Learn all about Japanese Umeshu
Umeshu is a Japanese liqueur with more than 1,000 years of history. It is made of Ume apricot, alcohol and sugar and very popular in Japan. There are more than 300 private Umeshu labels and many households also make their own liqueur.
The purpose of this lens is to share knowledge about Umeshu in generals, Umeshu labels, their producers and to show how its production works.
Umeshu was brought from China to Japan as a medical drink in the eight century. In 1697 the dictionary of Japanese food culture first time documents the word "umeshu". It describes umeshu as increasing appetite. It also says that umeshu is detoxifying and helping against sore throat.
The production method has not changed that much since ancient times. However, in its beginning umeshu was made using aged sake only instead of the multiple alcohol bases that are common these times.
The many umeshu brands have broad varieties in taste, scent and color. These differences are driven by using different alcohol types as a base as well as differences in other ingredients and production methods. There are four basic types of umeshu:
- Umeshu based on Sake
- Umeshu based on Shochu
- Umeshu based on Brandy
- Umeshu based on White Liqueur
The most important ingredient for umeshu is ume-apricot. Umeshu can be made with ripe, so called kanjuku-ume or with green aoume. The fruits are cleaned and then put into alcohol in large containers. They usually are marinated for about a year and then removed from the alcohol. Some umeshu are allowed to age for 10 or even 20 years. Some umeshu producers keep a few ume inside the umeshu and it is delicious to eat them.
Many private households make their own Umeshu since the principles of marinating Ume apricot in alcohol is very simple.
The purpose of this lens is to share knowledge about Umeshu in generals, Umeshu labels, their producers and to show how its production works.
Umeshu was brought from China to Japan as a medical drink in the eight century. In 1697 the dictionary of Japanese food culture first time documents the word "umeshu". It describes umeshu as increasing appetite. It also says that umeshu is detoxifying and helping against sore throat.
The production method has not changed that much since ancient times. However, in its beginning umeshu was made using aged sake only instead of the multiple alcohol bases that are common these times.
The many umeshu brands have broad varieties in taste, scent and color. These differences are driven by using different alcohol types as a base as well as differences in other ingredients and production methods. There are four basic types of umeshu:
- Umeshu based on Sake
- Umeshu based on Shochu
- Umeshu based on Brandy
- Umeshu based on White Liqueur
The most important ingredient for umeshu is ume-apricot. Umeshu can be made with ripe, so called kanjuku-ume or with green aoume. The fruits are cleaned and then put into alcohol in large containers. They usually are marinated for about a year and then removed from the alcohol. Some umeshu are allowed to age for 10 or even 20 years. Some umeshu producers keep a few ume inside the umeshu and it is delicious to eat them.
Many private households make their own Umeshu since the principles of marinating Ume apricot in alcohol is very simple.
Beautiful Umeshu Labels
curated content from Flickr
Umeshu based on Sake
Sake - or nihonshu - is a Japanese alcoholic drink brewed from rice and water. It is well known as ricewine but it's production is closer to the production of beer than wine. It is the differences in rice, the water and the mash that lead to a large variety of sake brands and flavors. The taste of sake can be very smooth and flowery, dry or even sour and sharp.
Many umeshu are made based on sake. It is obvious that the different types of sake also lead to different types of umeshu. We made a selection of a few very nice but different umeshu based on sake.
Many umeshu are made based on sake. It is obvious that the different types of sake also lead to different types of umeshu. We made a selection of a few very nice but different umeshu based on sake.
- Aragoshi Umeshu
- Aragoshi Umeshu made by the famous Ume no Yado Brewery in Nara prefecture is a very unique Umeshu. It is made of very ripe Ume apricot and includes some extra pulp. It is unfiltered so that the delicious pulp remains in the liqueur.
- Sogabairin no Umeshu
- Sogabairin no Umeshu () is made by the Ishii Brewery in Kanagawa prefecture. Soga is the name of a region that is well known for growing ume-apricot. This Umeshu is based on Sake and a little bit rough in the first place. The long-lasting aftertaste is well balanced with a very intense flavor of green ume.
Umeshu based on Shochu
Shochu is a distilled beverage native to Japan. It has between 25% and 43% alcohol and most often is made of rice, barley or sweet potato. There also is a variety of Shochu made of buckwheat, sweet chestnut or even milk. Shochu became very popular over the last years, mainly because it is more digestible than Sake. It is made all over Japan but is originated from Kyushu island.
- Hannari Kyo Umeshu
- Hannari Kyo Umeshu is a very classic Umeshu from Kyoto. It's taste reminds many Japanese their grandmothers home-made Umeshu. It is not so sweet and has a refreshing acid.
- Jonetsu Umeshu
- Jonetsu Umeshu is made with Awamori - a kind of rice-shochu from Okinawa island - and a shot of passion-fruit juice. Both fruits have very intense flavor as well as natural acid and complement each other.
