Bärenfang or Meschkinnes is a German
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
-flavoured
liqueur
A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
based on
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
. It is usually available as Teucke & Koenig Bärenjäger a commercial brand of Bärenfang in English-speaking countries.
means 'bear trap'; means 'bear hunter'.
''Meschkinnes'', a term mostly used by people from
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
, comes from Lithuanian , meaning 'male bear'.
Bärenfang has an alcohol content of 30%–45%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
(60–90
proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a con ...
). In Germany, Bärenfang is often made at home since the basic recipe and many variations of it are readily available. Most homemade Bärenfang is based on vodka, but some recipes with a higher alcohol content are based on
neutral spirit
Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countr ...
.
Bärenfang is always made with honey from
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
because honey from
honeydew may have a bitter aftertaste.
History
Bärenfang was first developed in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
in the 15th century. It was the first commercial brand of this liqueur that was produced in the capital city of
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
; it is now produced by the Teucke & Koenig company in the town of
Steinhagen, Germany. A picture of a
fur trapper
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...
trapping a bear is shown on bottles of Teucke & Koenig's Bärenjäger.
Today, Teucke & Koenig is owned by
Schwarze & Schlichte, located in the town of
Oelde
Oelde () is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.
Geography
Division of the town
Oelde consists of 5 districts:
* Oelde
* Stromberg
* Lette
* Sünninghausen
* Kirchspiel (with farmi ...
in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, Germany. Schwarze & Schlichte also make another brand of Bärenfang that is bottled at 33%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
(66 proof).
The Bärenfang produced by Teucke & Koenig is widely exported. It is usually sold under the brand name Bärenjäger outside of Germany. There are other producers of Bärenfang in Germany, but their products are less often available in other countries.
Awards
Bärenjäger has been reviewed by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which gave it gold and silver medals in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Wine Enthusiast rated Bärenjäger in its "85–89" category.
Proof66's averaging of these scores produced an overall score that classified it as a "Tier 1" spirit.
See also
*
Schnapps
Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...
References
External links
Schwarze & Schlichte website(German)
U.S. website(English, requires Flash)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barenjager
German liqueurs
Honey liqueurs and spirits
German distilled drinks
German brands
East Prussia