umeshu

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y-night! Mr.S and I spent Saturday evening at a Baltimore foodie party, hosted by fellow blogger, Rachel. Everyone brought interesting liquors and beverages... limoncello, Pimms, Sangrita, Unicum... We brought this bottle of Japanese plum wine and sweet wasabi pickles to complement (see previous post). Called umeshu, this wine is made by soaking green plums, ume, in clear distilled liquor, shochu, for up to 12 years. It is sweet and warm-tasting, and reminded me of ice wine.

One of the most popular brands is called Choya. The website gives recipes for using umeshu in seasonal drinks, my favorite being the Choya Royal, a mixture of umeshu and dry champagne. Another interesting one is mixing 2 parts umeshu with 3 parts beer. Mmmmm.... I'm fairly convinced that the design of the bottle is what adds to the appeal of this wine- it reminded me of a sports water bottle or a Voss bottle with its straight shape and big cap lid. Hours of fun!