Thanks to everyone, the "Umeshu Festival in Hakata" concluded successfully. Since it was a consignment sale, I didn't go to the venue, but BAR LONDO in Hakata sent us photos of the event. Thank you! The large number of people queuing for tastings conveyed the excitement and vibrancy of the event. It's truly wonderful to have such a great event for enjoying umeshu. A big thank you to the event staff for their excellent hygiene! The event ran from Thursday to Sunday, but our umeshu reportedly sold out on Saturday. When I saw the sign, I was surprised it was Almond Umeshu! The order of umeshu I found easy to drink was: 1. Ginger Umeshu 2. Lavender Umeshu 3. Almond Umeshu (Due to the plum's tartness, it wasn't sweet almond, but more like a sweet and sour canned fruit punch) But to think Almond Umeshu was popular... It's hard to accurately guess what customers will like.   I started my business at 30, so I've been self-employed for about 14 years now, and I often realize how different I am from what customers feel.   Everyone has their own secret to focusing on work, but for me, it's not going out. I don't enjoy eating out at all. Since I owned a bar for 6 years, it actually meant I didn't have to go out at night. If I go to one drinking party a year, that's a lot. I grew up in the countryside and watched my grandparents live without leaving their posts, so everyday life is more important than travel, and I prefer cooking to eating out. My family travels without me (I only handle hotel bookings). I also don't particularly like receiving services or being a customer. I have other ways I prefer to spend my time. This feeling doesn't seem to be shared by the majority.   I loved consumer activities until I was a student, as I wanted to absorb many things, but as soon as I became a working adult, my focus shifted to what I could provide, and I grew to love the time spent creating things.   Even if I don't move around much, the seasons turn, the available vegetables, flowers, and scenery change, and I myself age and change, so staying in the same place and feeling those changes is dramatic and meaningful enough.   Actually, my mentor at the BAR where I trained also never went out for drinks. My mentor's hobbies were watercolor painting and kirigami, a typical creative person. I think he found joy in work and manual labor itself. It's the nature of creators that they don't necessarily go out after work! The existence of customers is what gives them that sense of purpose and support. The words "Thank you for coming" are said with genuine feeling precisely because going out isn't a given. And there's also concern for their health and well-being. Thank you for coming despite the cold, your busy schedule, the heat, and the bad footing due to rain. It's very meaningful to deepen introspection while preserving the changing everyday. It's like writing a love letter to the future while making the present certain. However, since creation is for the drinkers, I want to be careful not to write a love letter that can't be delivered. It was Almond Umeshu... (still bothered by it)

Thanks to your support, Tochigi Liqueur is celebrating its 8th anniversary today, April 23, 2026. We owe this entirely to your continued interest and patronage. We extend our heartfelt gratitude.   We deeply feel the joy of continuing Tochigi Liqueur's activities, and we will strive to improve our work even further. We look forward to your continued support.   ---   April has flown by as we enjoyed the pure seasonal changes, such as Seimei and Kokuu. We savored seasonal delights like shiro-udo with its subtle bitterness and tender sansho leaf buds.   We hope you all stay healthy and enjoy the season. Thank you always for your support.

The citrus season is finally coming to an end. There are two types of blood oranges, but the Tarocco variety available in April has a milder flavor than the Moro variety from February.   Kogane-kan has a juice that is perfectly balanced like a cocktail, with a gentle sweet and sour taste similar to honey yuzu or honey lemon. Kogane-kan is believed to be a natural cross between Satsuma mandarin and yuzu, and it is said to have been consumed since the Meiji era. The texture of the peel and pith is exactly like yuzu, while the flesh is like a mandarin. When processing them, I can't help but think of a line from an old man in a movie, "I know your parents well."   Citrus fruits, with their rich aroma and colors, are always wonderful ingredients, I think. Thanks to the farmers who cultivate these fruits for a year and ship them every year, we can experience the changing seasons repeatedly and look forward to the future.

Haruka, with its gentle taste, is something I look forward to every year. The flavor of this citrus fruit has a unique, mild sweetness that can't be replaced by anything else.   It's like a sweet grapefruit, and brings back the nostalgic comfort of the mixed juice I drank as a child. Fruits are truly wonderful.   Nino Farm's citrus orchard is located right by Uwajima Bay. The yellow citrus fruits ripening on the trees shone like lighthouses illuminating the sea. It was a wonderful, historic landscape where demanding fishing and farming seemed to support each other, and the beautiful sea and mountains were in harmony.   I look forward to each year's harvest.  

The delicious plum wines are ready.From left to right (darkest to lightest) are "Lavender Plum Wine, Ginger Plum Wine, and Almond Plum Wine."Shipment to the Mito Plum Wine Festival venue will begin. Lavender Plum Wine has a refreshing and tangy flavor (sold out at exhibition)Ginger Plum Wine has a well-balanced spicy and sweet adult flavor.Almond Plum Wine has a sweet taste with a hint of tartness (sold out at exhibition).Ginger Plum Wine will be available in the online shop.The combination of ginger and plum is suitable for both hot water and cold water dilutions.The spiciness prevents it from being overly sweet, creating a exquisite balance. As expected, ginger and plum are veteran ingredients representing Japanese pickles. They are also delicious when steeped in alcohol. This pairing is brilliant! It's so good that I'm tempted to add it to my permanent collection... I might just expand Antique's lineup.   Postscript We have re-produced the sold-out plum wines due to additional orders. Please enjoy them.

We processed fresh citrus fruits received from Ninofarm in Ehime Prefecture.

This is our second exhibition, following last year's.

We will be exhibiting our plum wine at the National Umeshu Festival again this year.