The perfect drink for fans of both peaty whisky and ume-shu!

Japan has a pretty serious liquor industry. Besides sake, beer, and shochu (a liquor made from sweet potatoes, rice, or barley), the country also produces a number of highly respected whiskies as well as umeshu, also known as plum wine.

While these are all very different kinds of alcoholic beverages, it’s easy to become a fan of each one’s delicious flavors. If you’re someone who likes both the smoky flavor of whisky and the sweet taste of umeshu, for example, then you’re probably going to love Japanese drink company Suntory’s new limited-edition plum liquor known as the Yamazaki Smoky Cask Plum Liqueur Blend.

This new type of umeshu is a blended plum liquor aged in old barrels previously used for distilling smoky whisky. It was formulated at the company’s Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka Prefecture, where they also produce their famous Yamazaki Whisky, including the 55-year old single malt whisky that sold for three million yen per bottle.

With a unique aroma and special depth of flavor, this liquor has been formulated specially to blend well with sparkling water and thus has a high alcohol content of 20 percent. Its sleek black label and shiny gold lettering makes it look like expensive liquor, but it will sell at the reasonable price of 1,705 yen (US$15.46) per 750-milliliter (23.4-ounce) bottle.

This is a special 2021-only release that will be available across the country only in limited quantities starting on November 16. While Suntory has other barrel-aged umeshu products out there, this is the only one so far that promises a smoky aroma, so if you love peaty whisky and umeshu, you’ll definitely want to give it a try!

Source: Suntory via Entabe
Image: Suntory
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