Franzi Franzbrötchen Cream Liqueur. Cream liqueur with cinnamon, caramelized sugar, butter and pastry notes, 15% ABV, 500 ml – from Bremen.

Franzi Franzbrötchen Cream Liqueur is a cream liqueur from Bremen: cinnamon, caramelized sugar, butter and pastry notes, and a hint of vanilla, velvety smooth, 15% ABV, 500 ml. Not an eggnog, not a cinnamon schnapps, not a syrup – a creamy liqueur that tastes like the Hamburg Franzbrötchen, developed over almost four years according to the manufacturer.

Franzi, the Franzbrötchen liqueur from NORK in Bremen, is a cream liqueur – meaning it is a liqueur with a cream base that provides a velvety texture. Its inspiration is a pastry: the Franzbrötchen, the Danish-style pastry from Hamburg, sugary, cinnamony, caramelized, and ideally a bit sticky. Franzi translates exactly that into liquid form – cinnamon and caramelized sugar, the butter and pastry notes of the danish, and a little vanilla, plus, according to the manufacturer, one or two secret ingredients. The development took almost four years until the liqueur tasted like a Franzbrötchen rather than just cinnamon. Imagine a Sunday breakfast that stretches into the afternoon: the coffee is gone, the Franzbrötchen are gone, and from the fridge comes a little, ice-cold reminder of them.

Cinnamony, creamy, and sweet, with caramel, butter, and pastry – velvety on the palate

Franzi is sweet, and it has every right to be – a Franzbrötchen is, too. On the nose, first cinnamon, then caramel, like sugar stuck to a baking sheet. On the palate, the cream takes over: velvety smooth, dense, with butter and pastry notes that actually make the liqueur taste like pastry rather than just spice. The 15% ABV alcohol is restrained, the finish is cinnamony and long.

Regarding labeling: Franzi is a cream liqueur and contains milk. According to the manufacturer, it is gluten-free.

Ice-cold neat, over ice cream, or mixed with eggnog

Ice-cold and neat is how Franzi is best enjoyed. Keep the bottle in the fridge, pour 2 to 4 cl into a small glass. When cold, the cream seems denser and the sweetness rounder. It is a liqueur with 15% ABV; it may only be sold to persons 18 years or older.

Over ice cream, it’s a one-step dessert – vanilla ice cream, a splash of Franzi, and the cinnamon-caramel coats it like a sauce. Mixed with eggnog, as NORK suggests, it turns into a creamy, yellow-brown liqueur that tastes like a Franzbrötchen with an eggnog topping: half eggnog, half Franzi, stirred in the glass.

Store in a cool, dark place; once opened, the bottle belongs in the refrigerator.

Our tip: For the quickest winter dessert, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl, pour 2 cl of ice-cold Franzi over it, add a pinch of cinnamon – a Franzbrötchen you can eat with a spoon, without the crumbs.

A proprietary brand of NORK GmbH – Hamburg pastry, Bremen liqueur

Franzi is the second brand from NORK GmbH & Co. KG in Bremen. Behind both are siblings Ann-Katrin and Johann Dallmeyer, who started in 2016 to make Korn fashionable again, and have since been developing liqueurs that have a story behind them. With Franzi, the story is the Franzbrötchen: the pastry of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, cinnamony, sugary, and sticky.

NORK spent almost four years working on the recipe until the cream liqueur tasted like a Franzbrötchen. The brand describes itself as a Bremen and Hamburg start-up, and Franzi is the product that connects both cities: Hamburg pastry, Bremen company.

For Franzbrötchen fans, dessert lovers, and as a souvenir from the North

Franzi is the bottle for anyone who loves Franzbrötchen and misses them between trips to Hamburg. For dessert lovers, it is the liqueur to go with ice cream; for cream liqueur drinkers, the North German alternative to the Irish classic; and for eggnog fans, a perfect mixing partner. As a souvenir from the North, it suits people who prefer drinking something sweet rather than strong. Its sister with egg is NORK Eierlikör, the wintery version is the Gingerbread Eggnog; you can find all bottles from NORK and Franzi on our NORK page, and other liqueurs in the Liqueurs category. Franzi is not suitable for anyone with a milk allergy or lactose intolerance, or for those living a vegan lifestyle. If you are expecting a dry, strong digestif, you are better off with the two NORK Doppelkorn spirits – Franzi is sweet, creamy, and made for dessert.

Cream liqueur with cinnamon, caramelized sugar, butter and pastry notes, 15% ABV, developed over almost four years – Franzi, the Franzbrötchen liqueur from NORK in Bremen for the ice-cold glass and the vanilla ice cream.