Imo and ume make for a fragrant, balanced, and simple cocktail.
How-To
This drink has only two ingredients: umeshu and sweet potato shochu. These are combined at a 4:1 or 3:1 ratio.
I recommend a shochu between 20-25% ABV and prefer the elegant and fruity Tomi no Houzan brand (pictured). But I found that Satsuma Shiranami also works well.
In a wine glass, add around 4 oz of cold plum wine. Then pour about 1 oz of room temperature imo shochu into the glass, and the cocktail is ready.
Yes, the ingredients can be combined over ice and shaken or built in a highball. However, these methods won’t produce the intense fragrance, which is the beauty of this simple shochu cocktail.
A Happy Accident
I mix hundreds of cocktails a week at work, and a handful of these are experimental. Part of the fun of being a bartender is playing around with new ingredients, making variations of classics, and trying to impress your peers with something original.
But my new favorite cocktail is none of these. It’s simply a happy accident born of lazy curiosity and a desire to catch a buzz.
I drink a lot of umeshu, especially as a nightcap. But one night, I wanted to beef it up a bit. Randomly, I reached for a bottle of sweet potato shochu and poured a splash inside my glass. The results were stunning.
The fruity, funky imo shochu and floral, citrusy umeshu produce one the prettiest aromas I’ve ever encountered. And the palate is sweet, sour, and savory.