This Umeshu is fruity but dry with a lot of acid. The combination of fruitiness and acid makes it an ideal aperitif. - Nigori Yuzu Umeshu
- Nigori Yuzu Umeshu is made by the Kitagawa Honke brewery in Kyotu. It's taste is dominated by Japanese Yuzu lime. It is a little bit sour and emphasizes the fragrance of the slightly bitter Yuzu skin. It is unfiltered and includes a lot of pulp.
- Ohara Shiso Umeshu
- Ohara Shiso Umeshu from the Kitagawa Honke brewery in Kyoto is made mit Japanese Shiso mint that gives it a nice pink color. Ohara is the name of a region that is well known for growing Shiso. Because it is made with natural Shiso only it has a very natural and subtle bitter flavor of Shiso.
- Shochu Shikomi Kuroi Umeshu
- Shochu Shikomi Kuroi Umeshu is made from wheat Shochu by the Kikusui brewery in Kochi prefecture. The dark color of the Shochu gives it its name (kuroi means black).
The distinct flavor of the wheat Shochu blends very well with the ume-apricot. This makes it a very special Umeshu that people hate or love. - Uji Gyokuro Umeshu
- Uji Gyokuro Umeshu is made of rice Shochu, ume and green tea. The addition of real green tea leaves from the Uji region gives it a very natural scent of green tea that blends very well with ume. This Umeshu has a bitter aftertaste typical for Gyokuro tea.
It is a very refreshing digestive.
Umeshu based on Brandy
Brandy can also serve as a base for the production of Umeshu. They often have a slightly heavy taste. Their full body comes from brandy that matured during many years. They fit well to a romatic fireplace evening and are a perfect blend of Western and Japanese culture.
- Baiko Hyakunen Umeshu
- Baiko Hyakunen Umeshu literally means "hundred years Umeshu" in Japanese. It is made by the Meiri brewery in Ibaraki prefecture. It is based on brandy that aged for at least 5 years and it has a fruity, long-lasting aroma.
- Joto Umeshu
- The name says it all: Joto means first class in Japanese and the flavor of this Umeshu matches its name. It has a smooth but not too sweet taste and a perfect balance of ume-apricot, brandy and honey.
Umeshu based on White Liqueur
White liqueur is made industrially and has no own taste as compared to Sake, Shochu or brandy. This makes it a good base for Umeshu since it preserves the original taste of the ume apricot. This neutral alcohol base is also often used for new Umeshu creations including green tea, honey, Japanese basil or other innovative ingredients (e.g., banana).
- Kokuto Umeshu
- Kokuto Umeshu is with brown sugar and made by the Honbo brewery in Kagoshima prefecture. It is a perfect liqueur for dessert.
The aroma is dominated by the brown sugar and smoothened by the softness of the ume-apricot and some honey. This very unique Umeshu also fits well to coffee or even cheese. - Koshu Nigori Umeshu
- Koshu Nigori Umeshu is an unfiltered and therefore unclear Umeshu. Only very ripe ume fruits are used for its production. This gives him a strong fruitiness that reminds western apricot.
It is a rather smooth Umeshu with little acid and a nice aftertaste. - Kyunen Koshu Nigori Umeshu
- Kyunen Koshu Nigori Umeshu is made by the Kikusui brewery and it aged for nine years. It has a rich flavor of ripe ume-apricot and it is very sweet. Its consistency is very thick and it has a very intense fruity scent.
- Shoga Umeshu
- Shoga Umeshu is a really amazing liqueur. At first the ginger really as the sharpness of raw ginger. But after a short while it smoothens and the second impression is a long-lasting beautiful taste of ginger.
This Umeshu is a perfect drink on a hot summer day or in winter to warm you up. - Torotoro Banana Umeshu
- Torotoro Banana Umeshu from Kikusui brewery is a very special Umeshu with banana pulp. The banana makes the consistency very thick and gives a smooth aroma.
How to best enjoy Umeshu
There is more than one way to enjoy Umeshu
- On the Rock
The most common way to serve Umeshu is on the rock. If you order an Umeshu in a bar you will usually get it with a lot of ice. I recommend using a little ice only since it dilutes the taste of Umeshu very quickly. - Slightly chilled
I personally enjoy Umeshu most without ice but slightly chilled. This is especially true for Umeshu that suits very well as aperitif or digestif (e.g., Jonetsu Umeshu, Nigori Yuzu Umeshu, Uji Gyokuro Umeshu). - Soda
Umeshu that are very intense and thick also taste very well with a little bit of soda. The nine year old Kyunen Koshu Nigori Umeshu for example is much better with soda than as is. Soda is also very useful if you just want to have the notion of Umeshu flavor without the effect of alcohol. - "Oyuwari"
The Japanese have a custom to enjoy alcohol with warm water and Oyuwari literally means "mixed with warm water". Especially in winter you can warm you body and soul by mixing some Umeshu with a glass of hot water. - Umeshu as a cocktail
Umeshu is a wonderful ingredient for any cocktail that needs fruit and/or acid. I will later create a dedicated lens on cocktails with Umeshu.
