It's booze time again! This was another random find, which I noticed while shopping at one of my local liquor stores. First, I saw it was flavored with figs, which is a liquor type I've never had before. Second, when I picked up the bottle I read it was made in Germany. So that sold it--a new kind of beverage, and from another country to boot. The name of this drink was Kleiner Feigling, The Original, and it was made by the Waldemar Behn company.
Waldemar Behn GmbH was created by a German man in 1892, who was not coincidently named Waldemar Behn. This company, which usually goes by BEHN for short, started off by selling other folk's alcoholic beverages. However, in the 1950's it started making its own. These products were enough to keep the business going, but it wasn't until 1992 that BEHN saw one of its own brands become really popular. This was Kleiner Feigling. Which is a play on words, as in German "feige" can refer to figs, or to being cowardly. So the brand translates into "Little Coward." This is also the name of the brand's logo character. Who is, like the Billy Idol song, or the fun old horror movie that song was based on, eyes without a face. Two kind of crossed eyes, on a field of black, with apparent fear perspiration drops coming off the invisible, or incorporeal head of Little Coward. All of the Kleiner Feigling drinks are made from vodka that's then infused with various flavors. The original is fig-based, but other kinds include magic mango, red berry sour, coco biscuit, cherry-banana, bubble gum, licorice, strawberry colada, cookie vanilla, and green lemon. Their alcohol content is mid-range, either 15% or 20% (30 or 40 proof). These drinks are often sold in tiny 20 mL bottles, or basically, single shots. Consumers have a custom of tipping the bottle upside down and then tapping the cap, to cause bubbles to form before the beverage is imbibed. Kleiner Feigling was prominently advertised at the (now discontinued) German Love Parade, as well as being on the trunks of Hall of Fame boxers like Wladimir Klischko and Virgil Hill. BEHN has many other brands as well. Some of the more popular ones are Andalo (flavored with sea buckthorn), Dooley's (a cream liqueur), and Danzka, a Danish-made vodka that BEHN acquired in 2013.
Kleiner Feigling, The Original, natural fig liqueur: Had a discernable and pleasant fig-y odor. The taste was good--nice and fruity. A bit strong, but not like a typical hard liquor, which makes sense since they're usually double the alcohol content. I didn't enjoy it as much as the creme de cassis (see my post on August 21, 2021 for more information on that drink), but it was still solid, better than average. Overall it was fun to try a liquor flavored with a different kind of fruit. Also, I had mine plain, but others mix it with other liquids as a cocktail, or over ice. And I didn't do the "flip it over and tap the cap to cause bubbles before drinking" tradition, since I hadn't heard about that until after I finished the bottle. Therefore, I would recommend this for folks looking to try something new in a fruity liqueur. Unless you hate figs, I guess. I'll look for other Kleiner Feigling flavors as well.
BEHN is based out of the small seaside town of Eckernforde. Which, despite its size, has had a couple of famous denizens. Olympic medalist Ruth Halbsguth was born here. She won a silver medal in the women's 4 X 100 meter freestyle swimming event in the 1936 Summer Games. Count Saint Germain (1712-84) was buried here, until flooding destroyed his grave in 1872. The Count was a very colorful fellow. He was renowned as a chemist, musician, diplomat, probable spy, adventurer, etc., and enjoyed the patronage of many royals of his day, because they found him endlessly fascinating and entertaining. He might have been born in Transylvania, but nobody's really sure.
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