How to make "Umeshu" -plum wine-, 梅酒の作り方

My mom used to make homemade plum wine every year. 
I kept her recipe that handed over to her from my grandma, and made my own plum wine in Taipei, Taiwan last year. That was very successful and many people enjoyed it.
So, I decided to do it again this year in Shenzhen, China. 

In Japan, a season for fresh plum is in June.
It was in late March to early April in Taiwan and now is the time for here in Guangdong province.



Prepare;
A glass jar, Fresh green plum x 1kg, Rock sugar x 700gm,
Japanese white liquor "Shochu" (or vodka, if you can not get shochu) x 1.8L,

Note;
* Plum should be unripened and no damaged ones are preferred.
* Amount of sugar can be adjusted to your preference
* Sho chu is preferred to be the one with 35% alcohol. if the alcohol is lower, it takes more
   time for the plum wine to be matured and also it can not be kept for long time...

Clean the plum and leave them in a bowl with fresh water for a few hours in order to take off their bitterness. (if you only have half yellow plum, it should be only for an hour or so...)

Take the plum out from water, leave them in a strainer and let them dry.
Remove the black stems by using a bamboo stick or tooth pick and gently wipe them by towel.   

Clean inside of the jar and sterilize with small amount of shochu.

Put the cleaned plum and rock sugar one after another into the jar.
And pour shochu into the jar at last.

Keep it in the cool place, avoid direct sun light. 
For the first one week or two, mix them by gently moving the jar once in a while.

Be patient! 
Wait at least for 3-4 months then you can enjoy the umeshu with admireable aroma of fresh plum.
(In earlier stage, 3-6 months, it tastes.still bit bitter) 
You can also keep it for over an year and it taste gets richer and richer.

Cheers!