Umeshu (Japanese 'Plum' Liqueur)

A wonderful and unique liqueur made with small green (unripe) ume or apricot fruits. The only hard part is waiting for it!

Includes variations for different alcohol bases, including a substitute for shochu.

Course Drinks

Cuisine Asian, Japanese

Keyword umeshu, umeshu with apricots, umeshu with sake, umeshu with vodka

Prep Time 20

Resting Time 180

Total Time 180 20

Servings servings (shots)

Calories 147kcal

Ingredients

500 g green apricots (or green ume, see note)
250 g rock sugar
500 ml shochu (or a 50:50 combination of vodka and sake) (see notes on varieties and variations below)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Thoroughly clean green ume or apricots and remove any bad spots with a sharp knife. Make sure to remove any bits of stem. Try not to expose the pits - discard any fruits that need that much trimming.
Transfer the fruit to a clean jar. Add the sugar, then cover the mixture with shochu (or with the vodka/sake combination - see note).
Shake the container gently to distribute the sugar and help it begin dissolving. Leave for 6 months (or longer), gently shake the mixture ever few days during the first week or two.
Pour the finished liqueur through a filter to strain out any solids, then bottle. The finished umeshu can be consumed immediately or further aged in bottles.

Notes

Apricots and Ume - Green apricots can be found in late spring and early summer when orchards thin the branches on trees to ensure better yields later in the summer. In Japan, ume, aka Japanese plums (Prunus mume) are used, and if you can find those fresh, then great! If not, green apricots or even green peaches are your best bet (at least in North America). Despite the 'plum' name, ume are actually very closely related to apricots, hence the choice here.

Alcohol - I like to use singly-distilled shochu, which is around 25% alcohol by volume (ABV). This can be hard to find outside of Japan, in which case a 50:50 combination of sake and vodka works wonderfully (250 ml of each). If you prefer a stronger, more alcoholic tasting umeshu, you can use doubly-distilled shochu (or 'white liquor'), or a 80:20 mixture of vodka and sake.

For more notes on possible alcohol variations, refer to the main body of the post associated with this recipe.

Nutrition