Choya Extra Shiso Umeshu (70cl)

Choya Extra Shiso is a red Japanese plum liqueur, or umeshu, in a 70cl bottle. It is made from ume, a Japanese plum grown in the Kishu region, picked while still sour and left in the sun with salt for six months to a year. The plums are then infused in alcohol for two to three years together with red shiso, the Japanese red basil, which draws out the fruit's natural acidity and fragrance. Crystallised cane sugar is added at the end. The taste is delicate, with basil, mint, aniseed and lemon balm, and pleasantly bitter herbal notes from the shiso leaves. It can be served cold and neat or used as the base of a cocktail.