Umeshu

Umeshu is a sweet, pale-amber Japanese liqueur made by steeping whole unripe ume — the tart green fruit of Prunus mume, often called Japanese plum or apricot — in a clear distilled spirit with rock sugar until the alcohol draws out the fruit's bright acidity, its aroma and a distinctive bitter-almond kernel note. Traditionally made at home each early summer when the green ume come to market, it is one of the most important and best-loved liqueurs of East Asia, produced both as a family craft and by large brewers such as Choya, Suntory and countless sake and shochu houses. It tastes of tart, honeyed stone fruit — somewhere between plum, apricot and green-almond — sweet but sharply acidic, with a soft marzipan edge and a clean fruity finish. Bottled at a modest strength, usually about 10 to 15 percent alcohol by volume, it is sipped neat, over ice, split with soda or hot water, and served as both aperitif and after-dinner drink.