Umeshu: Your ABC Guide to Japan’s ‘other’ drinks jewel

When we think of alcoholic, Japanese drinks, sake often takes centre stage but there's another, less obvious drinky gem that deserves the spotlight: Umeshu. This sweet elixir, made from plump ume fruit, sugar and alcohol, has been a beloved part of Japanese culture for centuries. Here’s a simple, beginner’s guide to this traditional, Eastern tipple with some styles you should try from the iconic Japanese Umeshu producer, Choya.

What is ume fruit?

Ume is often translated as a Japanese plum or Japanese apricot. It's actually neither but it is very closely related to both. Ume fruit is typically small, round and green when unripe, turning yellow or reddish as it ripens. It has a unique flavour that combines tartness, sweetness and a slight floral aroma, making it a distinctive and much-loved ingredient in Japanese cuisine.

Umeshu, also known as plum wine, is the name of the alcoholic drink made with ume; a tradition that dates back to the Nara period (710-794 AD), when ume trees were first introduced to the country.

How is Umeshu made?

The basic process of making Umeshu is relatively simple, but it does require patience: Ume fruit is steeped in alcohol and sugar before being aged. Over time, the flavours meld and mature, creating a sweet, fruity and slightly tart alcoholic drink.

The Ume fruit is pricked, then layered with sugar in a large glass jar or bottle before alcohol is poured in, covering the ume fruit completely. The alcohol (often shochu but sake and brandy can be used) extracts flavours from the fruit but also acts as a preservative. The container is then sealed tightly to ensure no exposure to air, before being left to age for several months to a year or more, depending on the desired flavour profile and complexity. When the Umeshu has reached the desired flavour and colour, it is strained to remove the fruit solids. The liquid is then bottled and stored for further ageing or immediate consumption.

About Choya

Nestled in the heart of Japan's Osaka Prefecture and established in 1914, Choya has emerged as a revered and global leader in the world of Umeshu plum liqueurs. Their extensive range caters to a spectrum of palates, from the classic to the innovative and their dedication to sustainability, along with their emphasis on craftsmanship and attention to detail, have earned them a well-deserved reputation as one of Japan's finest Umeshu producers.

Styles of Choya Umeshu to try

Umeshu is far from a one-size-fits-all drink. There are various styles and flavours to explore, each with a unique character, Sip these straight, over ice or in simple cocktails. It’s a whole new drinks world to explore!

Classic Umeshu

Try: Choya Single Year Umeshu, £19.99 from Drinksupermarket.com

A traditional style of Umeshu made from a blend of three batches and aged for up to two years. Sweet, very tart but beautifully balanced with natural plum essence. Great alone or to add zing to cocktails.

Honey Umeshu

Try: The Choya Royal Honey Umeshu, £34.99 from Master of Malt

For those who prefer a touch of sweetness, honey Umeshu is a delightful choice. It combines the natural sweetness of honey with the fruity notes of ume, resulting in a balanced and luscious flavour.

Shiso Umeshu

Try: The Choya Extra Shiso, £27.99 from Amazon

Shiso leaves, also known as perilla leaves, add an earthy, herby and slightly spicy kick to Umeshu, which complements the sweet and tangy ume fruit beautifully.

Extra Years Umeshu

The Choya Extra Years Umeshu, £26.99 from  Drinksupermarket.com

Complex and sweet, this Umeshu is matured for longer than usual, giving it complex aromas and flavours of plum, dried apricot and gentle spice.

Simple Umeshu Cocktails

Umeshu makes a fantastic base for highballs and more complex cocktails. Try an Umehsu spritz with a splash of soda water or replace the whisky with the Choya honey Umeshu for a delicious hot toddy with cinnamon and lemon juice. It could even make a great old fashioned or Martini. Here’s a tried and tested recipe:

The Choya Martini

Ingredients

15ml Choya Extra Years Umeshu
45ml London Dry Gin
30ml Lillet Rose or Blanc
1 dash bitters
1 dash absinthe

Method

Chill a martini glass or coup. Combine all the wet ingredients into a mixing glass over ice and stir for thirty seconds. Strain and pour into the Martini glass then serve. Garnish with a cherry.

Kanpai!

What is Umeshu?

Japanese alcohol, perfectly crafted and perfectly delicious. You already know the big faves: Japanese whisky, Japanese gin and the mouthwatering rice wine that is sake. However, there’s another Japanese drink lurking in the shadows. Mysterious, secretive, an indulgent treat: umeshu is here and she’s here to stay. Oh, you don’t know her? You’re about to find out...

Is umeshu wine?

