Umeshu

Umeshu is a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage made from Japanese plums called "ume" and distilled alcohol. The plums are left to macerate for several months, creating a sweet, fruity drink.

The plums are hand-picked, under-ripe, to retain all the freshness of the fruit. They are then transported to the Kura (Japanese for brewery) for processing. The stalk and the rest of the calyx are removed by hand. The plums are then washed.

They are immersed in 28% vol. sugar cane alcohol, to which sugar crystals are added. This maceration takes place during the 10 hottest months of the year.

The preparation is then racked, without pressing the plums, simply by gravity so as not to crush the stone.

The alcohol is then aged in vats for a further 14 months.