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Quick answer: for a first bottle, get Choya Original Umeshu ($16.50) — it’s the brand that basically defines the category outside Japan, and it’s the easiest to find a use for beyond just sipping. Want something more food-friendly and less sweet, go with Sawanotsuru Ume ($35). If you already like umeshu and want to see what a premium version tastes like, Daishichi Kimoto Plum ($58) is built on a slower, more traditional sake-brewing method. And if you’re buying a gift for someone who already owns good sake, Dassai 23 Umeshu ($220) is the one that turns heads — it’s Dassai’s flagship Junmai Daiginjo base infused with ume instead of a neutral spirit.
What Umeshu Actually Is (and Why the Category Varies So Much)
Umeshu is Japanese plum wine, though “plum” is a loose translation — ume fruit is closer to an apricot than a Western plum. The traditional method steeps whole ume fruit and rock sugar in a neutral spirit (usually shochu) for months, which pulls out the fruit’s sourness and aroma while the sugar mellows it into something closer to a dessert liqueur than a wine. ABV typically lands between 10% and 15%, and sweetness varies a lot by brand and grade, from cloying to genuinely balanced.
What makes the category harder to shop for than it looks is that the base spirit isn’t standardized. Most umeshu starts from shochu, but a small number of premium bottles — like the Dassai 23 pick below — are made by infusing ume into an already-brewed sake instead, which produces a noticeably different, less syrupy result. Neither approach is “more authentic”; they’re different products that happen to share a category name.
Best Umeshu: Comparison at a Glance
| Umeshu | Base | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choya Original Umeshu | Shochu | $16.50 | First bottle, most recognizable brand |
| Hakutsuru Umeshu | Shochu | $21 | Budget alternative to Choya |
| Sawanotsuru Ume | Shochu | $35 | Less sweet, more food-friendly |
| Daishichi Kimoto Plum | Shochu (kimoto method) | $58 | Premium, more traditional brewing |
| Dassai 23 Umeshu | Junmai Daiginjo sake | $220 | Gifting, sake drinkers curious about umeshu |
Prices and stock reflect Palate Project’s listings as of our most recent check and can shift — confirm on their site before you order.
1. Choya Original Umeshu — Best First Bottle
Choya has been making umeshu since 1914 in Osaka, and it’s the brand most people outside Japan encounter first, often with whole ume fruit visible in the bottle. The Original ($16.50) is on the sweeter, more approachable end of the category, which makes it forgiving if you’re not sure yet whether you like umeshu at all. It also works well as a mixer — on the rocks, with soda water, or in a simple umeshu sour — which most of the other bottles here are too delicate or too expensive to justify diluting.
Pros:
- The most recognized umeshu brand outside Japan, easy to find a use for
- Sweet, approachable profile that’s forgiving for a first try
- Versatile enough to mix with soda or use in cocktails, not just sip solo
Cons:
- Its sweetness can feel one-note once you’ve tried a drier style like Sawanotsuru
- Not the pick if you want something that reads as a serious, sippable spirit rather than a casual drink
Bottom line: the default starting point for the category, and still a reasonable bottle to keep around after you’ve branched out.
2. Hakutsuru Umeshu — Best Budget Alternative
Hakutsuru is a large, long-established sake brewery that also makes a straightforward, moderately sweet umeshu at $21. It sits close to Choya in style — approachable and mixable — without being distinct enough to justify buying both as a first purchase. Treat it as the alternative to reach for if Choya isn’t in stock rather than a bottle with its own separate reason to exist.
Pros:
- Reliable, well-known brewery behind it
- Similar approachable sweetness to Choya at a comparable price
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer a meaningfully different experience from Choya, so there’s little reason to buy both
Bottom line: a fine bottle on its own, but redundant if you already have Choya.
3. Sawanotsuru Ume — Best for Less Sweetness
Sawanotsuru, another established sake brewer, makes an umeshu ($35) that leans drier and more balanced than Choya or Hakutsuru, with the sourness of the ume fruit coming through more clearly against the sugar. That makes it a better match if you’re planning to drink it alongside food rather than as a standalone treat, since a heavier sweetness can clash with a meal the way it can with sake.