Company logos of Umeshu producers
curated content from Flickr
I found there are four types of Umeshu consumers.
Tell me who you are and I will find your preferred Umeshu
I have been organizing many Umeshu tasting events and each time I collected a questionnaire from the participants. This questionnaire also states which Umeshu they liked and which not. After hacking the results into a database, I quickly realized that there are four basic Umeshu connoisseur profiles:1) The acid type:
People in this group like drinks with a very refreshing acid. It is not so important if the liqueur is fruity or which base it is made of - as long as it is not sweet! Jonetsu Umeshu and Nigori Yuzu Umeshu a very popular among people who belong to the acid type.
2) The fruity type
People in this group love intense fruit flavor and do not care so much of the liqueur is sweet or acid. In general they appreciate Umeshu based on all kind of alcohols and are very open to combinations of ume-apricot with other fruits such as banana or passion fruit.
3) The dry type
People who fall under this category prefer dry or even bitter drinks. Very often Umeshu where you recognize the alcohol base are very much appreciated by the dry type.
4) The sweet type
These are the sweet teeth among us. The sweet type likes liqueurs that are sweet and it does not matter so much if the flavor is more fruity or rather close to honey for example.
These are stereotypes of course and there are exceptions. But I found out that this works pretty accurate when recommending people a Umeshu.
What type are you?
Tell me who you are - and I will find the right Umeshu for you.
Through many tasting events I was able to identify four basic types of people with regards to Umeshu. What kind of person are you?
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Now, which Umeshu would you like to taste?
Vote the most interesting Umeshu!
Aragoshi Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
Very fruity from ripe Ume. It is unfiltered with e more...0 points
Baiko Hyakunen Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
Made with brandy that aged for 5 years and honey t more...0 points
Hannari Kyo Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
Hannari has very classic Umeshu flavor and it is n more...0 points
Jonetsu Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
Jonetsu with passion fruit is based on Awamori fro more...0 points
Joto Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
This Umeshu is based on brandy and is sweet. It ha more...0 points
Kokuto Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
An Umeshu with brown sugar that has the sweetness more...0 points
Koshu Nigori Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
This Umeshu is very fruity, not sweet and with ref more...0 points
Kyunen Koshu Nigori Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
9 years aged Umeshu. Very thick and intense it has more...0 points
Nigori Yuzu Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
With the acid and the bitterness of the skin of yu more...0 points
Ohara Shiso Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
With Shiso mint - a very fine Umeshu with the slig more...0 points
Shochu Shikomi Kuroi Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
A dry Umeshu with a strong taste of wheat Shochu a more...0 points
Shoga Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
Umeshu with ginger. The ginger first gives the sha more...0 points
Sogabairin no Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
A dry Umeshu focussing on ume-apricot flavor only more...0 points
Torotoro Banana Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
A crazy Umeshu with banana pulp. This makes it ver more...0 points
Uji Gyokuro Umeshu - Japanese Umeshu
A bitter Umeshu with the flavor from green tea. Id more...0 points
Learn how to make Umeshu at home.
Follow this recipe and video to make your own Umeshu
What you need:
1kg of gree ume-apricot
1.8l of white liqueur
1kg of rock sugar
one 4 liter glass bottle or jar with lids
and last but not least...
... one year patience until the Umeshu is ready for drinking.
1kg of gree ume-apricot
1.8l of white liqueur
1kg of rock sugar
one 4 liter glass bottle or jar with lids
and last but not least...
... one year patience until the Umeshu is ready for drinking.
Make or buy Umeshu?
Do you make your own Umeshu or do you prefer buying from professional breweries?
Home-made is better!
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byLet the experts do it!
Umeshu says:
I prefer buying since this offers me such a large variety of different Umeshu.
Posted July 19, 2009
Learn more from bloggers on the Japanese Umeshu Community Portal
This is where members of the Umeshu portal write on tasting events, fairs and anything related to Umeshu
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- susannaduffy susannaduffy Dec 31, 2009 @ 8:22 pm
- I must see if I can find some Japanese Umeshu in Australia! Blessed in an Angel's Last Tango (squidoo.com/angel-last-tango)
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- Umeshu Umeshu Jan 1, 2010 @ 10:37 am
- Thank you very much for your blessing. It motivates to write more lenses about Japanese food. I wish you a happy new year full of new interesting stuff on Squidoo.
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Reply
- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Jul 26, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
- Hi, Nicolas & welcome to Squidoo! I am not too experienced in the world of liqueurs and thank you for introducing me to Umeshu. You have done a wonderful job on your first lens and I am pleased, as a SquidAngel, to be able to bless it.
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by Umeshu
My name is Nicolas Soergel and I live in Japan since many years. Together with my wife I run Chinriu Honten Limited in the fifth generation. The compa... (more)
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