Akashi Ume: Green Plums Steeped in Whisky Barrels Since 1679

Umeshu is normally made with shochu or a neutral spirit. Ume, rock sugar, time.

Eigashima makes it with whisky instead.

The Distillery

Eigashima Shuzo has been operating in Akashi, Hyogo since 1679, which makes it one of the oldest drinks producers in Japan. For most of that history it made sake and shochu; whisky came much later, under the White Oak name.

It sits close to Kobe Bay, the closest whisky distillery to the coast in Japan.

What They Do

Freshly harvested Japanese ume, sour green plums, are macerated in matured barrels of Akashi whisky, lightly sweetened with rock sugar, and left for six to ten months.

That's the umeshu method exactly, with one substitution. Where a household would use white liquor or shochu, Eigashima uses its own aged whisky.

The result comes out around 14% ABV, so despite the name it drinks closer to a fortified wine than to a spirit.

About Ume

Worth knowing: ume is not really a plum. It's closer to an apricot, and raw it's inedibly sour.

That tartness is the entire point. It's what keeps umeshu from collapsing into syrup, and it's what cuts through the oak and vanilla the whisky barrels contribute here.

What It Tastes Like

Nose: Bright plum, apricot, raisin, honey, a delicate floral sweetness

Palate: Plum compote, sweet stone fruit, golden syrup, held up by lively acidity

Finish: Smooth and lightly acidic, ripe plum and honey lingering

The whisky shows as depth and a faint oak frame rather than as whisky flavor. If you served this blind, most people would say very good umeshu before they said whisky anything.

How to Drink It

Chilled, neat, after dinner. That's where it belongs.

On the rocks is good in summer. With soda it lifts and becomes surprisingly refreshing.

Don't treat it as whisky, no highballs built for strength, no cocktails that need proof.

Pair It With

Dessert or instead of it. Dorayaki, matcha mochi ice cream.

It also works against salty fried food, where the acidity does the cutting.

Try It at Juraku

Akashi Ume is on the whisky list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. If you like our Mito No Kairakuen umeshu, order them side by side, same fruit, completely different framing.