Pros:
- Drier, more balanced profile than the entry-level bottles
- Works better alongside food than the sweeter options
Cons:
- Less forgiving as a first bottle if you’re expecting the sweeter, more familiar umeshu style
Bottom line: the pick once you know you like umeshu and want something less dessert-like.
4. Daishichi Kimoto Plum — Best Premium Pick
Daishichi is known in the sake world for kimoto, a slower, more labor-intensive traditional method of building the yeast starter by hand rather than using a commercial lactic acid shortcut. Their umeshu ($58) carries that same more deliberate approach into the plum wine category, and it shows in a fuller, less syrupy body than the entry-level bottles above.
Pros:
- Built on Daishichi’s traditional kimoto method, a genuine point of difference from mass-produced umeshu
- Fuller body than the budget bottles, less purely about sweetness
Cons:
- At $58, a real step up in price for a first taste of what “premium” umeshu can be
Bottom line: buy this once you already know you like the category and want to see what a more careful producer does with it.
5. Dassai 23 Umeshu — Best Gift and Best for Sake Drinkers
Most umeshu starts from shochu. Dassai’s version ($220) starts from Dassai 23, the brewery’s flagship Junmai Daiginjo — the same base sake behind our Dassai 23 review — infused with ume instead of built on a neutral spirit. That difference is obvious the moment you taste it: it’s less syrupy and more integrated than shochu-based umeshu, closer to a fortified sake than a plum liqueur. It’s priced like the specialty gift it is rather than an everyday bottle.
Pros:
- Sake base gives it a more refined, less syrupy character than typical umeshu
- A genuine conversation piece for anyone who already knows and likes Dassai
- Bridges naturally into our existing Dassai coverage if the recipient is already a fan
Cons:
- At $220, this is a gift purchase, not a bottle to casually restock
- Its subtlety can be lost on someone expecting classic, sweeter umeshu
Bottom line: the one to buy as a gift for a sake drinker, not as an introduction to umeshu as a category.
Which Umeshu Should You Buy?
- First bottle, unsure if you’ll like the category: get Choya Original.
- Choya’s out of stock or you want a near-identical alternative: get Hakutsuru.
- Want something less sweet, more food-friendly: get Sawanotsuru Ume.
- Already know you like umeshu and want a more traditionally made version: get Daishichi Kimoto Plum.
- Buying a gift for a sake drinker: get Dassai 23 Umeshu.
Palate Project carries all five, and reader code FRIEND-52L8RVN takes 10% off. Shop these umeshu picks here →
FAQ
Is umeshu the same as plum wine?
“Plum wine” is the common English translation, but umeshu isn’t made like grape wine through fermentation alone. It’s ume fruit and sugar steeped in a spirit (usually shochu, occasionally sake), which makes it closer to a fruit liqueur or infused spirit than a true wine.
How should umeshu be served?
Most versions work well over ice, mixed with soda water, or sipped neat and slightly chilled. The sweeter, shochu-based bottles like Choya hold up best to dilution; the Dassai 23 pick is delicate enough that it’s better sipped neat or over a single large ice cube.
What’s the difference between shochu-based and sake-based umeshu?
Shochu-based umeshu, the traditional and far more common style, tends to be sweeter and more straightforwardly fruity. Sake-based versions like Dassai 23 Umeshu carry over some of the base sake’s own character, resulting in a less syrupy, more integrated drink, usually at a premium price.
Does umeshu contain real plums?
It contains real ume fruit, which is genetically closer to an apricot than the plums most Western readers picture. Some bottles, including Choya’s, are sold with whole ume fruit still visible in the bottle.
Final Thoughts
Umeshu is one of the more forgiving categories in Japanese drinks to start exploring, since even the entry-level bottles are genuinely pleasant rather than an acquired taste. Start with Choya if you’re new to it, move to Sawanotsuru once you want less sweetness, and save the Dassai 23 pick for when you want to hand someone a bottle that’s obviously a step above the rest.
