Forget ‘girl boss’. Here’s a soft girl’s guide to drinking & having fun this CNY 2024.

I decided to take a new approach in 2024 and enter my “soft girl era”.

There are a few varieties of this phrase — “soft life”, “soft era” — but here’s the gist of what it is:

After all, ‘girl boss’ is so 2010s.

I figured that the best time to showcase my new attitude/ mindset/ philosophy towards life would be during the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations.

The only problem is that the season’s usual drink of choice is beer, as you can probably imagine uncles downing cans of them in between mouthfuls of food.

This isn’t very “soft-girl” as beers are heavy and usually make me feel very bloated and uncomfortable.

I decided to try out some easy concoctions – in preparation for the festivities — and see what my colleagues thought of them.

Horoyoi

My colleague, Hui Si, excitedly carried over a couple of cans of Horoyoi as I washed raspberries, blackberries and cherries, and sliced up a lemon.

As the cans are quite aesthetic, you can consume the drink as is or amp up its look by adding fruits for a fancier touch.

To fulfil the “soft girl” aesthetic, I tied a couple of baby pink and blue ribbons on wine glasses and mugs.

I added berries to the peach, white grape and plum Horoyoi. And to some, I added a lemon slice.

“It (white grape Horoyoi) smells so good,” my other colleague Ilyda commented, adding that the fruits were really yummy to eat after soaking in the Horoyoi.

“It’s also easy to drink,” Hui Si said as she sipped from her glass.

The beverages were fruity, light, bubbly, and easy to drink with an alcohol content of 3 per cent.

A great choice for girlies who don’t want to fill up on liquid.

Jim Beam Highball

For a little more of a kick, I made a couple of Jim Beam highballs with one part Jim Beam Bourbon, four parts soda water and some sugar, topped with a slice of lemon and cherry.

These beverages were definitely stronger (in alcohol content) than Horoyoi and not as sweet, but that was how my colleague Olivia liked it.

I have to admit, I didn’t exactly follow the recipe I found; here’s the original.

But I loved the tinge of sourness and whiskey-soaked cherries, nonetheless.

I also made flavoured Jim Beam highballs with popular Chinese New Year drinks: add one part of chrysanthemum tea or green tea for a sweeter Chinese New Year-themed variation.

I let a few of the guys in the office try some too and they much preferred this to the sweeter alternatives.

Might not be the most traditional use of the drinks, but it still tasted good.

The best thing about Horoyoi and my JimBeam Highball concoctions is that they are mostly sweet, light and easy to make.

And a great foil to the saltier and oilier foods we usually indulge in during the festivities.

If you too would like to embrace your soft girl era, you can get your Horoyoi and Jim Beam Highball via alcohol delivery, as well as at Cold Storage, NTUC Fairprice, and Don Don Donki.

But like any wise adult would say, make sure you drink responsibly. 

This sponsored article by JimBeam allowed this writer to have an easy alcoholic drink this ‘soft girl’ Chinese New Year.

Top images via Alfie Kwa