Plum Wine or Umeshu is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping fresh Japanese plum (ume) in shochu/white liquor and sugar. The sweet and sour flavors with fruity aroma is very appealing and you can make many kinds of drinks with it! Inspired by the Japanese drama – Midnight Diner.

Plum Wine (Umeshu)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg green ume plums (2.2 lb)
• 800 g white rock sugar (1.8 lb)
• 1.8 L shochu (Need 3 Shochu bottles, with 450 ml leftover; 7.5 cups; You can substitute with vodka, Japanese “white liquor”, or any distilled spirit/liquor above 35% ABV "alcohol by volume")

With 2 Shochu Bottles (750 ml x 2 - You'll need a 3-L glass jar)

• 834 g green ume plums (1.8 lb)
• 667 g white rock sugar (1.5 lb)
• 1.5 L shochu (Need entire 2 bottles, no leftover; 6.3 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients. You will need a 4-L glass jar (you can buy in a Japanese or Korean grocery store).

   
2. Rinse the jar thoroughly with soap and hot water and wipe with clean towel. While the jar is still hot, pour boiling water and shake to clean and drain. Air dry until completely dry. Damp the clean towel with shochu (or your choice of liquor) and wipe inside the jar.
3. Wash and dry the plums thoroughly.
4. Remove all the stem ends from the plums with a bamboo skewer or tooth pick. Discard the plums with any brown or blemished spots.
5. Measure the weight for rock sugar. I recommend the sugar amount to be between the half weight of the plums (1.1 lb or 500 g) to equal weight (2.2 lb or 1 kg). You just have to try it out to find out your liking (which you will find out after a year). I like to use 800 g. The best part is that it’s easy to remember too, 1 kg plums, 800 g sugar, and 1.8 L liquor.
6. In the clean jar, put the plums in a single layer. Then cover the plums with rock sugar.
7. Then put the plums in a single layer again, followed by sugar. Repeat this process until you’re done with the plums and sugar.
8. Pour 1.8 L of your choice of liquor. This bottle of shochu is 750 ml, so you’ll need 2 bottles and an additional 300 ml. If you have leftover shochu, you can make this Yuzu cocktail.
9. After pouring shochu, it looks like this.
10. Seal, write today's date on the jar, and store in a cool, dark place (no refrigerator). See you in a year! (You can start drinking from 6 months but I recommend to wait for a whole year.)

1 Year Later...

1. Remove the plums from the jar and use them for other recipes. You can leave them in the jar for 2-3 years as long as you use green plum (firm and not ripen) and 35% alcohol. (the liquid in the jar is a bit less in the photo because I had to pour some out for filming the video)

   

What should we do with the used plums?

1. You can make Plum Jam by cooking the plum and sugar (spread on toast, add in yogurt, make gelatin dessert), or bake a cake with it, make cocktails with crushed plums, or use in savory dishes.

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