How Heiwa Shuzo’s “Ko-Tsurume” Redefined the Language of Umeshu Through Ten Years of Aging
In the late 1940s, shortly after the war, a small brewery in Kainan, Wakayama, was ordered to suspend operations. Rice was rationed, and sake was considered a luxury. There was no clear path to reopening.
The second-generation owner, Yasumasa Yamamoto, traveled to Tokyo to petition the National Diet. “I want to brew sake in an age of peace,” he said. That wish became the company’s name: Heiwa Shuzo. This was where its story began.
A Legacy Begun in 1928, Reimagined by the Fourth Generation
Heiwa Shuzo is based in Mizoguchi, Kainan City, Wakayama. Blessed with the soft water of the Koyasan mountain system and surrounded by rice-growing land, the Yamamoto family has been brewing sake there since 1928. After its wartime closure and eventual reopening, the brewery long focused mainly on futsushu—everyday sake for the local market.
The turning point came in 2004, when fourth-generation owner Norimasa Yamamoto returned home at the age of 26. At the time, nearly the entirety of the brewery’s production consisted of boxed sake. Fresh out of Kyoto University’s Faculty of Economics, he began the following year by launching the limited-distribution “Yamata no Umeshu,” followed by the nationally distributed “Tsurume” series. A brewery once known for ordinary sake became a name recognized by sake lovers across Japan for its umeshu. The transformation began with a single bottle of plum liqueur.
Expanding the Lexicon of Umeshu
Ko-Tsurume sits at the pinnacle of the Tsurume series. It is the final chapter reached after the three standard expressions: “Kanjuku” ripe plum, “Suppai” tart plum, and “Kanjuku Nigori” cloudy ripe plum.
The approach is deliberate: umeshu crafted from fully ripened Nanko plums from Wakayama’s Kishu region is aged for ten long years. It is then rested in a selection of wooden casks—including whisky, sherry, and bourbon barrels—before being blended and finally bottled undiluted at cask strength.
Umeshu has typically been described with words like “sweet” and “easy to drink.” Ko-Tsurume shifts that paradigm entirely. Its aroma begins with the concentrated richness of ripe plum, then unfolds into dried fruit, vanilla, caramel, oak, and hazelnut. Its flavor structure can be described in the nuanced language of whisky or sherry. It is an umeshu that bartenders and sommeliers can speak about in their own discerning words.
A Japanese Digestif Recognized on the Global Stage
Recognition from outside Japan has naturally followed. Ko-Tsurume won Gold at the Kura Master Umeshu Competition in France in 2024, then rose to Platinum in 2025. The competition is judged with food pairing in mind by leading sommeliers, professionals from five-star hotels, and experts from Michelin-starred restaurants. Consecutive awards—and an elevation in rank—carry more weight than a single year of praise, speaking to a sustained dedication to the craft.
Heiwa Shuzo has also been honored as “Sake Brewer of the Year” in the SAKE division of the International Wine Challenge in both 2019 and 2020, building strong trust among professionals in overseas markets.
A Japanese aged digestif. As a bottle to be savored slowly after a meal, Ko-Tsurume is gaining a clearer identity through the lens of international evaluation. In refined tasting environments, it is often positioned as the final chapter of a culinary journey. Guests who begin their evening with whisky or sake gracefully arrive at this umeshu as a concluding note. That is the quiet yet profound role this bottle plays.
From a company name born of a postwar petition to the National Diet to a bottle of umeshu refined for ten years in the cask, the story of Heiwa Shuzo continues. (Mr. Bacchus)
This article is intended solely to explore the blending craftsmanship and cultural heritage of Heiwa Shuzo Co., Ltd. and the Ko-Tsuru-Ume brand, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับศิลปะการผสมผสานและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของ Heiwa Shuzo Co., Ltd. และแบรนด์ Ko-Tsuru-Ume เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