Whilst commonly referred to as plum ‘wine’, umeshu is not in fact wine at all! Instead, it’s a liqueur made by stewing ume plums in sugar and alcohol over the course of a year (which is FAR too long to have to wait to drink it!). It’s pretty sweet due to the large amounts of sugar added, but it’s also a slightly sour drink that comes from the unripe plums. Sweet and sour is always a great combo, so umeshu really gets it right here! Enjoy it straight, on the rocks, or, as is becoming increasingly popular, in a cocktail.

Can I make my own umeshu?

Whilst it won’t have the same taste as true umeshu due to the difficulty of finding ume plums outside of Japan, you can easily make your own variation of umeshu! There’s just one downside... you have to wait a year to reap the rewards of your labour! Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients
roughly 30 green plums*
1.5l white spirit**
700g rock sugar
a large sterilised Kilner jar or equivalent
1kg of self-control

Method
Wash and dry the plums then remove any stalks. Next, layer the plums and sugar up in the Kilner jar, pour the vodka over everything, seal, give a little shake each day until all the sugar has dissolved and then leave in a cool, dark place for 12 months shaking every couple of months.

 * The true plum variety is ‘ume’ but this can be difficult to find outside of Japan. However, you might get lucky at your local Asian supermarket - just ask!
**(shochu is best but sake or vodka can be used too)

Not sure you can wait 12 months to get your hands on some? Fear not, we’ve found 5 delicious bottles you can get your hands on right now waiting for you below.

Ooiri Nigori Umeshu Dakudaku Kiwami

Aside from the fact that this is the cutest bottle we’ve ever seen - Ooiri Nigori Umeshu Dakudaku Kiwami is a stunning umeshu with some really delicious flavours. This bottle is made by infusing the plums into sake. There’s a rich, intense aroma of plum to this umeshu, with savoury notes coming through from the sake. Though it is viscous, the flavours are fresh and clean - exactly what you’re looking for in a good quality umeshu.

ABV: 10%
Size: 720ml
Find here: £34

Bishamon Fuku Ume

This umeshu is made with the plum being infused into brandy, which gives it much stronger notes of red fruit than another umeshu may have. These red fruit notes work alongside the plum excellently. The finish on this umeshu is long and elegant, leaving a fresh taste on your palate. For a cleaner flavour profile, try this with ice. It gives a more persistent finish and gives a brilliant balance to the umeshu.

ABV: 12%
Size: 720ml
Find here: £37

Kyoto Umeshu

Kyoto Umeshu is another umeshu made by infusing the ume plums in sake and is noticeably more savoury, spicy and complex than many other types of umeshu. On the palate you’ll find bitter plums, cooked lime, mushroom, truffle, stewed tomato and bready notes, giving it a savoury flavour that makes this umeshu work so well with food. The unique taste means you can pair Kyoto Umeshu with almost any food and not be disappointed!

ABV: 10%
Size: 720ml
Find here: £43

Jurou Fuku Ume

Another brandy umeshu, Jurou Fuku Ume has wonderful aromas of spiced rum, molasses, red plum and oak. On the palate, the umeshu is rich and spicy with notes of nuts, smoke, oak and cooked greengage and an intense finish that gives notes of smooth plums and oak. As for a food pairing, red meat is definitely the way to go with this bottle!

ABV: 19%
Size: 720ml
Find here: £43

Matsunituru Whisky Umeshu

This umeshu is made with ume plums from the Japanese city of Nara, infusing them into a mix of whisky, sake and shochu! It’s got quite a high alcohol content for an umeshu, coming in at 25%, but this gives it an intensity that only amplifies the smoky whisky flavours. This umeshu works really well with salty food and can be drunk as a digestif. Try it over ice for a cleaner taste and an even more intense experience.

ABV: 25%
Size: 720ml
Find here: £46

Looking for more to read? Why not check out What is Vermouth? Or, The Best Rum for Under £30.

The Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 61

Another week and another fun-filled podcast awaits as well as another delicious dram! You can listen to the full podcast via the player below or via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify. Here’s a little snippet of what we got up to:

What’s in our Glass?

This week we’re enjoying a cheeky dram or two of Jura 10 YO whisky. A 10 year old expression, it’s initially aged in American white oak bourbon barrels before being finished in Oloroso sherry butts. With its subtle smoke, robust vanilla and a lovely Christmas cake note to it, it is a very lovely dram. You can find out more about Jura distillery via this episode of our podcast and if you want to find out even more about Jura distillery then check out The Three Drinkers do Scotch Whisky on Amazon Prime.

Size: UK 700ml // US 750ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £28.95 // US $56.99

Drinks News

Helena tells us all about what vodka and stiff napkins have in common whilst Aidy lets us know what he has discovered about Space beer!

