Kräuterlikör

All about the Kräuterlikör, Jagermeister

 

Jagermeister, or common just called Jager, is personally one of my favorite liquors. The base liqueur that makes up Jager is known as Kräuterlikör. This is just a type of herbal or spiced liquor made in Germany.  The Kräuterlikör itself really doesn’t have a lot of functions by itself. It is typically used as a mixer to other liquors and flavorings to make popular drinks like Jager. Other thank Jager some other brands of liquor that include the Kräuterlikör are Underberg, Killepitsch and Kummerling.

 

Jager was originally introduced while the Nazi’s were in Germany around 1934. Unlike some urban myths will try to tell you, there is no elk’s blood included in the making of Jager. The inventor of it, Curt Mast, was simply an avid hunter. Jager includes more herbs and spices than you may have expected. It is packed full of citrus peel, roots, poppy seeds, ginger, and even juniper berries.

 

One of the most common drinks that include Jager could definitely have to be the Jager Bomb. This is normally taken as a shot or small cocktail and will include a shot of Jager into a glad of Red Bull energy drink. Many people have always asked what Jagermeister stands for and it means “Hunt Master”.  Once again you can see where the inventors love for hunting has came into the overall making of this branding design. It has a masculine verse from the poem Weidmannshei on the side of the label and even though it is in German, you can find loose translations on the net. Jager has numerous sponsorships and even has its own motor racing car.  

 

Kräuterlikör has been around since the Middle Ages and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. The mix of herbs and alcohol was once only used for medicine and is now a “medicine” of a different sort.