说起梅酒话就长了，我们熟知的记载是《三国演义》里的那段“青梅煮酒论英雄”，距离今天有一千八百多年的历史了。煮酒不是真的把酒煮沸，而是类似今天江南一带的温酒。把梅子放进黄酒，用热水温着喝，味道特别好，我闲来无事，喜欢用盐渍过的话梅，置自酿的红麴酒中，温热后小酌几口，微醺极好。

梅子也称青梅酸梅，富含人体所需的多种维生素及氨基酸。中国用梅传统悠久，因为她酸酸的味道，在醋还没有发明前，梅子是烹饪界的大碗。据《尚书·说命篇》记载，商王武丁曾鼓励宰相傅说：“若作和羹，尔惟盐梅。”即希望他要像做菜离不了的盐和梅一样，成为国家最为需要的人才。食醋出现以后，梅子做调料的作用逐渐减少，作为日常零食与医药之用多了起来。初夏采集新鲜的梅子，洗净为青梅；以盐腌渍，晒干为白梅；小火焙至干燥，起皱，再焖至色黑，则为乌梅。我们现在吃的各种梅干，梅醋，梅酒都是用梅子作为原料制作的。夏初中国南方家庭酿制梅子酒已成为一个习俗。

我国酿制梅酒历史悠久，文化内涵丰富，梅酒跟抹茶一样，东渡日本，在那里大放异彩，甚至超过了她在原产地的盛名，以至于西方人只知道日本的Umeshu而不知道梅酒真正的故乡。日本几乎家家会酿梅酒，而且品种繁多。去年看电影《海街日记》，四姐妹看窗外梅树花开花落，春采摘，酿梅酒，沉淀一年，方享用这份酸甜。梅酒已经成为一种记忆，一种对岁月静好，人生恬淡的纪念。我老家也喜欢酿梅酒，不过此梅非彼梅，老家人酿的是杨梅酒。在这里从来也买不到故乡个大多汁的杨梅，好在我们这梅树众多，在不起眼的林子里，在静静的街角处。梅子新出时，摘上一篮，也可在家酿制几罐梅酒，耐心等上一年，那份甘醇绝不会辜负你。

In China, plum wine is called "meijiu". "Mei" means plum and "jiu" means wine. Chinese has a long history of brewing plum wine. Plum wine spread to Japan and became more popular than it was in the original place. In Japan Meijiu is called Umeshu. Every year in early summer in southern China lots of families will make their plum wine, which is a tradition we still cherish.

（我家今年的梅酒，很漂亮I made this Plum Liqueur. Isn't it beautiful? ）

去年梅子成熟时，大家相约去采梅，孩子们互相扔梅子嬉戏，让我想起李白那句“郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅”，希望这些青梅竹马，两小无猜，一起成长起来的孩子，能记得美好的童年。

梅酒制作其实很简单，掌握好几点，大家都可以酿出可口的梅酒，去年酿制时，没有拍照片，只能借用电影《海街日记》里的截图，作为步骤图。

How to make Plum Liqueur

材料：

青梅
酒（红麴酒，伏特加，日本烧酒）
冰糖（梅、酒、糖的比例 2:2:1，如果希望偏甜口味的，可以适量多加些冰糖）

What you need

Ingredients

Green ume plums
(If you can find plum trees in your area just pick some green plums before they are mature. Or you can buy them in some Asian grocery stores in May. Only available for a short time in early summer! )

Rock sugar

Vodka or Soju or Red yeast rice wine (My mom made Red yeast rice wine and I used it to make plum liqueur)

The ratio of plum, wine and sugar is 2:2:1. If you prefer sweet you can add more rock sugar.

Instruction

1.挑选个大饱满的青梅
Pick some fresh plums

2.将青梅洗净，浸泡两小时，用盐搓洗一遍，可以去除青梅的涩味。
Wash the plums and use the salt to rub them for a while and wash again, which helps get rid of the astringency of plums.

3.将洗干净的青梅彻底晾干，并用牙签去蒂并戳出小孔。
Dry all the plums and remove the stems. The stems are small and deep, so use a toothpick or your pinky fingernail to dig them out. Poke holes in the plums.

4.戳出的孔利于梅汁渗出。
The holes make it easy for plum juice to come out.

5.将青梅酒与冰糖依次放入消毒干燥过的玻璃瓶，七分满就好。标上日期，存于阳光照不到的阴凉处。
Place a layer of plums in the jar, then a layer of rock sugar, then a layer of plums, then a layer of rock sugar. Continue until all the plums and sugar are used up. Pour alcohol into the jar. Replace the lid securely and store the plums in a cool, dark place. Shake the jar occasionally to help the sugar mix with the alcohol.

6.放置半年，待酒成琥珀色即可食用。梅酒的味道会随放置时间有所不同，可以尝试一次多酿几瓶，六个月，一年，两年时，分别打开，会有不一样的惊喜。
After 5 to 6 months, the Plum wine is ready. However, this liqueur mellows with age, so you may notice a different flavor after a year or two. Try making a few different batches, and drink one after 6 months, drink the other after a year, and drink the next after 2 years.

（我酿的一大罐，不够喝啊）

最后简要介绍梅酒的几种喝法。

There are a number of ways to drink plum liqueur. You can add some ice or you can add some warm water or red tea to the wine. You can even make cocktail with plum wine and some other wines such as vodka, martini or whiskey. Put some mint leaves, lemon slices or grapefruits in it to add flavor.

最简单的直接喝，其实直接喝已经很好喝了，朋友聚会，想玩点花样也增加不少喝梅酒的趣味。

梅酒可以加冰喝，尤其是用伏特加等高度白酒泡的梅酒，对于女士来说太过浓烈，加冰后喝起来会柔软一些。

梅酒可以加热水，或者红茶，再加上一片柠檬片，冬天喝上一杯，暖心暖胃。

梅酒还可以跟各种酒品调配成各式鸡尾酒，如：梅酒，苏打水跟碎冰块，先在梅酒里倒入苏打水，再放入碎冰块，可制成发泡酒；梅酒跟马提尼冰块制成冰酒；还可以加薄荷叶子，柚子，柠檬等等，你可以自由发挥，制成你想要的鸡尾酒。

要说关于梅酒的诗，我喜欢苏轼的那首《赠岭上梅》：

梅花开尽白花开，过尽行人君不来。
不趁青梅尝煮酒，要看细雨熟黄梅。

这份浓浓的情谊，可从梅青等到梅黄时啊！