Choya Umeshu

Ume Wine

 

Sweet, tart and eminently sip-able, it is exactly the kind of beverage to break out when you wish to try something new and flavorful. Produced from alcohol distilled from sugar cane, umeshu is at its heart a form of fruit infusion. Imagine the processes that produce white rum, combined with the subsequent steps to result in gin, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of umeshu. But, with balance. Not cloying, the ume fruit itself is one to four times more acidic than other varieties of plum. The flavor comes across as smooth right to the finish. Even Choya’s bottle itself contains real ume fruit floating around in the bottom and neat screw-top lid that allows you to actually pour them out and EAT THEM. Little sour plums soaked in cane sugar. You can play with this versatile wine! With sparkling white wine, in a Japanese Kir Royale. With two parts mixed into a lager, as a fun twist on a Snakebite. In a cup of mulled, warm red wine with cinnamon.