made with radish water kimchi, chilli powder, garlic, and ginger for a fiery start to the night.

OUL regulars will be delighted to see some of their signature favourites still on the menu. Sikhye partners pumpkin and chai tea; Goosoo Highball is a playful twist on K-beverage barley tea; banana milk and hazelnut form the comforting flavours in Banana Milk, while K-Negroni celebrates the iconic Korean blackberry and omija. Non-alcoholic options allow those abstaining to experience equally immersive adventures in taste.  

“It’s a privilege for me to be able to share the dazzling flavour combinations of my homeland in ever more creative ways at OUL,” comments Head Bartender Ike Ryu. “My career so far has also afforded me a deeper understanding of the tastes of our international guests. It’s fun to find that balance between exploring uniqueness and authentically expressing local culture while creating drinks that feel familiar.”

Guests can enjoy not only cocktails but also other local craft liquors such as gin, wine, and whiskey along with modern Korean fare. All alcoholic cocktails are priced from KRW 29,000. OUL is open for an immersion in Seoul-inspired creativity from Tuesday to Saturday, 6:00 pm to 12:00 midnight.

For inquiries and reservations, call 02-6388-5500.