“Mirin (sweet cooking sake)” as a drink
Kawabecho, Kamo Gun, Gifu. Located on the riverside of Hida River, ”Hakusen Shuzo” is a brewery which produces ”mirin (sweet rice wine)” in addition to ”sake” and rice ”shochu”.
While ”mirin” is widely known as a seasoning, around the end of Edo period when Hakusen Shuzo was founded, it was sold as a drink.
Around this period, it was sold in jars with paper labels ”美醂(mirin)” on them.
The brewery started its production of ”sake” in Meiji period when the government began issuing production license of alcoholic beverages for liquor tax.
Aged “mirin”, and plum wine!
“Mirin” is made by mixing steamed glutinous rice with rice malt and ”shochu”. It is matured for about 60 days, and later squeezed and filtered. At Hakusen Shuzo, ”mirin” aged 3 years further is sold as ”Fukurai (good luck to come) three year aged mirin”. The deep rich flavor, which cannot be found in fresh ”mirin”, is highly praised earning support from professionals in the food industry such as cooking specialists and those the field of food and beverage.
Currently, the brewery produces plum wine named ”Ume (plum) mirin”. Nakata was surprised that this plum wine was made by soaking plums in ”mirin”.
Alcohol in ”mirin” is 14℃, and the sugar content is about 40% to 50%. When plums are soaked in it, the sugar in the plums melt into the ”mirin”, making sweet plum wine.
You can enjoy the taste of ”mirin” passed down from the Edo period as delicious fruit wine.
Plum wine made from ”mirin”. Why not give it a try?
