Plums are popular ingredients in Japan for foods such as Onigiri. But Japanese also make wine of plums. It is called Umeshu, with Ume meaning plum and shu meaning liquor. The alcohol percentage is usually between 10 to 15%. It is a very sweet wine and therefore you do not taste the alcohol so much. In the restaurants there are normally various ways the drink is offered.
- “Misuwari” (水割り) means, mixed with water
- “Rock” means, pure Umeshu with icecubes.
- “Straight”means, pure Umeshu
- “Sodawari” （ソーダ割り）means, mixed with soda (carbonated water)
Umeshu is also easy to make by yourself and that is what many Japanese are doing. Add some plum fruits and sugar to shouchuu (another Japanese liqour based on rice and barley), let stick them in a dark place for half a year or longer and it is ready to drink. Recipes can easily be found on the internet.
