Since I recently posted on how to make your own Umeshu, I thought readers might be interested to see what's available in a basic liquor aisle--and how much things cost.
The tall green bottle there in the photo is the best known brand, Choya--the one with several plums in the bottle and a wide mouth so you can get them out and eat them. Dr. Coyne over at WEIT just bought a bottle of the Choya to try, and paid about $12 at Binney's in Chicago. The price on the bottle in the photo is Y1000, or about $11 or $12 given the current exchange rate--not bad!! So Binney's, it would appear, has very reasonable prices:-))
Here's more of the Umeshu section of the liquor aisle. It comes in glass bottles, and also cartons and cans--straight and carbonated (umeshu soda is *good*!) The medium size white carton is "Sarari to shita umeshu", a commercial for which I posted the other day. It's not terribly expensive ($5-6 for a medium carton, $8-9 for a large carton), and umeshu mixes well with lots of things--soda, tonic, milk (for a yogurt-like drink), hot green tea, ginger ale, sour mix, and I'm thinking of heating some umeshu to steaming and mixing it with some of my sweet ginger syrup that I put in tea...
...and sweet...
...for Y260 a can, which I though was a little steep. And slightly weird--I can't quite imagine that beer taste and chocolate taste would...match.
If anybody is desperate to know what it tastes like, tell me and I'll buy a can--in the spirit of scientific inquiry, you know ;-))
UPDATE
So...I went to get butter. Which I promptly forgot, as I remembered six other things I needed, prompting a call to my husband at 7pm asking *him* to pick up some butter. This is not the recommended way to stick to a budget. I did, however, get a can of Sapporo/Royce Chocolat Brewery-Sweet. And I did taste it. Not being a beer drinker under normal circumstances, I think I've gotten in *waaay* over my head in attempting to drink and describe something which is, basically, beer. Or...ale? Dark ale? A stout? Not Budweiser--not by a long shot. I could certainly taste cocoa (I think), but the oddest thing was having an extremely strong memory flashback triggered by the initial taste on my tongue...yet being utterly unable (still--this is the next morning) to recall the memory. Like having an important-looking light flashing desperately on the dashboard of your car, but not having the faintest idea what that light is for.
Back to the beer (beer?). At Y260 a can, I personally wouldn't buy it again--it just wasn't all that. Though, to be fair, it was in a can. Possibly a fresher version would be better, or more interesting. To be more fair, I should find a friend who likes beer more than I do to taste it and give an assessment. Gomen Nasai!
I am desperate to know what the chocolate beer tastes like!
ReplyDeleteRight-o! On the job then...! I have to get butter anyway...
ReplyDeleteI just noticed, though, that the Japanese bottle of Choya Umeshu has 720 ml, so it's nearly 50% larger (at the same price) as the American version (500 ml).
ReplyDeleteAha! There's always a catch...still $12 isn't too bad for a 500ml bottle that's imported...
ReplyDeletei would totally try chocoalte beer.
ReplyDelete