Liquor has a variable reputation, favorable and unfavorable. But one thing that’s generally consistent is it’s almost always a conversation starter.

For handsome chef Park Ki Hoon (Won Do Hyun) and marketing employee Han Ji Yu (Kim Joon Hyung), it’s the awkward beginning to a strained relationship full of burgeoning romantic tension.

The new Korean BL All the Liquors lives up to its title, revolving around two men with very different relationships with alcohol. While Ji Yu enjoys partaking, particularly when under the weather, Ki Hoon is adamantly against it, especially in his restaurant Goosoo. When Ji Yu’s job brings him to Goosoo, hoping to sign a promotional contract with Ki Hoon for the release of a new soju, a fun love-hate dynamic develops.

The first two episodes quickly set up the unfolding story, from introducing memorable secondary characters to easily bringing our two leads together. I found myself especially impressed with actor Kim Joo Hyung. As the loveable drunkard Han Ji Yu, he has the delicate task of bringing a tipsy fun-loving feel to a drama that its own alcoholic theme could potentially drown out. Drinking, especially drunk, awkward moments, are often hilarious ways to break the tension in a drama/film, but there’s always the danger of taking it too far, of carrying on a tipsy scene so long it loses its comedic appeal. Despite All the Liquors being a drama centered on a man who drinks a little excessively, Kim Joo Hyung manages to keep his character from feeling too much. Instead, he’s adorably easy to relate to, having come out of a failed relationship while struggling to stay on top of his job.

From the moment the show was revealed, I looked forward to viewing it. There’s something nostalgically comfortable about the idea of two people bonding over drinks. I expected a drama filmed at a bar with two men drunkenly digressing about life and slowly realizing they’ve become more dependent on each other’s conversation and company than the alcohol.

That’s not what I got, but I’m not disappointed in what it’s delivering. A back-and-forth tug-of-war between two men with differing opinions on alcohol is just as interesting and has a broader range of possibilities. But it also has a higher risk of failing squeezed into an eight-episode format.

As always, the short format Korean BLs worry me with their length. Many tend to start out trying to do too much and then end without fully wrapping everything up. I’m hoping that’s not the case with All the Liquors. For now, it’s staying its course, keeping the story focused with a surprisingly fast pace that may bring it to the satisfying conclusion I’m hoping for.

For a fun, tipsy romantic experience, check out All the Liquors on Gagaoolala and Viki.

Rating- 4 out of 5