This famous Japanese liqueur, umeshu plum wine, offers delightful sweet and tangy flavors with the fruity fragrance of ume plums. Requiring only 3 ingredients, this drink is very easy to make. It's perfect for parties and as a homemade gift for your loved ones!

Japanese umeshu plum wine on the rocks in a glass

Why We Love This Recipe:

Umeshu is a Japanese plum wine or liqueur made by steeping green ume (Japanese plums) in white liquor and rock sugar. This drink has been quite popular among Thai people for quite some time.

I never really understood what the craze was all about until I finally opened my first bottle of CHOYA Umeshu. Since then I’ve been making the drink most times the plums are in season.

And I know you probably don’t need me to tell you this, but this Japanese plum wine is so great for parties. New Year’s, birthday, housewarming – you name it. It’s good for all.

Since the ume season isn't that long, you might want to make many jars each time so it lasts you a while. And if you know anyone who likes this drink, you can also give it to them as a gift when it's ready. They’re going to LOVE the homemade version!

How To Enjoy Umeshu Plum Wine

While umeshu is generally referred to as Japanese plum wine in English, I wouldn't say it tastes like wine at all. It’s got a bit of tartness in it from the unripe plums. But overall, it’s on the sweeter side of things. In my opinion, it's actually more like a liqueur than a wine.

Because of its taste, it's mostly enjoyed on the rocks. However, it's also great with sparkling water and ice, and it works well in cocktails.

As much as this might shock the whole Japanese population, I sometimes enjoy mine with Sprite or Lipton lemon tea.

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

ume plums, rock sugar, and a white liquor on a wooden table

Ingredient Notes

Ume Plums: I can probably only speak for Thailand since it's where I live. Here, ume is grown up in the mountains in the Northern part of the country where it's cooler. The plums are in season in March-April. You can normally find these Japanese green plums at the Royal Project stores in Thailand or search for them on Facebook.

fresh ume plums in a white bowl on a wooden table

The season of this fruit seems to vary from place to place, though. In Japan, it's said to be June-July, while in California, it's May-June. If you love or are interested in making Japanese plum wine, you'll need to see if you can find the plums and when their season is in your part of the world.

Rock Sugar: Rock sugar takes longer than granulated sugar to dissolve, which means it helps to slowly extract the flavors and fragrance of the plums. Compared to other types of sugar, it will give your drink a fruitier aroma and a stronger taste of the ume plums. If it isn't available in your local grocery store, you can get rock sugar on Amazon.

White Alcoholic Beverage: Ideally, you want to use shochu, a Japanese distilled beverage. However, if you can’t find it, you can use a white liquor like a flavorless vodka. I’ve tried making umeshu with vodka before and it was great.

Though in the pictures in this post, I used a Thai rice whiskey Lao Khao or เหล้าขาว which, similar to shochu, is a rice distilled beverage. Whatever white liquor you decide to go with, make sure that it’s 35%-40% alcohol.

Instructions

freshly made Japanese umeshu plum wine in a glass jar

Step 1: Rinse the plums and soak in clean water for 2 hours.

Step 2: Thoroughly dry the plums with a towel and pick out the stems with a toothpick.

Step 3: In a large glass jar, place a layer of the plums and cover them with a layer of rock sugar. Repeat the process with the remaining plums and sugar. You can use more than one jar, but make sure the sugar is half the weight of the plums in each jar.

Step 4: Pour the liquor into the jar. The liquid should be a little bit above the plums.

Step 5: Close the lid tightly and store the jar in a cool and dark place for at least 6 months. After 6 months, your umeshu is ready to drink.

Tips

ready to drink homemade Japanese umeshu plum wine in a glass jar and glasses

1. Make sure you really throughly dry the plums before you layer them in a jar. Otherwise, they can get mushy and rot.

2. Although homemade umeshu plum wine is ready to drink in six months, they say the longer you steep the plums, the better the umeshu tastes. I've tried 2 years and it was amazing. If you want to test the differences, you can try making many jars in one go and open them at different times - say, 6 months, 1 year, 1.5 years or longer.

3. Don't throw the plums away! By the time your drink is ready, the plums won't be sour anymore because they've been steeped in liquid with sugar for so long. They actually taste quite good and make for a great garnish as well. If you fancy, you can also use them to make jam or in desserts.

How To Store Opened Umeshu Plum Wine

ready to drink homemade Japanese umeshu plum wine in a glass jar

What's so good about this Japanese plum liqueur is that it doesn't really expire! Not only can you steep the plums for however long you want before you open it, but once you've opened it, you can also take as much time as you need to finish it (though I doubt it will be long). As we're using a beverage that is 40% ABV to steep the plums, this will help prevent them from rotting.

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