Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Kijafa, the Mysterious European Alcoholic Drink

      A couple of weeks ago I was in a liquor store that I don't usually frequent, and so I decided to shop for this blog.  I went with Kijafa, because it was new to me, imported, slightly exotic in nature (it was a cherry grape wine), and relatively cheap (about $12 for a 750 mL bottle).  The label said it was a product of Poland, and that it had an alcohol content of 16%.  Also sulfites, but that's neither here nor there.

     Therefore, after I tried it, I did my usual online research, hoping to learn a bit about the type of wine, and its manufacturer.  That's when I ran into trouble.  I couldn't locate an official company website, first off.  And the rest of the internet information about Kijafa was extremely lacking--just brief blurbs next to photos of the bottles on various American liquor store websites.  Furthermore, what I did find was often contradictory.  For example, several of the online resources claimed that Kijafa is not Polish, but is Danish in origin.  But, another couple of them said that Kijafa is from The Netherlands.  And yet another reported that this wine was made in Finland.  So I'm not sure which story is accurate, if any.  The Danish origin story is at least the most detailed.  Some of these claim that Kijafa is an acronym derived from various Danish words--the "Ki" is from the Danish word for cherries (kirsbaer, or kirsebaer), the "ja" from J.J. Jacobsen, the founder of the company, and the "fa" from Faaborg, the city where it was first made.  But some other details didn't seem to make sense.  One source said that the wine is made from the distinctive Langeskov cherry, from the Danish island of Lolland.  But, Langeskov is a town on the Danish island of Funen, so this name is kind of misleading.  Even how it's made isn't consistent.  Some folks claim Kijafa is made from just cherries, and using no grapes at all.  So I don't know what to think.  It's certainly possible that it's a Danish invention that's made in factories in other nations, of course.  But clearly I wouldn't testify to this in court.  For the record, the label on my bottle reads that Kijafa was established in 1841, so there's that.  It also reads that this beverage is a "cherry grape wine with artificial and natural flavors," so apparently grapes are one of its ingredients.  As usual, I'd welcome any information from readers, especially any Danish and Polish ones.

Kijafa:  The directions suggested enjoying this over ice, or mixed with a soft drink.  I chose to do the former.  Kijafa's color was a deep purple-red.  My initial reaction wasn't that positive.  It tasted like red wine with cherry flavor added.  It also tasted pretty boozy--it didn't hide its alcohol content well.  Overall it was fairly cloyingly sweet.  So my initial grade would have been low, maybe a D+, or barely passing, but pretty unsatisfactory.  But, I must say, it kind of grew on me as I continued drinking it.  (Maybe the relatively high alcohol content was a factor.)  Anyway, by the end I felt somewhat more sympathetic to it, so adjust my rating to a C-, or just below average.  In conclusion, I'm guessing major wine aficionados will probably hate this, but if you don't mind super sweet, dessert-type wines, this might be acceptable.  Perhaps best suited for poor college students who want to pretend to be sophisticated.  It also had a weird top--a pseudo cork (plastic?) was attached to the cap, so it was somewhat difficult to open.