Umeshu

Umeshu is a spirit made in Japan from ume plums, which are steeped in liquor along with rock sugar or another sweetener for many months, and leave umeshu with a distinct ume coloring ranging from orange to light green.

Although called “plums,” ume are actually more like apricots, and are also a common snack or ingredient in Japan when pickled as umeboshi.

Umeshu itself has a flavor that’s both sweet and sour, with an alcohol percentage ranging usually between 10 to 15%. It can be drank by itself — either straight or, more often, on the rocks — as a simple highball with tonic or soda, as a “hot toddy” during cold months, or used as an ingredient in cocktails. In cocktails, its built-in sweet-and-tangy profile makes it work well in an umeshu sour. With soda water, it’s more refreshing, while umeshu on the rocks is tasty but more intense in flavor.

There are loads of companies that manufacture umeshu from small-scale producers to the most famous brands like Choya.