Fig tinctures and liqueurs – a fig drink with a non-fig taste

The wonderful aroma of ripe figs is as beautiful as its depressing “vegetable” flavor, especially the dense skin. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why this amazing fruit, which grows on one of the oldest trees in the world, is not to everyone’s liking. But what if you make a tincture of figs and extract those light, complex aromatic notes from the fruit, leaving behind its squat aftertaste?

What do we know about figs as a raw material for alcoholic beverages:

1. In Tunisia (and this was already mentioned by Poamzan in an article with recipes for Tibarin, date liqueur), they prepare a fig vodka called Buha. A similar drink is made from rice and figs in North Africa called Boura.
2. Delon (Delaunay) fig liqueur was popular in France in the 1930s, but it has not survived to this day.
3. In France, the local aperitif Figoun is sold, a bright Provencal drink with figs. Below you will find a couple of recipes for this amazing nectar.
4. The German company Waldemar Behn GmbH has been producing a range of Kleiner Feigling liqueurs since 1992. The line of flavors includes fig schnapps.
5. In the assortment of another German company, AG Vom Fass, there is a fig liqueur on “premium” vodka.
6. In Croatia, they make rakija (fruit brandy) based on figs, it is called smokovaca (a fig tree, it is also a fig, also called an ordinary fig tree).
7. The best Runet site about alcoholic drinks “Rum Diary” offers to cook delicious liqueurs and liqueurs from figs at home …

Simple tincture of figs on vodka

If you’re using dried figs, you’ll need to “repair” them first. To do this, boil some clean water, put dried fruits in it, cover with a lid and turn off the fire. Let the fruits soak in hot water for 5 minutes, then drain the water. After that, the figs should be finely chopped and poured with vodka in containers of a suitable volume, the container should be tightly closed and left in a dark, cool place for 2-3 weeks. Periodically, the contents of the container must be mixed. When the time is right, drain the tincture through a sieve, filter and sweeten with simple sugar syrup to taste. Figs tend to be very sweet, so start with a small amount of syrup. An extract is welcome. Consume within 1 year!

Fig tincture with cardamom

Original tincture for original homemade cocktails. Delicious on its own. Try mixing 1 teaspoon of fig or any other fruit jam with 60 ml of fig-cardamom vodka, strain, pour into a tall glass and add prosecco or any other dry or semi-sweet sparkling wine. Very!

The preparation is very simple. First of all, if you are using dried figs, “repair” them in the same way as described in the first recipe. After that, the fruits must be cut in half or quarters, placed in a jar of a suitable volume, add vanilla cut along (you can replace 8-16 g of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract, the recipe of which is described in this article) and cardamom (start with 2-3 buds, strong spice). Pour everything with vodka, close the jar tightly and leave in a dark, cool place for 1-2 weeks. Strain, filter and pour into clean bottles. An extract is welcome. Consume within 1 year!

gin on a fig leaf

The Dutch colonists in South Africa made a fig leaf tincture by boiling young fig tree leaves in water, after which it turned slightly green and acquired a fig-like taste. With what to mix fragrant Dutch water? That’s right, with jenever. Well, where is jenever, there is gin…

Wash and dry the leaves of the fig tree. Take two-thirds of them and place in a jar of a suitable volume, then pour in gin, mix well, close the jar tightly and leave for 24 hours in a dark, cool place. Drain the gin, discard the leaves, filter the gin through muslin or coffee filters, pour into a clean container of suitable volume, add half the water. Heat the remaining water (do not bring to a boil) and dissolve the powdered sugar in it. Place the remaining fig leaves in a blender, pour a small amount of syrup, chop. Add the remaining sugar syrup and leave it like this overnight.

Strain the syrup on a fig leaf through a sieve or several layers of gauze, heat again, just barely bringing to a boil, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add the chilled syrup to the gin, mix well and let it brew for 1-2 weeks in a dark, cool place before using. Serve with plenty of crushed ice or use in your favorite gin cocktails.

Fig aperitif

In France, namely in Provence, Figoun is a Christmas drink, which is usually served at le gros souper (big dinner), accompanied by 13 traditional desserts. The commercial version of the aperitif is a blend of figs, angelica, vanilla, oranges, tangerines and red wormwood macerated in red wine. There is a better recipe…

Place the “restored” figs (can be coarsely chopped), orange peel and spices in a jar of a suitable volume, pour in inexpensive port wine, close the jar tightly and leave it in a dark, cool place for 1-3 months, as long as you have enough patience. When patience is over, strain the figoun through a fine sieve and pour into a clean bottle. Serve as an aperitif with soda on ice and lemon zest. As an appetizer, spicy cheeses, salami and, of course, dried fruits will fit very well.

There is another variation of this aperitif, which is prepared according to the principle of pouring and using more affordable red wine …

Rinse and cut the figs into 8 parts, and then lay them on the bottom in a small layer, sprinkle with a small amount of powder, repeat until the fruits and sugar run out. Close the jar tightly and leave in a cool place for 2-3 days until the powdered sugar is completely dissolved. When the sugar dissolves, add the orange zest, cognac and wine (if necessary, use more wine so that the figs are completely submerged in it). Close the jar tightly again and leave in a dark, cool place for 2-3 months. Strain through a fine sieve, then through a sieve lined with muslin (or other suitable filter cloth). Pour the aperitif into clean sterile bottles and store in the refrigerator. Ideally, leave the drink alone for a month or so before drinking.

Aromatic fig-honey liqueur

Wine (or beer, it doesn’t matter) made by fermenting honey is called mead. When fruits or berries are added to the must, the resulting drink is called melomel. If you add spices, you get metheglin. This perfect combination of fragrant masala spices with honey and figs deserves a more poetic name, but one has not yet come to my mind. Masala is a mixture of Indian spices. In this case, chai masala is used, which is usually dominated by cardamom in combination with cinnamon, ginger, fennel, cloves, black pepper, etc.

Bring the water to a boil, add a heaping teaspoon of masala chai spices (ideally 3 tea bags with masala), remove from heat, leave for 3 minutes, filter through a sieve (or remove the tea bags). Add honey, stir until it is completely dissolved, let the mixture cool. In a jar of a suitable volume, mix the honey-spicy mixture, cognac and figs, mix well. Close the jar tightly and leave in a dark, cool place for 2-3 days. When the liquid acquires a distinct smell and taste of spices and figs, strain it through a sieve, filter through coffee filters or cotton wool, pour into clean bottles. Store in a dark cool place for no more than 1 year. The drink is very balanced and self-sufficient, so it does not need to be accompanied – drink it like a regular digestif in its pure form, slowly sipping on a cool evening (liquor warms very well)!