Dine First Wine First

In this week’s ‘Dine First Wine First’ Aidy and Helena chat all about what to pair with your bottle of Viognier. Viognier, a white wine that hails from the Rhone valley in the South of France, is noted as having an oily texture, low acidity and lovely fruity notes of apricot and peach. If you like Chardonnay, you’ll no doubt like this. Helena recommends trying bottles from the Condrieu wine region and we’ve got to say, we’re curious to try her wine-food pairing suggestions too…

Mixology with Aidy

Aidy pops on his mixology hat and lets us know all about fruitier whisky cocktails. Check out his pineapple whisky sour below (we’ve tried it and YUM… just sayin’)…

Pineapple whisky sour
60ml good scotch like the Jura 10 year old
25ml Lemon juice
25ml Pineapple juice
2tsp caster sugar
1 egg white
Pineapple garnish

Method:
Place the sugar, whisky, lemon juice, pineapple juice and egg white into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds. Strain into an old fashioned cocktail glass and serve.

Drinkers Discovery

You will have definitely heard of sake, but, have you heard of Umeshu?! Well, you need to because this Japanese ‘plum wine’ (it actually has nothing to do with wine) is stunning and a great addition to sparkling cocktails. Find out how you can make your own at home via the podcast!

Mailbag

Aidy and Helena tackle the question ‘I’ve learnt through your podcast that the size and shape of a wine glass affects the taste of wine, but, is this the same for cocktails?’ Find out what they have to say by listening in today!

This article only just touches on some of the topics waiting to be discovered so if you enjoyed this then make sure to check out Episode 61 of The Bring a Bottle Podcast now!

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Japanese Sake and Umeshu

This week on The Thursday Club with Mike Graham on Talk Radio, it’s a Japanese special to celebrate our Olympic wins! We’ll be getting to know two of Japan’s favourite tipples a little better and perhaps discovering some new delicious treats along the way.

What is Sake?

Sake is wine made by fermenting rice instead of grapes. The quality can vary a lot according to how much each grain of rice has been polished (the more the better). Traditionally, only lower grade sake is drunk warm and it really should be treated just like normal grape wine wine, out of a wine glass. The quality levels go up from junmai’, which is table sake, where no minimum rice polishing is required. Then, we move up in quality to a higher polish with ‘junmai ginjo’ at 60% and then at the top, there’s ‘junmai daiginjo’, where only 50% of the rice grain is used. Usually, the junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo are more aromatic and elegant because of the polishing. Here’s much more info and your beginner’s guide to Sake on TheThreeDrinkers.com.

Shirayuki Japanese Saké 

Shirayuki is a brand of sake that has been going for centuries and hails originally from a place called Nada, near Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture; the historical birthplace of Japanese sake  since 1550. (Think about what Cognac is to Brandy - that’s what Nada is to Sake). This is a relatively small batch made just for Aldi, so get it while you can as when it’s gone, it’s gone! This is your entry level sake, which can be tasted child or warmed up if preferred. 

Find it for £4.99 at Aldi here

Junmai Daiginjo Sake

This Junmai Daiginjo from Kamoizumi brewery in Hiroshima, where there is particularly soft water, which is ideal for elegant sake. It’s a great example of finer styles of sake: bold and leafy, with umami notes of mushrooms and a slight sweetness on the finish. Try this with rich seafood dishes or even duck pancakes..

Find it for £25.75 from The Whisky Exchange here.

Sparkling Sake

Awashizuku Sparkling Sake

from the Kuichi Brewery, the makers of Hitachino Nest Beer. This is a junmaishusake, which is made using only rice, water and the sour kojhi mould that kicks of fermentation. It can be made with a secondary fermentation like champagne ot the addition of CO2. It’s sweet, earthy and refreshing - a great alternative to Prosecco and fabulous with salty snack like parma ham. 

Find it for £6.95 at The Whisky Exchange here.

Umeshu

Akashi-Tai Shiraume Ginjo Umeshu

What is Umeshu? Umeshu is an alcoholic Japanese drink made by steeping plums in sake. It’s usually fairly sweet with a moreish sweet and sour note. It’s often called plum wine, even though it is not wine made with plums; it’s actually fine sake that has had plums steeped in it with sugar added, so it; smore like a liqueur. ‘Ume’ means plum and shu means alcohol and there’s a sweet and sour note to it as the plums alone are quite sour - not to eat alone. Umeshu is best served chilled on its own in summer, or with a little hot water in winter.

Find it for £19.25 at The Whisky Exchange here.

See more about Sake on our beginner’s guide here! Want more suggestions for Japanese drinky treats? Check out this article! And for the best Japanese whisky? Look here.